WorldWideScience

Sample records for light optical tweezers

  1. Light distribution analysis of optical fibre probe-based near-field optical tweezers using FDTD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, B H; Yang, L J; Wang, Y [School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Heilongjiang, Harbin, 150001 (China)], E-mail: richelaw@163.com

    2009-09-01

    Optical fibre probe-based near-field optical tweezers overcomes the diffraction limit of conventional optical tweezers, utilizing strong mechanical forces and torque associated with highly enhanced electric fields to trap and manipulate nano-scale particles. Near-field evanescent wave generated at optical fibre probe decays rapidly with the distance that results a significant reduced trapping volume, thus it is necessary to analyze the near-field distribution of optical fibre probe. The finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is applied to characterize the near-field distribution of optical fibre probe. In terms of the distribution patterns, depolarization and polarization, the near-field distributions in longitudinal sections and cross-sections of tapered metal-coated optical fibre probe are calculated. The calculation results reveal that the incident polarized wave becomes depolarized after exiting from the nano-scale aperture of probe. The near-field distribution of the probe is unsymmetrical, and the near-field distribution in the cross-section vertical to the incident polarized wave is different from that in the cross-section parallel to the incident polarized wave. Moreover, the polarization of incident wave has a great impact on the light intensity distribution.

  2. Control and manipulation of cold atoms in optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muldoon, Cecilia; Brandt, Lukas; Dong Jian; Stuart, Dustin; Brainis, Edouard; Himsworth, Matthew; Kuhn, Axel

    2012-01-01

    Neutral atoms trapped by laser light are among the most promising candidates for storing and processing information in a quantum computer or simulator. The application certainly calls for a scalable and flexible scheme for addressing and manipulating the atoms. We have now made this a reality by implementing a fast and versatile method to dynamically control the position of neutral atoms trapped in optical tweezers. The tweezers result from a spatial light modulator (SLM) controlling and shaping a large number of optical dipole-force traps. Trapped atoms adapt to any change in the potential landscape, such that one can rearrange and randomly access individual sites within atom-trap arrays. (paper)

  3. Graded-index fiber tip optical tweezers: numerical simulation and trapping experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Yuan; Ye, Ai-Yan; Wu, Yu; Rao, Yun-Jiang; Yao, Yao; Xiao, Song

    2013-07-01

    Optical fiber tweezers based on a graded-index multimode fiber (GIMMF) tip is proposed. Light propagation characteristics and gradient force distribution near the GIMMF tip are numerically investigated, which are further compared with that of optical fiber tips based on conventional single mode fibers. The simulated results indicated that by selecting optimal GIMMF length, the gradient force of the GIMMF tip tweezers is about 4 times higher than that of the SMF tip tweezers with a same shape. To prove the feasibility of such a new concept, optical trapping of yeast cells with a diameter of ~5 μm using the chemically-etched GIMMF tip is experimentally demonstrated and the trapping force is also calculated.

  4. Optical tweezers principles and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Jones, Philip; Volpe, Giovanni

    2015-01-01

    Combining state-of-the-art research with a strong pedagogic approach, this text provides a detailed and complete guide to the theory, practice and applications of optical tweezers. In-depth derivation of the theory of optical trapping and numerical modelling of optical forces are supported by a complete step-by-step design and construction guide for building optical tweezers, with detailed tutorials on collecting and analysing data. Also included are comprehensive reviews of optical tweezers research in fields ranging from cell biology to quantum physics. Featuring numerous exercises and problems throughout, this is an ideal self-contained learning package for advanced lecture and laboratory courses, and an invaluable guide to practitioners wanting to enter the field of optical manipulation. The text is supplemented by www.opticaltweezers.org, a forum for discussion and a source of additional material including free-to-download, customisable research-grade software (OTS) for calculation of optical forces, dig...

  5. Single and dual fiber nano-tip optical tweezers: trapping and analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decombe, Jean-Baptiste; Huant, Serge; Fick, Jochen

    2013-12-16

    An original optical tweezers using one or two chemically etched fiber nano-tips is developed. We demonstrate optical trapping of 1 micrometer polystyrene spheres at optical powers down to 2 mW. Harmonic trap potentials were found in the case of dual fiber tweezers by analyzing the trapped particle position fluctuations. The trap stiffness was deduced using three different models. Consistent values of up to 1 fN/nm were found. The stiffness linearly decreases with decreasing light intensity and increasing fiber tip-to-tip distance.

  6. Numerical study of the properties of optical vortex array laser tweezers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Chun-Fu; Chu, Shu-Chun

    2013-11-04

    Chu et al. constructed a kind of Ince-Gaussian modes (IGM)-based vortex array laser beams consisting of p x p embedded optical vortexes from Ince-Gaussian modes, IG(e)(p,p) modes [Opt. Express 16, 19934 (2008)]. Such an IGM-based vortex array laser beams maintains its vortex array profile during both propagation and focusing, and is applicable to optical tweezers. This study uses the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) method to study the properties of the IGM-based vortex array laser tweezers while it traps dielectric particles. This study calculates the resultant force exerted on the spherical dielectric particles of different sizes situated at the IGM-based vortex array laser beam waist. Numerical results show that the number of trapping spots of a structure light (i.e. IGM-based vortex laser beam), is depended on the relation between the trapped particle size and the structure light beam size. While the trapped particle is small comparing to the beam size of the IGM-based vortex array laser beams, the IGM-based vortex array laser beams tweezers are suitable for multiple traps. Conversely, the tweezers is suitable for single traps. The results of this study is useful to the future development of the vortex array laser tweezers applications.

