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1. Mid-IR spectroscopy of Er ³⁺ doped low-phonon CsCdCl ₃ and CsPbCl ₃ crystals

   https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.470152  

   Brown, Ei_Ei; Fleischman, Zackery_D; McKay, Jason; Hommerich, Uwe; Kabir, Al_Amin; Riggins, Jazmine; Trivedi, Sudhir; Dubinskii, Mark (September 2022, Journal of the Optical Society of America B)

   The mid-IR spectroscopic properties of ${\mathrm{E}\mathrm{r}}^{3+}$doped low-phonon ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{l}}_3$and ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{P}\mathrm{b}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{l}}_3$crystals grown by the Bridgman technique have been investigated. Using optical excitations at $\sim <\#comment/>800\mathrm{n}\mathrm{m}$and $\sim <\#comment/>660\mathrm{n}\mathrm{m}$, both crystals exhibited IR emissions at $\sim <\#comment/>1.55$, $\sim <\#comment/>2.75$, $\sim <\#comment/>3.5$, and $\sim <\#comment/>4.5\text{µ<\#comment/>}\mathrm{m}$at room temperature. The mid-IR emission at 4.5 µm, originating from the ${}^4{\mathrm{I}}_{9/2}\to <\#comment/>{}^4{\mathrm{I}}_{11/2}$transition, showed a long emission lifetime of $\sim <\#comment/>11.6\mathrm{m}\mathrm{s}$for ${\mathrm{E}\mathrm{r}}^{3+}$doped ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{l}}_3$, whereas ${\mathrm{E}\mathrm{r}}^{3+}$doped ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{P}\mathrm{b}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{l}}_3$exhibited a shorter lifetime of $\sim <\#comment/>1.8\mathrm{m}\mathrm{s}$. The measured emission lifetimes of the ${}^4{\mathrm{I}}_{9/2}$state were nearly independent of the temperature, indicating a negligibly small nonradiative decay rate through multiphonon relaxation, as predicted by the energy-gap law for low-maximum-phonon energy hosts. The room temperature stimulated emission cross sections for the ${}^4{\mathrm{I}}_{9/2}\to <\#comment/>{}^4{\mathrm{I}}_{11/2}$transition in ${\mathrm{E}\mathrm{r}}^{3+}$doped ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{l}}_3$and ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{P}\mathrm{b}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{l}}_3$were determined to be $\sim <\#comment/>0.14\times <\#comment/>{10}^{-<\#comment/>20}{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^2$and $\sim <\#comment/>0.41\times <\#comment/>{10}^{-<\#comment/>20}{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^2$, respectively. The results of Judd–Ofelt analysis are presented and discussed. 

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2. Modifications of ion beam sputtered tantala thin films by secondary argon and oxygen bombardment

   https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.59.00A150  

   Yang, Le; Randel, Emmett; Vajente, Gabriele; Ananyeva, Alena; Gustafson, Eric; Markosyan, Ashot; Bassiri, Riccardo; Fejer, Martin; Menoni, Carmen (January 2020, Applied Optics)

   Amorphous tantala ( ${\mathrm{T}\mathrm{a}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_5$) thin films were deposited by reactive ion beam sputtering with simultaneous low energy assist ${\mathrm{A}\mathrm{r}}^{+}$or ${\mathrm{A}\mathrm{r}}^{+}/{\mathrm{O}}_2^{+}$bombardment. Under the conditions of the experiment, the as-deposited thin films are amorphous and stoichiometric. The refractive index and optical band gap of thin films remain unchanged by ion bombardment. Around 20% improvement in room temperature mechanical loss and 60% decrease in absorption loss are found in samples bombarded with 100-eV ${\mathrm{A}\mathrm{r}}^{+}$. A detrimental influence from low energy ${\mathrm{O}}_2^{+}$bombardment on absorption loss and mechanical loss is observed. Low energy ${\mathrm{A}\mathrm{r}}^{+}$bombardment removes excess oxygen point defects, while ${\mathrm{O}}_2^{+}$bombardment introduces defects into the tantala films. 

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3. Efficiency enhancement of ultrathin CIGS solar cells by optimal bandgap grading. Part II: finite-difference algorithm and double-layer antireflection coatings

   https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.474920  

   Ahmad, Faiz; Civiletti, Benjamin_J; Monk, Peter_B; Lakhtakia, Akhlesh (November 2022, Applied Optics)

