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Continuous-wave linear-absorption spectroscopy based on THz radiation generated by solid-state photomixers has been applied to the investigation of the dynamics of biomolecules in polyethylene matrices and to line shape studies of HF for diagnostics of semiconductor etching plasmas. The THz spectra of biotin and myoglobin have been obtained using a variable-temperature, cryogenic sampling system. The spectrum of biotin displays a small number of discrete absorptions over the temperature range from 4.2 K to room temperature while the spectrum of myoglobin has no obvious resonance structure at the >10% fractional absorption level. Spectral predictions from the lowest energy ab initio conformations of biotin are in poor agreement with experiment, suggesting the need to include condensed-phase environmental interactions for qualitative predictions of the THz spectrum. Vibrational anharmonicity is used to model the line shapes that result from drastic changes in vibrational sequence level populations of biotin over this temperature range. Anharmonicity factors (χ_eω_e/ω_e) at the levels of 0.1% to 0.8% are obtained from non-linear least squares fits of the observed resonances and illustrate their important for refining model predictions. Application of the photomixer system to line shape studies in etching plasmas has been used to study the formation efficiency and translational temperature of HF at 1.2 THz under different operating conditions. These results will aid in understanding the chemistry of industry-standard fluorocarbon and oxygenated fluorocarbon etching plasmas.

The energy levels and far-infrared spectra of two electrons confined in quantum dots and quantum rings under a magnetic field have been investigated. The size and shape effects of quantum rings on the levels and the spectra are clearly revealed. It is found that the spin oscillation of two electrons in a quantum ring with a magnetic field is caused by the Coulomb interaction. The transitions of two-electron far-infrared spectra are clearly shown from quantum dots to quantum rings. The influence of electron–electron interaction on the energy levels and far-infrared spectra has been discussed. The quantum size effects predict a possibility to observe phenomena related to electron-electron interaction in quantum rings.

We present far-infrared cyclotron resonance measurements on a strongly coupled symmetric GaAs/GaAlAs double quantum well sample. Cyclotron resonance is measured at several discrete wavelengths and tilt angles of the sample with respect to the magnetic field. The width and strength of the resonance peaks depend strongly on the tilt angle and the laser wavelength, demonstrating the complexity of this system.

We describe the design of the Field-Imaging Far-Infrared Line Spectrometer (FIFI-LS), operated as a Facility-Class instrument on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). FIFI-LS is an imaging spectrometer for medium resolution spectroscopy. Since being commissioned in 2014, it has performed over 50 SOFIA commissioning and science flights. After operating as a principal investigator instrument in 2014 and early 2015, it was accepted as a Facility Science Instrument in 2015. In addition to the description of the design, we report on the in-flight performance and the concept of operation. We also provide an overview of the science opportunities with FIFI-LS and describe how FIFI-LS observations complement and complete observations with the PACS instrument on the Herschel observatory.

The field-imaging far-infrared line spectrometer (FIFI-LS) is a science instrument for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). FIFI-LS allows simultaneous observations in two spectral channels. The “blue” channel is sensitive from 51$\mu$m to 125$\mu$m and the “red” channel from 115$\mu$m to 203$\mu$m. The instantaneous spectral coverage is 1000–3000km/s in the blue and 800–2500km/s in the red channel with a spectral resolution between 150km/s and 600km/s. Each spectral channel observes a field of five by five spatial pixels on the sky. The pixel size in the blue channel is 6.14 by 6.25 square arc seconds and it is 12.2 by 12.5 square arc seconds in the red channel. FIFI-LS has been operating on SOFIA since 2014. It is available to the astronomical community as a facility science instrument. We present the results of the spectral and spatial characterization of the instrument based on laboratory measurements. This includes the measured spectral resolution and examples of the line spread function in the spectral domain. In the spatial domain, a model of the instrument’s point spread function (PSF) and the description of a second pass ghost are presented. We also provide an overview of the procedures used to measure the instrument’s field of view geometry and spectral calibration. The spectral calibration yields an accuracy of 15–60km/s depending on wavelength.