  7. Biaxial crystal-based optical tweezers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Angelsky, Oleg V.; Maksimyak, Andrew P.; Maksimyak, Peter P.

    2010-01-01

    We suggest an optical tweezer setup based on an optically biaxial crystal. To control movements of opaque particles, we use shifts. The results of experimental studies are reported which are concerned with this laser tweezer setup. We demonstrate a movement of microparticles of toner using...... a singular-optical trap, rotation of particles due to orbital angular momentum of the field, and converging or diverging of two different traps when changing transmission plane of polariser at the input of our polarisation interferometer....

  8. Optical tweezers and paradoxes in electromagnetism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfeifer, Robert N C; Nieminen, Timo A; Heckenberg, Norman R; Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Halina

    2011-01-01

    The widespread application of optical forces and torques has contributed to renewed interest in the fundamentals of the electromagnetic force and torque, including long-standing paradoxes such as the Abraham–Minkowski controversy and the angular momentum density of a circularly polarized plane wave. We discuss the relationship between these electromagnetic paradoxes and optical tweezers. In particular, consideration of possible optical tweezers experiments to attempt to resolve these paradoxes strongly suggests that they are beyond experimental resolution, yielding identical observable results in all cases

  9. Miniaturized Optical Tweezers Through Fiber-End Microfabrication

    KAUST Repository

    Liberale, Carlo; Cojoc, Gheorghe; Rajamanickam, Vijayakumar; Ferrara, Lorenzo; Bragheri, Francesca; Minzioni, Paolo; Perozziello, Gerardo; Candeloro, Patrizio; Cristiani, Ilaria; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.

    2014-01-01

    Optical tweezers represent a powerful tool for a variety of applications both in biology and in physics, and their miniaturization and full integration is of great interest so as to reduce size (towards portable systems), and to minimize the required intervention from the operator. Optical fibers represent a natural solution to achieve this goal, and here we review the realization of single-fiber optical tweezers able to create a purely optical three-dimensional trap. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.

  10. Miniaturized Optical Tweezers Through Fiber-End Microfabrication

    KAUST Repository

    Liberale, Carlo

    2014-07-30

    Optical tweezers represent a powerful tool for a variety of applications both in biology and in physics, and their miniaturization and full integration is of great interest so as to reduce size (towards portable systems), and to minimize the required intervention from the operator. Optical fibers represent a natural solution to achieve this goal, and here we review the realization of single-fiber optical tweezers able to create a purely optical three-dimensional trap. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.

  11. Characterizing conical refraction optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, C.; McDougall, C.; Rafailov, E.; McGloin, D.

    2014-12-01

    Conical refraction occurs when a beam of light travels through an appropriately cut biaxial crystal. By focussing the conically refracted beam through a high numerical aperture microscope objective, conical refraction optical tweezers can be created, allowing for particle manipulation in both Raman spots and in the Lloyd/Poggendorff rings. We present a thorough quantification of the trapping properties of such a beam, focussing on the trap stiffness and how this varies with trap power and trapped particle location. We show that the lower Raman spot can be thought of as a single-beam optical gradient force trap, while radiation pressure dominates in the upper Raman spot, leading to optical levitation rather than trapping. Particles in the Lloyd/Poggendorff rings experience a lower trap stiffness than particles in the lower Raman spot but benefit from rotational control.

  12. Single-molecule force spectroscopy: optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers and atomic force microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuman, Keir C.; Nagy, Attila

    2012-01-01

    Single-molecule force spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful tool to investigate the forces and motions associated with biological molecules and enzymatic activity. The most common force spectroscopy techniques are optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers and atomic force microscopy. These techniques are described and illustrated with examples highlighting current capabilities and limitations. PMID:18511917

  13. Neural Network for Image-to-Image Control of Optical Tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decker, Arthur J.; Anderson, Robert C.; Weiland, Kenneth E.; Wrbanek, Susan Y.

    2004-01-01

    A method is discussed for using neural networks to control optical tweezers. Neural-net outputs are combined with scaling and tiling to generate 480 by 480-pixel control patterns for a spatial light modulator (SLM). The SLM can be combined in various ways with a microscope to create movable tweezers traps with controllable profiles. The neural nets are intended to respond to scattered light from carbon and silicon carbide nanotube sensors. The nanotube sensors are to be held by the traps for manipulation and calibration. Scaling and tiling allow the 100 by 100-pixel maximum resolution of the neural-net software to be applied in stages to exploit the full 480 by 480-pixel resolution of the SLM. One of these stages is intended to create sensitive null detectors for detecting variations in the scattered light from the nanotube sensors.

