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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

High-performance EUV/soft X-ray ellipsometry system using multilayer mirrors.

A high-performance EUV/soft X-ray ellipsometry system using multilayer mirrors has been developed. A couple of multilayer mirrors were used for the polarizer, and two multilayer mirrors were used for the rotating analyser. The multilayer mirrors were optimized to obtain a medium extinction of about 2000. An extinction ratio of the polarizer up to 10(4) can be achieved by using two multilayer mirrors, and the calculated reflectivity was more than 35%. The calculated error of the optical elements reveals that the error of the polarizer and misalignment optical parts is mainly of the first order, and that of the analyser is of the second order.

Journal Article↗

Seeing your own touched hands in a mirror modulates cross-modal interactions.

In mirror reflections, visual stimuli in near peripersonal space (e.g., an object in the hand) can project the retinal image of far, extrapersonal stimuli "beyond" the mirror. We studied the interaction of such visual reflections with tactile stimuli in a cross-modal congruency task. We found that visual distractors produce stronger interference on tactile judgments when placed close to the stimulated hand, but observed indirectly as distant mirror reflections, than when directly observed in equivalently distant far space, even when in contact with a dummy hand or someone else's hand in the far location. The stronger visual-tactile interference for the mirror condition implies that near stimuli seen as distant reflections in a mirror view of one's own hands can activate neural networks coding peripersonal space, because these visual stimuli are coded as having a true source near to the body.

Adult↗

Mirror movements of the left arm following peripheral damage to the preferred right arm.

Cerebral damage which renders the preferred arm useless may lead patients to use their non-preferred arm for everyday tasks including writing. In these circumstances, mirror writing and other mirror movements may occur. The present study on 10 formerly right-handed patients was carried out to determine whether similar phenomena occurred when serious damage to the right arm itself had occurred, cerebral function remaining intact or any damage being coincidental and non-focal. The patients were asked to describe the events that had occurred when they started using their left hand, to carry out a number of writing tests, and to undertake two graphic tasks to assess directional motor preferences. Seven patients had executed mirror reversal of letters, and eight had experienced mirror phenomena when carrying out everyday tasks with their left hand; brief case histories are cited. No patient exhibited mirror writing on formal testing, and there was no evidence of alteration in the expected preference of direction in which graphic tasks were undertaken. The practical and theoretical implications of these observations are discussed.

Adult↗

Central motor pathways in patients with mirror movements.

Central motor pathways were investigated in three patients with congenital mirror movements using magnetic motor cortex stimulation. Response thresholds, amplitudes and latencies were normal. The projection of the corticomotoneuronal pathways was assessed by placing the coil over the vertex and comparing the size of responses in the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscles evoked by anticlockwise and clockwise [corrected] coil currents. In normal subjects, right FDI responses are larger with anticlockwise currents than with clockwise [corrected] currents at the same stimulation strength and vice versa. In two out of three patients with congenital mirror movements, this sensitivity of response amplitude to coil current direction was reversed. The third patient with congenital mirror movements and a fourth patient with acquired mirror movements had responses which were normally sensitive to current direction. These findings support the hypothesis that some cases of congenital mirror movements may be due to abnormal projection of corticomotoneuronal pathways.

Adult↗

Role of the ipsilateral motor cortex in mirror movements.

The mechanism of mirror movements in two patients was investigated; one with congenital mirror movement, the other with schizencephaly. Transcranial magnetic stimulation on one side elicited motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in their thenar muscles on both sides with almost the same latencies, minimal thresholds, and cortical topographies. During voluntary contraction of the thenar muscle on one side, contralateral transcranial magnetic stimulation induced a silent period not only on the voluntary contraction side but on the mirror movement side and of the same duration. By contrast, ipsilateral transcranial magnetic stimulation elicited MEPs without silent periods in both muscles. With intended unilateral finger movements, an H2(15)O-PET activation study showed that the regional cerebral blood flow increased predominantly in the contralateral sensorimotor cortex, as seen in normal subjects, although mirror movements occurred. It is considered that the ipsilateral motor cortex plays a major part in the generation of mirror movements, which may be induced through the ipsilateral uncrossed corticospinal tract.

Adolescent↗

The mirror-neuron system.

A category of stimuli of great importance for primates, humans in particular, is that formed by actions done by other individuals. If we want to survive, we must understand the actions of others. Furthermore, without action understanding, social organization is impossible. In the case of humans, there is another faculty that depends on the observation of others' actions: imitation learning. Unlike most species, we are able to learn by imitation, and this faculty is at the basis of human culture. In this review we present data on a neurophysiological mechanism--the mirror-neuron mechanism--that appears to play a fundamental role in both action understanding and imitation. We describe first the functional properties of mirror neurons in monkeys. We review next the characteristics of the mirror-neuron system in humans. We stress, in particular, those properties specific to the human mirror-neuron system that might explain the human capacity to learn by imitation. We conclude by discussing the relationship between the mirror-neuron system and language.

Animals↗

Discrimination of mirror-image stimuli after lesions of the visual system in pigeons.

