We propose and experimentally demonstrate fiber-to-chip grating couplers with aligned silicon nitride (Si(3)N(4)) and silicon (Si) grating teeth for wide bandwidths and high coupling efficiencies without the use of bottom reflectors. The measured 1-dB bandwidth is a record 80 nm, and the measured peak coupling efficiency is -1.3 dB, which is competitive with the best Si-only grating couplers. The grating couplers are integrated in a Si(3)N(4) on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) integrated optics platform with aligned waveguides in both the Si(3)N(4) and Si, and we demonstrate a 1 × 4 tunable multiplexer/demultiplexer using the Si(3)N(4)-on-SOI dual-level grating couplers and thermally-tuned Si microring resonators.
A model for the microwave emissions of multilayer dry snowpacks, based on dense media radiative transfer (DMRT) theory with the quasicrystalline approximation (QCA), provides more accurate results when compared to emissions determined by a homogeneous snowpack and other scattering models. The DMRT model accounts for adhesive aggregate effects, which leads to dense media Mie scattering by using a sticky particle model. With the multilayer model, we examined both the frequency and polarization dependence of brightness temperatures (Tb's) from representative snowpacks and compared them to results from a single-layer model and found that the multilayer model predicts higher polarization differences, twice as much, and weaker frequency dependence. We also studied the temporal evolution of Tb from multilayer snowpacks. The difference between Tb's at 18.7 and 36.5 GHz can be 5 K lower than the single-layer model prediction in this paper. By using the snowpack observations from the Cold Land Processes Field Experiment as input for both multiand single-layer models, it shows that the multilayer Tb's are in better agreement with the data than the single-layer model. With one set of physical parameters, the multilayer QCA/DMRT model matched all four channels of Tb observations simultaneously, whereas the single-layer model could only reproduce vertically polarized Tb's. Also, the polarization difference and frequency dependence were accurately matched by the multilayer model using the same set of physical parameters. Hence, algorithms for the retrieval of snowpack depth or water equivalent should be based on multilayer scattering models to achieve greater accuracy.Index Terms-Dense media, dense media radiative transfer (DMRT) theory, layered media, microwave remote sensing, snow.
Abstract-In this paper, we study the bistatic reflection and transmission properties of random rough surface with large slope and large height. Method of Moment (MOM) is used to solve the surface integral equations for 2D rough surface scattering problem. The modeled rough surfaces are similar to random rectangular grating, so that there are large slopes on the surface. The motivation of the study is to analyze scattering by sastrugi surface in Polar Regions. The ridges on the sastrugi surface have heights of about 20 cm. In microwave remote sensing of land at 5 GHz, 10 GHz, 19 GHz and 37 GHz, these heights are larger than wavelength. Next, we consider the scattering problem of the sastrugi rough surface over multilayered snow. The bistatic reflection and transmission coefficients from MOM solutions are used as the boundary conditions for multilayered radiative transfer equations. The radiative transfer equations are solved and the reflectivities are calculated. Numerical results are illustrated as a function of roughness and multi-layered parameters. We demonstrate that rough surface of sastugi, when interactions with layered media, causes increase in reflectivity and the decrease in emissivity. The increase of reflectivity can be attributed to the fact that rough surface with large slope facilitates large angle transmission. The large angle transmission results in increase of subsurface reflection and the possibility of total internal reflection in layered media below the rough surface.
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