  14. Optical macro-tweezers: trapping of highly motile micro-organisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thalhammer, G; Steiger, R; Bernet, S; Ritsch-Marte, M

    2011-01-01

    Optical micromanipulation stands for contact-free handling of microscopic particles by light. Optical forces can manipulate non-absorbing objects in a large range of sizes, e.g., from biological cells down to cold atoms. Recently much progress has been made going from the micro- down to the nanoscale. Less attention has been paid to going the other way, trapping increasingly large particles. Optical tweezers typically employ a single laser beam tightly focused by a microscope objective of high numerical aperture to stably trap a particle in three dimensions (3D). As the particle size increases, stable 3D trapping in a single-beam trap requires scaling up the optical power, which eventually induces adverse biological effects. Moreover, the restricted field of view of standard optical tweezers, dictated by the use of high NA objectives, is particularly unfavorable for catching actively moving specimens. Both problems can be overcome by traps with counter-propagating beams. Our 'macro-tweezers' are especially designed to trap highly motile organisms, as they enable three-dimensional all-optical trapping and guiding in a volume of 2 × 1 × 2 mm 3 . Here we report for the first time the optical trapping of large actively swimming organisms, such as for instance Euglena protists and dinoflagellates of up to 70 µm length. Adverse bio-effects are kept low since trapping occurs outside high intensity regions, e.g., focal spots. We expect our approach to open various possibilities in the contact-free handling of 50–100 µm sized objects that could hitherto not be envisaged, for instance all-optical holding of individual micro-organisms for taxonomic identification, selective collecting or tagging

  15. Kinect the dots: 3D control of optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaw, Lucy; Preece, Daryl; Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Halina

    2013-01-01

    Holographically generated optical traps confine micron- and sub-micron sized particles close to the center of focused light beams. They also provide a way of trapping multiple particles and moving them in three dimensions. However, in many systems the user interface is not always advantageous or intuitive especially for collaborative work and when depth information is required. We discuss and evaluate a set of multi-beam optical tweezers that utilize off the shelf gaming technology to facilitate user interaction. We use the Microsoft Kinect sensor bar as a way of getting the user input required to generate arbitrary optical force fields and control optically trapped particles. We demonstrate that the system can also be used for dynamic light control. (paper)

  16. Manipulation of Nano-/Micro Particles Using Light-Actuated Marangoni Tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Cunjing; Varanakkottu, Subramanyan; Hardt, Steffen; Nano-; Microfluidics, Center of Smart Interfaces, TU Darmstadt Team

    2015-11-01

    The ability to manipulate and produce patterns of nano-/micro objects has been of great interest from both a fundamental and an application point of view. Here we demonstrate particle patterning using an optical landscape and optical nanoparticle manipulation based on light-actuated Marangoni tweezers. A liquid film with a photosurfactant which exists in two isomeric states (cis and trans) is employed for that purpose. Under multiple laser spots created by diffractive optical elements from a He-Cd laser, cis-rich regions with higher surface tension than unexposed trans-rich regions are created, resulting in converging Marangoni flows directing particles attached to the liquid surface toward the irradiated area. 10 μm polystyrene particles and 600 nm λ-DNA molecules distributed over the liquid surface move to the nearest laser spot and can be arranged in specific patterns. Furthermore, 100 nm polystyrene particles and 20 nm quantum dots can also be trapped, and the 100 nm particles can be driven along quite complex trajectories. Compared to conventional optical tweezers, the corresponding power requirements are much lower.

  17. Theory of optical-tweezers forces near a plane interface

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dutra, Rafael de Sousa; Neto, P. A. Maia; Nussenzveig, H. M.

    2016-01-01

    Optical-tweezers experiments in molecular and cell biology often take place near the surface of the microscope slide that defines the bottom of the sample chamber. There, as elsewhere, force measurements require forcecalibrated tweezers. In bulk, one can calculate the tweezers force from first pr...

  18. Acoustical and optical radiation pressure and the development of single beam acoustical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, Jean-Louis; Marchiano, Régis; Baresch, Diego

    2017-01-01

    Studies on radiation pressure in acoustics and optics have enriched one another and have a long common history. Acoustic radiation pressure is used for metrology, levitation, particle trapping and actuation. However, the dexterity and selectivity of single-beam optical tweezers are still to be matched with acoustical devices. Optical tweezers can trap, move and position micron size particles, biological samples or even atoms with subnanometer accuracy in three dimensions. One limitation of optical tweezers is the weak force that can be applied without thermal damage due to optical absorption. Acoustical tweezers overcome this limitation since the radiation pressure scales as the field intensity divided by the speed of propagation of the wave. However, the feasibility of single beam acoustical tweezers was demonstrated only recently. In this paper, we propose a historical review of the strong similarities but also the specificities of acoustical and optical radiation pressures, from the expression of the force to the development of single-beam acoustical tweezers. - Highlights: • Studies on radiation pressure in acoustics and optics have enriched one another and have a long common history. • Acoustic radiation pressure is used for metrology, levitation, particle trapping and actuation. • However, the dexterity and selectivity of single-beam optical tweezers are still to be matched with acoustical devices. • Optical tweezers can trap, move and positioned micron size particles with subnanometer accuracy in three dimensions. • One limitation of optical tweezers is the weak force that can be applied without thermal damage due to optical absorption. • Acoustical tweezers overcome this limitation since the force scales as the field intensity divided by its propagation speed. • However, the feasibility of single beam acoustical tweezers was demonstrated only recently. • We propose a review of the strong similarities but also the specificities of acoustical

  19. Optical tweezers force measurements to study parasites chemotaxis

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Thomaz, A. A.; Pozzo, L. Y.; Fontes, A.; Almeida, D. B.; Stahl, C. V.; Santos-Mallet, J. R.; Gomes, S. A. O.; Feder, D.; Ayres, D. C.; Giorgio, S.; Cesar, C. L.