Nine pigeons were trained to perform a simultaneous discrimination task with stimuli that were lateral mirror images, vertical mirror images and nonmirror images. All subjects acquired the discriminations rapidly and at approximately equal rates. Following training, bilateral stereotaxic lesions were made in either the visual wulst or ectostriatum, which are telencephalic components of the thalamofugal and tectofugal visual pathways, respectively. After surgery both groups were retrained to their preoperative performance levels or for a maximum of 140 sessions. The performance of the four subjects that received visual wulst lesions was only mildly and transiently impaired and was equally disrupted on each pattern discrimination. The performance of the five subjects that received ectostriatal lesions, however, was markedly and persistently impaired on all pattern discriminations. The impairment was most severe and sustained on the lateral mirror-image discrimination problem in all subjects. Only three of the five subjects with ectostriatal lesions reached their preoperative performance levels on the lateral mirror-image problem, whereas all subjects returned to their preoperative performance levels on the other problems. Possible reasons for this selective deficit in lateral mirror-image pattern discrimination are discussed in relation to interhemispheric pathways and the relative importance of the thalamofugal and tectofugal visual pathways in birds and in mammals.

Animals↗

mirror, a Drosophila homeobox gene in the Iroquois complex, is required for sensory organ and alula formation.

The Drosophila notum, the dorsal body wall of the thorax, is subdivided genetically into longitudinal domains (Calleja, M., Moreno, E., Pelaz, S. and Morata, G. (1996) Science 274, 252-255). Two homeobox genes clustered in the iroquois complex, araucan and caupolican, regulate proneural genes and are required for development of sensory bristles in the lateral notum (Gomez-Skarmeta, J. L., del Corral, R. D., de la Calle-Mustienes, E., Ferres-Marco, D. and Modolell, J. (1996) Cell 85, 95-105). An iroquois-related homeobox gene, mirror, was recently isolated and is localized close to the iroquois complex region (McNeil, H., Yang, C.-H., Brodsky, M., Ungos, J. and Simon, M. A. (1997) Genes and Development 11, 1073-1082; this study). We show that mirror is required for the formation of the alula and a subset of sensory bristles in the lateral domain of the notum. Genetic analysis suggests that mirror and the other iroquois genes interact to form the alula as well as the sensory organs. Based on similarities between mirror and the iroquois genes in their genetic map positions, expression, protein structure and function, mirror is considered a new member of the iroquois complex and is involved in prepatterning sensory precursor cells in the lateral notum.

Animals↗

Preparation and characterization of a reference aluminum mirror.

The preparation and characterization of a reference mirror of protected aluminum (Al) is reported. The mirror is made of 50-60-nm-thick Al film, coated with several-nanometer-thick A12O5 and 30-nm-thick film of AIN. The mirror characterization is based on reliable and precise reflectance measurements relative to a silicon- (Si-) wafer reference mirror. The simple phenomenological Drude-Lorentz model is applied for modeling the dispersion relations n(lambda) and k(lambda) of the Al film. The reflection of the protected Al mirror is determined in the 400-800-nm spectral range with accuracy better than 0.01 for p- and s-polarized light at angles of incidence from 0 degrees to 70 degrees. The accuracy has been confirmed with an evaporated thin silver film with known n(lambda), k(lambda), and d derived by photometric measurements at normal light incidence.

Journal Article↗

Fabrication and alignment issues for segmented mirror telescopes.

There is a great demand for new telescopes that use larger primary mirrors to collect more light. Because of the difficulty in the fabrication of mirrors larger than 8 m as a single piece, they must be made with numerous smaller segments. The segments must fit together to create the effect of a single mirror, which presents unique challenges for fabrication and testing that are absent for monolithic optics. This is especially true for the case of a highly aspheric mirror required to make a short two-mirror telescope. We develop the relationship between optical performance of the telescope and errors in the manufacture and operation of the individual segments.

Journal Article↗

Efficient testing of segmented aspherical mirrors by use of reference plate and computer-generated holograms. I. Theory and system optimization.

Telescopes with large aspherical primary mirrors collect more light and are therefore sought after by astronomers. Instead of large mirrors as a single piece, they can be made by use of numerous smaller segments. Because the segments must fit together to create the effect of a single mirror, segmented optics present unique challenges to fabrication and testing that are absent for monolithic optics. We have developed a new method for measuring large quantities of segments accurately, quickly, and economically using an interferometric test plate and computer-generated hologram (CGH). In this test, the aspheric mirror segments are interferometrically measured by use of a test plate with a best-fit spherical surface. The aspherical departure is accommodated with a small CGH that is imaged onto the test plates. The radius of curvature is tightly controlled by maintaining the gap between the test plate and the segment. We present a summary of the test and give the basic design tradeoffs for using a single system to measure all of the segments of a large aspheric mirror.

Journal Article↗

Effects of substrate and deposition method onto the mirror scattering.

