Abstract: A variety of nanostructures are provided having a metal nanowire having a plurality of faces extending along a length of the nanowire, and a plurality of semiconductor nanorods forming two or more nanorod arrays, wherein each of the nanorod arrays is attached to a different surface of the nanowire. For example, in some embodiments, the nanostructure is a silver nanowire having a pentagonal cross section and five faces extending along the length of the nanowire, and metal oxide nanorods forming five nanorod arrays extending along each of the five faces of the silver nanowire. The nanostructures can demonstrate high temperature coefficients of resistance, and can be used in a variety of bolometric materials. In some embodiments, bolometric materials are provided including a plurality of the nanostructures deposited onto a surface of a substrate. Methods of making the nanostructures and bolometers are also provided.

Abstract: A variety of nanostructures are provided having a metal nanowire having a plurality of faces extending along a length of the nanowire, and a plurality of semiconductor nanorods forming two or more nanorod arrays, wherein each of the nanorod arrays is attached to a different surface of the nanowire. For example, in some embodiments, the nanostructure is a silver nanowire having a pentagonal cross section and five faces extending along the length of the nanowire, and metal oxide nanorods forming five nanorod arrays extending along each of the five faces of the silver nanowire. The nanostructures can demonstrate high temperature coefficients of resistance, and can be used in a variety of bolometric materials. In some embodiments, bolometric materials are provided including a plurality of the nanostructures deposited onto a surface of a substrate. Methods of making the nanostructures and bolometers are also provided.

Abstract: An all-optical modulator for modulating the output power of a high-power optical pump source is disclosed. More particularly, with the optical modulator of the invention, the output power of a CW fiber laser is modulated by a low-power laser, such as a diode laser. The modulator comprises two optical couplers which are preferably wavelength-selective and interconnected by a nonlinear single mode optical fiber with a high Raman gain. A laser system comprising a high-power pump laser, a fast signal laser with a suitable modulation depth and the optical modulator of the invention can advantageously employed in materials processing and graphics arts printing applications.

Abstract: An interferometric procedure, such as electronic speckle pattern interferometry, involves generating two signals representing the point-by-point variations in intensity of respective patterns of electromagnetic radiation resulting from the interference of first and second beams of such radiation derived from a coherent source, with at least the first beam from each pattern being scattered, before interference with its respective second beam, from a common object surface, and with a corresponding pair of the beams, one for each pattern, having a predetermined relative phase difference of other than a multiple of .pi.; and determining from the two signals values for a datum phase of the radiation at the object surface. Preferably, as a preliminary to this last determination. DC components are removed from the two signals. Conveniently, to simplify the determination, the phase difference is an odd multiple of .pi./4 or .pi./2.