    2009-07-01

    In this work, we propose a methodology to study microorganisms chemotaxis in real time using an Optical Tweezers system. Optical Tweezers allowed real time measurements of the force vectors, strength and direction, of living parasites under chemical or other kinds of gradients. This seems to be the ideal tool to perform observations of taxis response of cells and microorganisms with high sensitivity to capture instantaneous responses to a given stimulus. Forces involved in the movement of unicellular parasites are very small, in the femto-pico-Newton range, about the same order of magnitude of the forces generated in an Optical Tweezers. We applied this methodology to investigate the Leishmania amazonensis (L. amazonensis) and Trypanossoma cruzi (T. cruzi) under distinct situations.

  20. Optical tweezers stretching of chromatin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pope, L.H.; Bennink, Martin L.; Greve, Jan

    2003-01-01

    Recently significant success has emerged from exciting research involving chromatin stretching using optical tweezers. These experiments, in which a single chromatin fibre is attached by one end to a micron-sized bead held in an optical trap and to a solid surface or second bead via the other end,

  1. Acoustical and optical radiation pressure and the development of single beam acoustical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Jean-Louis; Marchiano, Régis; Baresch, Diego

    2017-07-01

    Studies on radiation pressure in acoustics and optics have enriched one another and have a long common history. Acoustic radiation pressure is used for metrology, levitation, particle trapping and actuation. However, the dexterity and selectivity of single-beam optical tweezers are still to be matched with acoustical devices. Optical tweezers can trap, move and position micron size particles, biological samples or even atoms with subnanometer accuracy in three dimensions. One limitation of optical tweezers is the weak force that can be applied without thermal damage due to optical absorption. Acoustical tweezers overcome this limitation since the radiation pressure scales as the field intensity divided by the speed of propagation of the wave. However, the feasibility of single beam acoustical tweezers was demonstrated only recently. In this paper, we propose a historical review of the strong similarities but also the specificities of acoustical and optical radiation pressures, from the expression of the force to the development of single-beam acoustical tweezers.

  2. Optical tweezers for the micromanipulation of plant cytoplasm and organelles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hawes, C.; Osterrieder, A.; Sparkes, I.A.; Ketelaar, T.

    2010-01-01

    Laser tweezers, often known as optical tweezers or optical traps, permit the capturing and micromanipulation of microscopic particles along X, Y and Z axes using the radiation pressure generated by a focused laser beam, normally in the infrared region of the spectrum. For trapping to be successful,

  3. Quantum computation architecture using optical tweezers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitenberg, Christof; Kuhr, Stefan; Mølmer, Klaus

    2011-01-01

    We present a complete architecture for scalable quantum computation with ultracold atoms in optical lattices using optical tweezers focused to the size of a lattice spacing. We discuss three different two-qubit gates based on local collisional interactions. The gates between arbitrary qubits...... quantum computing....

  4. Optical trapping of a spherically symmetric sphere in the ray-optics regime: a model for optical tweezers upon cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang Yiren; Hsu Long; Chi Sien

    2006-01-01

    Since their invention in 1986, optical tweezers have become a popular manipulation and force measurement tool in cellular and molecular biology. However, until recently there has not been a sophisticated model for optical tweezers on trapping cells in the ray-optics regime. We present a model for optical tweezers to calculate the optical force upon a spherically symmetric multilayer sphere representing a common biological cell. A numerical simulation of this model shows that not only is the magnitude of the optical force upon a Chinese hamster ovary cell significantly three times smaller than that upon a polystyrene bead of the same size, but the distribution of the optical force upon a cell is also much different from that upon a uniform particle, and there is a 30% difference in the optical trapping stiffness of these two cases. Furthermore, under a small variant condition for the refractive indices of any adjacent layers of the sphere, this model provides a simple approximation to calculate the optical force and the stiffness of an optical tweezers system

  5. Exact theory of optical tweezers and its application to absolute calibration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dutra, Rafael de Sousa; Viana, Nathan B.; Maia Neto, Paulo A.

    2017-01-01

    Optical tweezers have become a powerful tool for basic and applied research in cell biology. Here, we describe an experimentally verified theory for the trapping forces generated by optical tweezers based on first principles that allows absolute calibration. For pedagogical reasons, the steps tha...

  6. Scanning probe and optical tweezer investigations of biomolecular interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rigby-Singleton, Shellie

