Girijavallabhan, C P; Radhakrishnan, P; V P N Nampoori; Nibu, A George; George, A K(Applied Physics B Lasers and Optics, July 18, 2001)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
In this paper, we describe the use of an open cell
photoacoustic configuration for the evaluation of the thermal
effusivity of liquid crystals. The feasibility, precision and reliability
of the method are initially established by measuring
the thermal effusivities of water and glycerol, for which the
effusivity values are known accurately. In order to demonstrate
the use of the present method in the thermal characterization
of liquid crystals, we have measured the thermal
effusivity values in various mesophases of 4-cyano-4 -
octyloxybiphenyl (8OCB) and 4-cyano-4 -heptyloxybiphenyl
(7OCB) liquid crystals using a variable temperature open
photoacoustic cell. A comparison of the measured values for
the two liquid crystals shows that the thermal effusivities of
7OCB in the nematic and isotropic phases are slightly less
than those of 8OCB in the corresponding phases
Girijavallabhan, C P; Radhakrishnan, P; V P N Nampoori; Nibu, A George; George, A K(Journal of Physics D : Applied Physics, October 13, 2000)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
We report on a laser induced photoacoustic study of the nematic-to-isotropic
transition in certain commercial nematic liquid crystal mixtures, namely BL001, BL002,
BL032 and BL035. A simple analysis of the experimental data using the
Rosencwaig–Gersho theory shows that the heat capacities of all these compounds exhibit a
sharp peak as the temperature of the sample is varied across the transition region. Also,
substantial differences in the photoacoustic signal amplitudes in nematic and isotropic phases
have been noticed for all the mixtures. The increased light scattering property of the nematic
phase may be the reason for the enhanced photoacoustic signal amplitude in this phase.
Kumar, G A; Thomas, J; George, N; Nampoori, V P N; Radhakrishnan, P; Vallabhan, C P G(Society of Glass Technology, 2000)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
Optical absorption and emission spectral studies of free and metal naphthalocyanine doped borate glass matrix are reported for the first time. Absorption spectra recorded in the UV- VIS-NIR region show the characteristic absorption bands, namely, the B-band and Q-band of the naphthalocyanine (Nc) molecule. Some of the important spectral parameters, namely, the optical absorption coefficient (α), molar extinction coefficient (ε) and absorption cross section (σa) of the principal absorption transitions are determined. Optical band gap (Eg) of the materials evaluated from the functional dependence of absorption coefficient on photon energy lies in the range 1.6 eV≤Eg≤2.1 eV. All fluorescence spectra except that of EuNc consist of an intense band in the 765 nm region corresponding to the excitation of Q-band. In EuNc the maximum fluorescence intensity band is observed at 824 nm. The intensity of the principal fluorescence band is maximum in ZnNc, whereas it is minimum in H2Nc. Radiative parameters of the principal fluorescence transitions corresponding to the Q-band excitation are also reported for the naphthalocyanine and phthalocyanine based matrices.
Thomas, J; Kumar, G A; Unnikrishnan, N V; Nampoori, V P N; Vallabhan, C P G(Elsevier, 2000)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
Optical absorption and emission spectral studies of various phthalocyanine (Pc) molecules in PVA matrix have been reported for the first time. The recorded spectra are analyzed to get the important spectral parameters, such as optical absorption cross-section (σa), emission cross-section (σe), oscillator strength (f), fluorescence bandwidth (Δλ), emission wavelength (λ), radiative decay time (τ) and optical gain (G). Analysis shows that the emission cross-section and optical gain are maximum in the NdHPc2-doped PVA matrix. However, a comparison of the calculated emission parameters with that of borate glass matrix show that they are many times smaller in the present matrix.
Thomas Lee, S; Nibu A, George; Sureshkumar, P; Radhakrishnan, P; Vallabhan, C P G; Nampoori, V P N(Optical Society of America, October 15, 2001)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
We propose and demonstrate the possibility of using a permanently microbent bare optical fiber for detecting
chemical species. Two detection schemes, viz., a bright-field detection scheme (for the core modes), and a
dark-field detection scheme (for the cladding modes) have been employed to produce a fiber-optic sensor. The
sensor described here is sensitive enough to detect concentrations as low as nanomoles per liter of a chemical
species, with a dynamic range of more than 6 orders of magnitude.
Nibu A, George; Vallabhan, C P G; Nampoori, V P N; George, A K; Radhakrishnan, P(Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 2001)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
We report the use of an open photoacoustic cell configuration
for the evaluation of thermal effusivity of liquid crystals. Initially, the
method is calibrated using water and glycerol as transparent liquid
samples, and the role of thermal conductivity of these liquids on the
photoacoustic signal amplitude is discussed. To demonstrate the application
of the present method for the evaluation of thermal effusivity of
liquid crystals, we have used certain multicomponent nematic liquid crystal
mixtures, namely BL001, BL002, BL032, and BL035. Each of these
liquid crystal mixtures contains four to nine components and are primarily
based on the cyanobiphenyl structure. The measured values of thermal
effusivity of BL001 and BL002 were found to be almost the same, but
differ from those of BL032 and BL035, which implies a difference in
composition of the latter two from the former two mixtures.
Kumar, G A; Thomas, J; George, N; Kumar, B A; Radhakrishnan, P; Nampoori, V P N; Vallabhan, C P G(Society of Glass Technology, 2000)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
Optical absorption studies of free base and rare earth incorporated phthalocyanine doped borate glass matrix are reported for the first lime. The absorption spectra recorded in the UV- VIS region show two well defined absorption bands of phthalocyanine (Pc) molecule, namely the Soret band (B) and the Q band. The Q band always shows its characteristic splitting in all the doped glass matrices and the intensities of these components are found to vary from one Pc to another. Some of the important optical parameters, namely optical absorption coefficient (a), molar extinction coefficient (ε), absorption cross section (σa), oscillator strength (f), electric dipole strength (q2), absorption half bandwidth (Δλ) of the principal optical transitions have also been evaluated. Moreover, the spectral dependence of refractive index (n) and thereby the optical dielectric constant (ε) on wavelength yielded values of carrier concentration to effective mass ratio (N/m*) of the phthalocyanine molecule in the present glassy systems. Optical band gap (Eg) and width of the band tail (Et) are computed and their variations among the prepared samples are also discussed.
Bindhu, C V; Harilal, S S; Nampoori, V P N; Vallabhan, C P G(Springer-Verlag, 2000)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
Optical limiting and thermal lensing studies are
carried out in C70–toluene solutions. The measurements are
performed using 9-ns pulses generated from a frequencydoubled
Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm. Optical limiting studies in
fullerene molecules lead to the conclusion that reverse saturable
absorption is the major mechanism for limiting. Analysis
of thermal lensing measurements showed a quadratic
dependence of thermal lens signal on incident laser energy,
which also supports the view that optical limiting in C70 arises
due to sequential two-photon absorption via excited triplet
state (reverse saturable absorption).
Thomas Lee, S; Jose, Gin; Nampoori, V P N; Vallabhan, C P G; Unnikrishnan, N V; Radhakrishnan, P(IOP Publishing, 2001)
[+]
[-]
Abstract:
The fabrication and characterization of a fibre optic pH sensor based on
evanescent wave absorption is presented. The unclad portion of a
multi-mode optical fibre is coated with a pH sensitive dye, which is
immobilized by the sol–gel route. The sensitivity of the device has been
found to increase when multiple sol–gel coatings are used as the sensing
region. The dynamic range and the temporal response of the sensor are
investigated for two different dyes, namely bromocresol purple and
bromocresol green. The performance of the device is evaluated in terms of
the results obtained during actual measurements.