Abstract: An optical component serves as a nonlinear photodetector for generating a nonlinear electrical signal. The component comprises a first electrically conductive layer, a second electrically conductive layer and an absorption layer. The absorption layer is arranged between the first and the second electrically conductive layer and has a layer thickness of at least 500 nm. The electrical signal is generated by the component by applying a voltage at the component and irradiating the component with electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range (?1) with a radiation intensity of less than 10 nW/mm2 and also irradiating the optical component with electromagnetic radiation in a second wavelength range (?2) that is different from the first wavelength range (?1) and a radiation intensity of less than 100 nW/mm2.

Abstract: A method detecting change of a physically measurable property of a sample due to an environmental effect, including (i) subjecting the sample to the environmental effect for an action time, the environmental effect acting on the sample with a known position-dependent intensity distribution based on a pattern function, (ii) subsequently detecting transmission, reflection, or scattering of analysis radiation by the sample as a function of position coordinates of the sample and wavelength of the analysis radiation, to determine a response function describing intensity of the transmitted, reflected, or scattered analysis radiation as a function of the position coordinates wavelength, (iii) determining correlation of the known position-dependent intensity distribution of the environmental effect, or of the pattern function on which it is based, with the response function by correlation analysis, this correlation being a measure of the change of the physically measurable property of the sample due to the environmen

Abstract: A method for positioning the shaft of a motor which can be subject to a rotation force in either direction of rotation by application of drive current of a respective polarity, in order to bring the shaft to a target angular position by the action of a digital control and a position sensor associated with the motor shaft for emitting a displacement step signal in response to each movement of the the shaft through an incremental angle constituting a given fraction of one cycle of shaft rotation, which includes giving the displacement step signal the form of a signal cycle of sinus-like waveform in response to each incremental angle of shaft movement, deriving from the displacement step signal a shaft movement signal having a value represented by the sum of a component proportional to the displacement step signal and a component proportional to the time derivative thereof, and, after the motor shaft has reached a defined angular speed and at the moment when the shaft position is spaced from the target position