    2002-01-01

    A complex array of intermolecular forces controls the interactions between and within biological molecules. The desire to empirically explore the fundamental forces has led to the development of several biophysical techniques. Of these, the atomic force microscope (AFM) and the optical tweezers have been employed throughout this thesis to monitor the intermolecular forces involved in biomolecular interactions. The AFM is a well-established force sensing technique capable of measuring biomolecular interactions at a single molecule level. However, its versatility has not been extrapolated to the investigation of a drug-enzyme complex. The energy landscape for the force induced dissociation of the DHFR-methotrexate complex was studied. Revealing an energy barrier to dissociation located ∼0.3 nm from the bound state. Unfortunately, the AFM has a limited range of accessible loading rates and in order to profile the complete energy landscape alternative force sensing instrumentation should be considered, for example the BFP and optical tweezers. Thus, this thesis outlines the development and construction an optical trap capable of measuring intermolecular forces between biomolecules at the single molecule level. To demonstrate the force sensing abilities of the optical set up, proof of principle measurements were performed which investigate the interactions between proteins and polymer surfaces subjected to varying degrees of argon plasma treatment. Complementary data was gained from measurements performed independently by the AFM. Changes in polymer resistance to proteins as a response to changes in polymer surface chemistry were detected utilising both AFM and optical tweezers measurements. Finally, the AFM and optical tweezers were employed as ultrasensitive biosensors. Single molecule investigations of the antibody-antigen interaction between the cardiac troponin I marker and its complementary antibody, reveals the impact therapeutic concentrations of heparin have

  7. A computational tool to characterize particle tracking measurements in optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, Michael A; Bowen, Warwick P

    2013-01-01

    Here, we present a computational tool for optical tweezers which calculates the particle tracking signal measured with a quadrant detector and the shot-noise limit to position resolution. The tool is a piece of Matlab code which functions within the freely available Optical Tweezers Toolbox. It allows the measurements performed in most optical tweezer experiments to be theoretically characterized in a fast and easy manner. The code supports particles with arbitrary size, any optical fields and any combination of objective and condenser, and performs a full vector calculation of the relevant fields. Example calculations are presented which show the tracking signals for different particles, and the shot-noise limit to position sensitivity as a function of the effective condenser NA. (paper)

  8. Flocking multiple microparticles with automatically controlled optical tweezers: solutions and experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Haoyao; Wang, Can; Lou, Yunjiang

    2013-06-01

    This paper presents an efficient approach to achieve microparticles flocking with robotics and optical tweezers technologies. All particles trapped by optical tweezers can be automatically moved toward a predefined region without collision. The main contribution of this paper lies in the proposal of several solutions to the flocking manipulation of microparticles in microenvironments. First, a simple flocking controller is proposed to generate the desired positions and velocities for particles' movement. Second, a velocity saturation method is implemented to prevent the desired velocities from exceeding a safe limit. Third, a two-layer control architecture is proposed for the motion control of optical tweezers. This architecture can help make many robotic manipulations achievable under microenvironments. The proposed approach with these solutions can be applied to many bioapplications especially in cell engineering and biomedicine. Experiments on yeast cells with a robot-tweezers system are finally performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  9. Magneto-optical tweezers built around an inverted microscope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Claudet, Cyril; Bednar, Jan

    2005-01-01

    We present a simple experimental setup of magneto-optical tweezers built around an inverted microscope. Two pairs of coils placed around the focal point of the objective generate a planar-rotating magnetic field that is perpendicular to the stretching direction. This configuration allows us to control the rotary movement of a paramagnetic bead trapped in the optical tweezers. The mechanical design is universal and can be simply adapted to any inverted microscope and objective. The mechanical configuration permits the use of a rather large experimental cell and the simple assembly and disassembly of the magnetic attachment

  10. Optical tweezers study life under tension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazal, Furqan M; Block, Steven M

    2011-05-31

    Optical tweezers have become one of the primary weapons in the arsenal of biophysicists, and have revolutionized the new field of single-molecule biophysics. Today's techniques allow high-resolution experiments on biological macromolecules that were mere pipe dreams only a decade ago.

  11. an optical tweezer based study

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Shankar Ghosh

    2006-11-12

    Nov 12, 2006 ... Liquid-Solid interface. Liquid-liquid interface. Shankar Ghosh. Motion of a sphere in an .... Bare mass of a colloidal sphere ∼ 10^15Kg. Note : The effective mass scales with viscosity and not with the density. Shankar Ghosh. Motion of a sphere in an oscillatory boundary layer: an optical tweezer based study ...

  12. Near-field enhanced optical tweezers utilizing femtosecond-laser nanostructured substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kotsifaki, D. G., E-mail: dkotsif@eie.gr; Kandyla, M. [Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vasileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens (Greece); Lagoudakis, P. G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom)

    2015-11-23

    We present experimental evidence of plasmonic-enhanced optical tweezers, of polystyrene beads in deionized water in the vicinity of metal-coated nanostructures. The optical tweezers operate with a continuous wave near-infrared laser. We employ a Cu/Au bilayer that significantly improves dissipation of heat generated by the trapping laser beam and avoid de-trapping from heat convection currents. We investigate the improvement of the optical trapping force and the effective trapping quality factor, and observe an exponential distance dependence of the trapping force from the nanostructures, indicative of evanescent plasmonic enhancement.

  13. Single and dual fiber nano-tip optical tweezers: trapping and analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Decombe , Jean-Baptiste; Huant , Serge; Fick , Jochen

    2013-01-01

    International audience; An original optical tweezers using one or two chemically etched fiber nano-tips is developed. We demonstrate optical trapping of 1 micrometer polystyrene spheres at optical powers down to 2 mW. Harmonic trap potentials were found in the case of dual fiber tweezers by analyzing the trapped particle position fluctuations. The trap stiffness was deduced using three different models. Consistent values of up to 1 fN/nm were found. The stiffness linearly decreases with decre...