High-resolution Airborne Wide-band Camera (HAWC$+$) is the facility far-infrared imager and polarimeter for SOFIA, NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. It is designed to cover the portion of the infrared spectrum that is completely inaccessible to ground-based observatories and which is essential for studies of astronomical sources with temperatures between tens and hundreds of degrees Kelvin. Its ability to make polarimetric measurements of aligned dust grains provides a unique new capability for studying interstellar magnetic fields. HAWC$+$ began commissioning flights in April 2016 and was accepted as a facility instrument in early 2018. In this paper, we describe the instrument, its operational procedures, and its performance on the observatory.

We have developed a balloon-borne far-infrared interferometer, the Far-infrared Interferometric Telescope Experiment (FITE). The final goal of spatial resolution was one arcsec at 100$\mu$m. As a first step, we aimed to achieve a spatial resolution of five arcsecs at 155$\mu$m with a 6-m baseline. FITE is a two-beam interferometer like Michelson’s stellar interferometer. Positions and attitudes of all mirrors required to have their alignment checked and possibly adjusted before launch and were checked during observation. We had to satisfy three requirements: the coincidence of the phases of each beam (wavefront error), image quality of the two beams at the (common) focus, and no optical path difference between the two beams for celestial objects. In order to achieve the former two requirements, we developed an interferometer adjustment system that used a newly-developed interferometer measurement instrument. This instrument adopted a Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor to measure wavefront errors of the two off-axis parabolic mirrors, simultaneously. With this system, the adjustment of the FITE interferometer was carried out at the Alice Springs balloon base in Australia as the JAXA’s Australia balloon experiment campaign of 2018. On-site adjustment was successful; wavefront errors of the two off-axis parabolic mirrors were 1.78$\mu$m and 4.99$\mu$m (peak-to-valley), and the Hartmann constant was 13 arcsecs. As for the optical path difference, we achieved the requirement by step-wise displacement of a folding plane mirror. Results satisfied the requirements for an interferometer designed for a wavelength of 155$\mu$m. Improvement of spatial resolution at far-infrared wavelengths is undoubtedly important for research on protoplanetary disks, circumstellar dust shells of late-type stars, and star-forming galaxies. The method we have developed is also useful for future space interferometers.

Vascular complications are responsible for most of the morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. Effective strategies to improve circulation appear to be another important issue in addition to the interventions of blood glucose control. Previous studies have shown that the biological effects on humans after using the materials containing ceramic particles emits far infrared radiation (FIR). The present study is to investigate the warming effect of the fabrics containing specified metals in diabetic patients. A total of 28 diabetic patients were blinded and randomly assigned to treatment group ($N=18$) and control group ($N=10$), respectively. The subjects of treatment group were ministered with the blankets with fibers containing the specified metals, while the subjects of control group were provided with blankets of ordinary material. The skin temperature and microcirculatory perfusion were monitored before and after 20-min use of the blankets at shoulder and bilateral calves. After warming with blankets, the treatment group revealed a higher increased ratio of skin perfusion than control ($p<0.05$), while there was no prominent variation on the wavelet spectrum of the perfusion signal. Although it is already a known fact that passive FIR warming has the advantages of safety and convenience, our results suggest that warming by wearing the textiles containing the specified metals with high FIR emissivity is a solution for daily skin care of diabetic patients.

Continuous-wave linear-absorption spectroscopy based on THz radiation generated by solid-state photomixers has been applied to the investigation of the dynamics of biomolecules in polyethylene matrices and to line shape studies of HF for diagnostics of semiconductor etching plasmas. The THz spectra of biotin and myoglobin have been obtained using a variable-temperature, cryogenic sampling system. The spectrum of biotin displays a small number of discrete absorptions over the temperature range from 4.2 K to room temperature while the spectrum of myoglobin has no obvious resonance structure at the >10% fractional absorption level. Spectral predictions from the lowest energy ab initio conformations of biotin are in poor agreement with experiment, suggesting the need to include condensed-phase environmental interactions for qualitative predictions of the THz spectrum. Vibrational anharmonicity is used to model the line shapes that result from drastic changes in vibrational sequence level populations of biotin over this temperature range. Anharmonicity factors (χ_eω_e/ω_e) at the levels of 0.1 % to 0.8 % are obtained from non-linear least squares fits of the observed resonances and illustrate their important for refining model predictions. Application of the photomixer system to line shape studies in etching plasmas has been used to study the formation efficiency and translational temperature of HF at 1.2 THz under different operating conditions. These results will aid in understanding the chemistry of industry-standard fluorocarbon and oxygenated fluorocarbon etching plasmas.