The effect of surface roughness onto the mirror scattering has been studied. Five kinds of substrates with different surface roughness were fabricated. On those substrates, dielectric multilayer coating for high reflectivity was deposited by ion-beam sputtering (IBS) and by electron-beam (EB) evaporation. Total integrated scattering (TIS) measurement setup was built for the evaluation of deposited samples. Most of the IBS mirrors showed lower scattering than the EB mirrors, which were deposited on the similar substrates in surface roughness. The ratio of substrate TIS to mirror TIS was defined for evaluation. It increased abruptly at approximately 2A in surface roughness, which indicated that to make low-loss mirrors, the substrate roughness should be less than 2A in rms.

Journal Article↗

Focusing characteristics of a planar solid-immersion mirror.

The focusing characteristics of a planar waveguide solid-immersion mirror with parabolic design have been investigated. The solid-immersion mirror is integrated into an optical waveguide, and light focusing is achieved with a parabolic mirror parallel to the waveguide plane and waveguide mode confinement normal to the waveguide plane. Optical-quality tantala silica planar waveguides can be obtained by evaporation. The parabolic sidewall reflects over 50% of the incident waveguide mode and generates a diffraction-limited focus. The measured spot size for the solid-immersion mirror described here is less than one third of the wavelength. Polarization analysis shows that the electric field near the focal region has components parallel and normal to the polarization state of the incident beam. The planar solid-immersion mirror is essentially free of chromatic aberration, and the alignment of the illumination beam is within a fraction of degrees.

Journal Article↗

Ferrofluidic adaptive mirrors.

A magnetic liquid mirror based on ferrofluids was demonstrated. Magnetic liquid mirrors represent a major departure from solid mirror technology. They present both advantages and disadvantages with respect to established technologies. Stroke (from a fraction of a wave to several hundreds of micrometers), cost (a few dollars per actuator), and scalability (hundreds of thousands of actuators) are the main advantages. Very large mirrors having diameters of the order of a meter should be feasible. There are a few disadvantages. The most important disadvantage is the time response, which is of the order of a few milliseconds. Although this time response could be further decreased with additional technical developments, it is unlikely to match the speed of solid mirrors. The technology is still in its infancy, and considerable work must still be done. However, the advantages are such that the technology is worth pursuing.

Journal Article↗

Mirror magneto-optical trap using circularly polarized light-emitting optical fibers.

A fiber-optic mirror magneto-optical trap (mirror-MOT) that uses a pair of circularly polarized light-emitting optical fibers as an optical access is demonstrated. The fiber is fabricated so that a length of birefringence fiber, designed to be a quarter wave retarder at both wavelengths of 780 and 852 nm, is attached directly onto a polarization-maintaining normal fiber. The polarization states of light emitted from the fibers are sufficiently circular for the operation of a mirror-MOT with 87Rb atoms. The mirror-MOT is able to capture approximately the same number of atoms obtainable with a conventional mirror-MOT. The technique makes it possible to fabricate a compact MOT apparatus by introducing the optical fibers directly into an ultrahigh-vacuum chamber.

Journal Article↗

Closed-loop stable control of two deformable mirrors for compensation of amplitude and phase fluctuations.

A method for closed-loop stable control of two deformable mirrors for compensation of both amplitude and phase fluctuations is described. A generic implementation is described as well as an implementation that integrates the concept behind a point diffraction interferometer with a two-deformable-mirror system. The relationship of the closed-loop control algorithm to previously developed open-loop iterative algorithms is described. Simulation results are presented that indicate that the system is stable and provides superior performance over that of a single-deformable-mirror system. The impact of finite servo bandwidth on control of two deformable mirrors is evaluated by means of wave optical simulation, and it is found that to achieve a performance improvement attributable to compensation of amplitude fluctuations, the bandwidth of the two-deformable-mirror system must be at least twice the Greenwood frequency.

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Single-viewpoint, catadioptric cone mirror omnidirectional imaging theory and analysis.

A family of catadioptric imaging systems has been developed that can achieve omnidirectional viewing with a single planar imager while still being able to recover perspective images, provided that they satisfy the single-viewpoint (SVP) constraint. It has been shown that the only mirror shapes that can have SVP when paired with a sole focusing planar imager camera are the surfaces of revolution of conic section curves. However, the special case of such a surface, the cone-shaped mirror itself, has not been deemed a viable SVP mirror shape. We present a comprehensive imaging theory of the cone mirror in its SVP configuration. We show that the SVP, cone mirror catadioptric system not only is practical but also has unique advantages for certain applications. The detailed theory explains why and how a practical SVP cone configuration can be set up, the merits and weaknesses of such systems, and how one can remedy the weaknesses to create a workable imaging system. We also derive the tolerance formula for estimating effects of alignment errors. A prototype has been constructed, and experimental results validate our theory.

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Analysis of a combined tip-tilt and deformable mirror.

A deformable mirror mounted on a two-axis tilt platform can provide wavefront compensation at a single location in an adaptive optics system, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of optical components in the system and in a simplification of the alignment. However, the moment of inertia of a deformable mirror is significantly different from that of the monolithic mirror commonly mounted on a tilt platform. We report on what are to our knowledge the first experimental results of mounting a microelectromechanical deformable mirror onto a fast steering platform and the first observation that at low operating frequencies high-order deformation of the deformable mirror membrane was not recorded.

Journal Article↗