  14. Probing DNA with micro- and nanocapillaries and optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinbock, L J; Otto, O; Skarstam, D R; Jahn, S; Chimerel, C; Gornall, J L; Keyser, U F

    2010-01-01

    We combine for the first time optical tweezer experiments with the resistive pulse technique based on capillaries. Quartz glass capillaries are pulled into a conical shape with tip diameters as small as 27 nm. Here, we discuss the translocation of λ-phage DNA which is driven by an electrophoretic force through the nanocapillary. The resulting change in ionic current indicates the folding state of single λ-phage DNA molecules. Our flow cell design allows for the straightforward incorporation of optical tweezers. We show that a DNA molecule attached to an optically trapped colloid is pulled into a capillary by electrophoretic forces. The detected electrophoretic force is in good agreement with measurements in solid-state nanopores.

  15. Dynamic optical tweezers based assay for monitoring early drug resistance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Xiaojing; Zhu, Siwei; Feng, Jie; Zhang, Yuquan; Min, Changjun; Yuan, X-C

    2013-01-01

    In this letter, a dynamic optical tweezers based assay is proposed and investigated for monitoring early drug resistance with Pemetrexed-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. The validity and stability of the method are verified experimentally in terms of the physical parameters of the optical tweezers system. The results demonstrate that the proposed technique is more convenient and faster than traditional techniques when the capability of detecting small variations of the response of cells to a drug is maintained. (letter)

  16. Optoelectronic Tweezers for Microparticle and Cell Manipulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ming Chiang (Inventor); Chiou, Pei-Yu (Inventor); Ohta, Aaron T. (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    An optical image-driven light induced dielectrophoresis (DEP) apparatus and method are described which provide for the manipulation of particles or cells with a diameter on the order of 100 micromillimeters or less. The apparatus is referred to as optoelectric tweezers (OET) and provides a number of advantages over conventional optical tweezers, in particular the ability to perform operations in parallel and over a large area without damage to living cells. The OET device generally comprises a planar liquid-filled structure having one or more portions which are photoconductive to convert incoming light to a change in the electric field pattern. The light patterns are dynamically generated to provide a number of manipulation structures that can manipulate single particles and cells or group of particles/cells. The OET preferably includes a microscopic imaging means to provide feedback for the optical manipulation, such as detecting position and characteristics wherein the light patterns are modulated accordingly.

  17. LMM Holographic Optical Tweezers (HOT) Module, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to expand the capabilities of the LMM for colloidal and other research by developing a holographic optical tweezers (HOT) module, allowing solid-state...

  18. Acoustical and optical radiation pressures and the development of single beam acoustical tweezers

    OpenAIRE

    Thomas , Jean-Louis; Marchiano , Régis; Baresch , Diego

    2017-01-01

    International audience; Studies on radiation pressure in acoustics and optics have enriched one another and have a long common history. Acoustic radiation pressure is used for metrology, levitation, particle trapping and actuation. However, the dexterity and selectivity of single-beam optical tweezers are still to be matched with acoustical devices. Optical tweezers can trap, move and positioned micron size particles, biological samples or even atoms with subnanometer accuracy in three dimens...

  19. Construction and actuation of a microscopic gear assembly formed using optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jung-Dae; Lee, Yong-Gu

    2013-01-01

    The assembly of micrometer-sized parts is an important manufacturing process; any development in it could potentially change the current manufacturing practices for micrometer-scale devices. Due to the lack of reliable microassembly techniques, these devices are often manufactured using silicon, which includes etching and depositions with little use of assembly processes. The result is the requirement of specialized manufacturing conditions with hazardous byproducts and limited applications where only simple mechanisms are allowed. Optical tweezers are non-contact type manipulators that are very suitable for assembling microparts and solve one of the most difficult problems for microassembly, which is the sticking of the physical manipulator to the micropart. Although contact type manipulators can be surface modified to be non-sticky, this involves extra preprocessing—optical tweezers do not require such additional efforts. The weakness of using optical tweezers is that the permanent assembly of parts is not possible as only very small forces can be applied. We introduce an advanced microassembly environment with the combined use of optical tweezers and a motorized microtip, where the former is used to position two parts and the latter is used to introduce deformation in the parts so that they form a strongly fitted assembly. (paper)

  20. Fiber based optical tweezers for simultaneous in situ force exertion and measurements in a 3D polyacrylamide gel compartment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ti, Chaoyang; Thomas, Gawain M; Ren, Yundong; Zhang, Rui; Wen, Qi; Liu, Yuxiang

    2015-07-01

    Optical tweezers play an important role in biological applications. However, it is difficult for traditional optical tweezers based on objective lenses to work in a three-dimensional (3D) solid far away from the substrate. In this work, we develop a fiber based optical trapping system, namely inclined dual fiber optical tweezers, that can simultaneously apply and measure forces both in water and in a 3D polyacrylamide gel matrix. In addition, we demonstrate in situ, non-invasive characterization of local mechanical properties of polyacrylamide gel by measurements on an embedded bead. The fiber optical tweezers measurements agree well with those of atomic force microscopy (AFM). The inclined dual fiber optical tweezers provide a promising and versatile tool for cell mechanics study in 3D environments.