   In Part I [Appl. Opt.58,6067(2019)APOPAI003-693510.1364/AO.58.006067], we used a coupled optoelectronic model to optimize a thin-film ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}}_{1-<\#comment/>\mathrm{\xi <\#comment/>}}{\mathrm{G}\mathrm{a}}_{\mathrm{\xi <\#comment/>}}{\mathrm{S}\mathrm{e}}_2$(CIGS) solar cell with a graded-bandgap photon-absorbing layer and a periodically corrugated backreflector. The increase in efficiency due to the periodic corrugation was found to be tiny and that, too, only for very thin CIGS layers. Also, it was predicted that linear bandgap-grading enhances the efficiency of the CIGS solar cells. However, a significant improvement in solar cell efficiency was found using a nonlinearly (sinusoidally) graded-bandgap CIGS photon-absorbing layer. The optoelectronic model comprised two submodels: optical and electrical. The electrical submodel applied the hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) scheme directly to equations for the drift and diffusion of charge carriers. As our HDG scheme sometimes fails due to negative carrier densities arising during the solution process, we devised a new, to the best of our knowledge, computational scheme using the finite-difference method, which also reduces the overall computational cost of optimization. An unfortunate normalization error in the electrical submodel in Part I came to light. This normalization error did not change the overall conclusions reported in Part I; however, some specifics did change. The new algorithm for the electrical submodel is reported here along with updated numerical results. We re-optimized the solar cells containing a CIGS photon-absorbing layer with either (i) a homogeneous bandgap, (ii) a linearly graded bandgap, or (iii) a nonlinearly graded bandgap. Considering the meager increase in efficiency with the periodic corrugation and additional complexity in the fabrication process, we opted for a flat backreflector. The new algorithm is significantly faster than the previous algorithm. Our new results confirm efficiency enhancement of 84% (resp. 63%) when the thickness of the CIGS layer is 600 nm (resp. 2200 nm), similarly to Part I. A hundredfold concentration of sunlight can increase the efficiency by an additional 27%. Finally, the currently used 110-nm-thick layer of ${\mathrm{M}\mathrm{g}\mathrm{F}}_2$performs almost as well as optimal single- and double-layer antireflection coatings. 

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4. Analysis identifying minimal governing parameters for clinically accurate in silico fractional flow reserve

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fmedt.2022.1034801  

   Tanade, Cyrus; Chen, S James; Leopold, Jane A; Randles, Amanda (December 2022, Frontiers in Medical Technology)

   BackgroundPersonalized hemodynamic models can accurately compute fractional flow reserve (FFR) from coronary angiograms and clinical measurements (FFR ${}_{\mathrm{baseline}}$), but obtaining patient-specific data could be challenging and sometimes not feasible. Understanding which measurements need to be patient-tuned vs. patient-generalized would inform models with minimal inputs that could expedite data collection and simulation pipelines. AimsTo determine the minimum set of patient-specific inputs to compute FFR using invasive measurement of FFR (FFR ${}_{\mathrm{invasive}}$) as gold standard. Materials and MethodsPersonalized coronary geometries ( $N=50$) were derived from patient coronary angiograms. A computational fluid dynamics framework, FFR ${}_{\mathrm{baseline}}$, was parameterized with patient-specific inputs: coronary geometry, stenosis geometry, mean arterial pressure, cardiac output, heart rate, hematocrit, and distal pressure location. FFR ${}_{\mathrm{baseline}}$was validated against FFR ${}_{\mathrm{invasive}}$and used as the baseline to elucidate the impact of uncertainty on personalized inputs through global uncertainty analysis. FFR ${}_{\mathrm{streamlined}}$was created by only incorporating the most sensitive inputs and FFR ${}_{\text{semi-streamlined}}$additionally included patient-specific distal location. ResultsFFR ${}_{\mathrm{baseline}}$was validated against FFR ${}_{\mathrm{invasive}}$via correlation ( $r=0.714$, $p<0.001$), agreement (mean difference: $0.01\pm 0.09$), and diagnostic performance (sensitivity: 89.5%, specificity: 93.6%, PPV: 89.5%, NPV: 93.6%, AUC: 0.95). FFR ${}_{\text{semi-streamlined}}$provided identical diagnostic performance with FFR ${}_{\mathrm{baseline}}$. Compared to FFR ${}_{\mathrm{baseline}}$vs. FFR ${}_{\mathrm{invasive}}$, FFR ${}_{\mathrm{streamlined}}$vs. FFR ${}_{\mathrm{invasive}}$had decreased correlation ( $r=0.64$, $p<0.001$), improved agreement (mean difference: $0.01\pm 0.08$), and comparable diagnostic performance (sensitivity: 79.0%, specificity: 90.3%, PPV: 83.3%, NPV: 87.5%, AUC: 0.90). ConclusionStreamlined models could match the diagnostic performance of the baseline with a full gamut of patient-specific measurements. Capturing coronary hemodynamics depended most on accurate geometry reconstruction and cardiac output measurement. 

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5. Search for charmed baryons in the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\eta$ system and measurement of the branching fractions of ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2880{)}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2940{)}^{+}$ decaying to ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\eta$ and $p{D}^0$ relative to ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c\left(2455\right)\pi$

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.110.032021  

   Li, S X; Shen, C P; Adachi, I; Ahn, J K; Aihara, H; Asner, D M; Atmacan, H; Aushev, T; Ayad, R; Banerjee, Sw; et al (August 2024, Physical Review D)

   We search for excited charmed baryons in the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\eta$system using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $980{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. The data were collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^{+}{e}^{-}$asymmetric-energy collider. No significant signals are found in the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\eta$mass spectrum, including the known ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2880{)}^{+}$and ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2940{)}^{+}$. Clear ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2880{)}^{+}$and ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2940{)}^{+}$signals are observed in the $p{D}^0$mass spectrum. We set upper limits at 90% credibility level on ratios of branching fractions of ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2880{)}^{+}$and ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2940{)}^{+}$decaying to ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\eta$relative to ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c\left(2455\right)\pi$of $<0.13$for the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2880{)}^{+}$and $<1.11$for the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2940{)}^{+}$. We measure ratios of branching fractions of ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2880{)}^{+}$and ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2940{)}^{+}$decaying to $p{D}^0$relative to ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c\left(2455\right)\pi$of $0.75\pm 0.03\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)\pm 0.07\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)$for the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2880{)}^{+}$and $3.59\pm 0.21\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)\pm 0.56\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)$for the ${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c(2940{)}^{+}$. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

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