We analyze, in three dimensions, the dispersion properties of dielectric slabs perforated with two-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) of square symmetry. The band diagrams are calculated for all -vectors in the first Brillouin zone, and not only along the characteristic high-symmetry directions. We have analyzed the equal-frequency contours of the first two bands, and we found that the square ...

The collimation of free-space light propagating in-plane with respect to the substrate is an important performance factor in optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). This is usually carried out by integrating micro lenses into the system, which increases the cost of fabrication/assembly in addition to limiting the wavelength working range of the system imposed by the dispersion characteri...

Tumours and other superficial targets are often treated with electron beams in radiotherapy. The build-up dose and the therapeutic range of electrons are controlled by selecting the electron energy and by using a water-equivalent bolus placed on the skin. Currently, the shaping of clinical electron beams is often done via low melting point alloy block inserts individually made for each patient....

Dosimetry in kilovoltage cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a challenge due to the limitation of physical measurements. To address this, we used a Monte Carlo (MC) method to estimate the CT dose index (CTDI) and the dose length product (DLP) for a commercial CBCT system. As Dixon and Boone showed that CTDI concept can be applicable to both CBCT and conventional CT, we evaluated weighted CT...

Fan-beam collimators are used in single photon emission computed tomography to improve the sensitivity for imaging of small organs. The disadvantage of fan-beam collimation is the truncation of projection data surrounding the organ of interest or, in those cases of imaging large patients, of the organ itself producing reconstruction artifacts. A spatially varying focal length fan-beam collimato...

For many industrial and scientific laser applications, such as materials processing, fiber coupling, beam collimation, and beam focusing, it is necessary to have a good laser beam quality. In general, propagating laser beams deviate from an ideal Gaussian intensity distribution. The degree of deviation can be conveniently quantified by a quality factor M (called the “M-squared” factor or the “t...

We describe commonly used strategies for the control of charged particle beams and the manipulation of their properties. Emphasis is placed on relativistic beams in linear accelerators and storage rings. After a brief review of linear optics, we discuss basic and advanced beam control techniques, such as transverse and longitudinal lattice diagnostics, matching, orbit correction and steering, b...

In this article we report on the use of degenerate-Raman-sideband cooling for the collimation of a continuous beam of cold cesium atoms in a fountain geometry. Thanks to this powerful cooling technique we have reduced the atomic beam transverse temperature from 60 mK to 1.6 mK in a few milliseconds. The longitudinal temperature of 80 mK is not modified. The flux density, measured after a parabo...