  1. Spin dynamics and Kondo physics in optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yiheng; Lester, Brian J.; Brown, Mark O.; Kaufman, Adam M.; Long, Junling; Ball, Randall J.; Isaev, Leonid; Wall, Michael L.; Rey, Ana Maria; Regal, Cindy A.

    2016-05-01

    We propose to use optical tweezers as a toolset for direct observation of the interplay between quantum statistics, kinetic energy and interactions, and thus implement minimum instances of the Kondo lattice model in systems with few bosonic rubidium atoms. By taking advantage of strong local exchange interactions, our ability to tune the spin-dependent potential shifts between the two wells and complete control over spin and motional degrees of freedom, we design an adiabatic tunneling scheme that efficiently creates a spin-singlet state in one well starting from two initially separated atoms (one atom per tweezer) in opposite spin state. For three atoms in a double-well, two localized in the lowest vibrational mode of each tweezer and one atom in an excited delocalized state, we plan to use similar techniques and observe resonant transfer of two-atom singlet-triplet states between the wells in the regime when the exchange coupling exceeds the mobile atom hopping. Moreover, we argue that such three-atom double-tweezers could potentially be used for quantum computation by encoding logical qubits in collective spin and motional degrees of freedom. Current address: Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.

  2. Investigation of shape memory of red blood cells using optical tweezers and quantitative phase microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardenas, Nelson; Mohanty, Samarendra K.

    2012-03-01

    RBC has been shown to possess shape memory subsequent to shear-induced shape transformation. However, this property of RBC may not be generalized to all kinds of stresses. Here, we report our observation on the action of radiation pressure forces on RBC's shape memory using optical manipulation and quantitative phase microscopy (OMQPM). QPM, based on Mach-Zehnder interferrometry, allowed measurement of dynamic changes of shape of RBC in optical tweezers at different trapping laser powers. In high power near-infrared optical tweezers (>200mW), the RBC was found to deform significantly due to optical forces. Upon removal of the tweezers, hysteresis in recovering its original resting shape was observed. In very high power tweezers or long-term stretching events, shape memory was almost erased. This irreversibility of the deformation may be due to temperature rise or stress-induced phase transformation of lipids in RBC membrane.

  3. Combined holographic-mechanical optical tweezers: Construction, optimization, and calibration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanes, Richard D. L.; Jenkins, Matthew C.; Egelhaaf, Stefan U.

    2009-08-01

    A spatial light modulator (SLM) and a pair of galvanometer-mounted mirrors (GMM) were combined into an optical tweezers setup. This provides great flexibility as the SLM creates an array of traps, which can be moved smoothly and quickly with the GMM. To optimize performance, the effect of the incidence angle on the SLM with respect to phase and intensity response was investigated. Although it is common to use the SLM at an incidence angle of 45°, smaller angles give a full 2π phase shift and an output intensity which is less dependent on the magnitude of the phase shift. The traps were calibrated using an active oscillatory technique and a passive probability distribution method.

  4. Combined holographic-mechanical optical tweezers: Construction, optimization, and calibration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanes, Richard D. L.; Jenkins, Matthew C.; Egelhaaf, Stefan U.

    2009-01-01

    A spatial light modulator (SLM) and a pair of galvanometer-mounted mirrors (GMM) were combined into an optical tweezers setup. This provides great flexibility as the SLM creates an array of traps, which can be moved smoothly and quickly with the GMM. To optimize performance, the effect of the incidence angle on the SLM with respect to phase and intensity response was investigated. Although it is common to use the SLM at an incidence angle of 45 deg., smaller angles give a full 2π phase shift and an output intensity which is less dependent on the magnitude of the phase shift. The traps were calibrated using an active oscillatory technique and a passive probability distribution method.

  5. iTweezers: optical micromanipulation controlled by an Apple iPad

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowman, R W; Gibson, G; Padgett, M J; Carberry, D; Picco, L; Miles, M

    2011-01-01

    The 3D interactive manipulation of multiple particles with holographic optical tweezers is often hampered by the control system. We use a multi-touch interface implemented on an Apple iPad to overcome many of the limitations of mouse-based control, and demonstrate an elegant and intuitive interface to multi-particle manipulation. This interface connects to the tweezers system hardware over a wireless network, allowing it to function as a remote monitor and control device. (technical note)

  6. Mechanical and electrical properties of red blood cells using optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fontes, A; Castro, M L Barjas; Brandão, M M; Fernandes, H P; Huruta, R R; Costa, F F; Saad, S T O; Thomaz, A A; Pozzo, L Y; Barbosa, L C; Cesar, C L

    2011-01-01

    Optical tweezers are a very sensitive tool, based on photon momentum transfer, for individual, cell by cell, manipulation and measurements, which can be applied to obtain important properties of erythrocytes for clinical and research purposes. Mechanical and electrical properties of erythrocytes are critical parameters for stored cells in transfusion centers, immunohematological tests performed in transfusional routines and in blood diseases. In this work, we showed methods, based on optical tweezers, to study red blood cells and applied them to measure apparent overall elasticity, apparent membrane viscosity, zeta potential, thickness of the double layer of electrical charges and adhesion in red blood cells

  7. Dynamic array generation and pattern formation for optical tweezers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, P.C.; Glückstad, J.

    2000-01-01

    The generalised phase contrast approach is used for the generation of optical arrays of arbitrary beam shape, suitable for applications in optical tweezers for the manipulation of biological specimens. This approach offers numerous advantages over current techniques involving the use of computer......-generated holograms or diffractive optical elements. We demonstrate a low-loss system for generating intensity patterns suitable for the trapping and manipulation of small particles or specimens....

  8. Manipulation of Nanoparticles Using Dark-Field-Illumination Optical Tweezers with Compensating Spherical Aberration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin-Hua, Zhou; Run-Zhe, Tao; Zhi-Bin, Hu; Min-Cheng, Zhong; Zi-Qiang, Wang; Yin-Mei, Li; Jun, Cai

    2009-01-01

    Based on our previous investigation of optical tweezers with dark field illumination [Chin. Phys. Lett. 25(2008)329], nanoparticles at large trap depth are better viewed in wide field and real time for a long time, but with poor forces. Here we present the mismatched tube length to compensate for spherical aberration of an oil-immersion objective in a glass-water interface in an optical tweezers system for manipulating nanoparticles. In this way, the critical power of stable trapping particles is measured at different trap depths. It is found that trap depth is enlarged for trapping nanoparticles and trapping forces are enhanced at large trap depth. According to the measurement, 70-nm particles are manipulated in three dimensions and observed clearly at large appropriate depth. This will expand applications of optical tweezers in a nanometre-scale colloidal system. (cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  9. Micro-rheology and interparticle interactions in aerosols probed with optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Jonathan P.; Power, Rory M.; Cai, Chen; Simpson, Stephen H.

    2014-09-01

    Using optical tweezers for micro-rheological investigations of a surrounding fluid has been routinely demonstrated. In this work, we will demonstrate that rheological measurements of the bulk and surface properties of aerosol particles can be made directly using optical tweezers, providing important insights into the phase behavior of materials in confined environments and the rate of molecular diffusion in viscous phases. The use of holographic optical tweezers to manipulate aerosol particles has become standard practice in recent years, providing an invaluable tool to investigate particle dynamics, including evaporation/ condensation kinetics, chemical aging and phase transformation. When combined with non-linear Raman spectroscopy, the size and refractive index of a particle can be determined with unprecedented accuracy viscosity and surface tension of particles can be measured directly in the under-damped regime at low viscosity. In the over-damped regime, we will show that viscosity measurements can extend close to the glass transition, allowing measurements over an impressive dynamic range of 12 orders of magnitude in relaxation timescale and viscosity. Indeed, prior to the coalescence event, we will show how the Brownian trajectories of trapped particles can yield important and unique insights into the interactions of aerosol particles.

  10. Optical alignment and confinement of an ellipsoidal nanorod in optical tweezers: a theoretical study

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Trojek, Jan; Chvátal, Lukáš; Zemánek, Pavel

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 29, č. 7 (2012), s. 1224-1236 ISSN 1084-7529 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/09/0348; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : ellipsoidal nanorod * optical tweezers * Rayleigh approximation Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.665, year: 2012

  11. Optical tweezers in concentrated colloidal dispersions : Manipulating and imaging individual particles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vossen, Dirk Leo Joep

    2004-01-01

    Using a laser beam that is focused down to a diffraction-limited spot, particles with a size ranging from several nanometers up to tens of micrometers can be trapped and manipulated. This technique, known as "optical tweezers" or "optical trapping", has been used in a wide variety of

  12. Optically-driven red blood cell rotor in linearly polarized laser tweezers

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We have constructed a dual trap optical tweezers set-up around an inverted microscope where both the traps can be independently controlled and manipulated in all the three dimensions. Here we report our observations on rotation of red blood cells (RBCs) in a linearly polarized optical trap. Red blood cells deform and ...

  13. Multispectral optical tweezers for molecular diagnostics of single biological cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Corey; Fardad, Shima; Sincore, Alex; Vangheluwe, Marie; Baudelet, Matthieu; Richardson, Martin

    2012-03-01

    Optical trapping of single biological cells has become an established technique for controlling and studying fundamental behavior of single cells with their environment without having "many-body" interference. The development of such an instrument for optical diagnostics (including Raman and fluorescence for molecular diagnostics) via laser spectroscopy with either the "trapping" beam or secondary beams is still in progress. This paper shows the development of modular multi-spectral imaging optical tweezers combining Raman and Fluorescence diagnostics of biological cells.

  14. tweezercalib 2.0: Faster version of MatLab package for precise calibration of optical tweezers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Poul Martin; Tolic-Nørrelykke, Iva Marija; Flyvbjerg, Henrik

    2006-01-01

    We present a vectorized version of the MatLab (MathWorks Inc) package tweezercalib for calibration of optical tweezers with precision. The calibration is based on the power spectrum of the Brownian motion of a dielectric bead trapped in the tweezers. Precision is achieved by accounting for a number...

  15. Label-free detection of HIV-1 infected cells via integration of optical tweezers and photoluminescence spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugongolo, Masixole Yvonne; Ombinda-Lemboumba, Saturnin; Noto, Luyanda Lunga; Maaza, Malik; Mthunzi-Kufa, Patience

    2018-02-01

    The human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) is currently detected using conventional qualitative and quantitative tests to determine the presence or absence of HIV in blood samples. However, the approach of these tests detects the presence of either viral antibodies or viral RNA that require labelling which may be costly, sophisticated and time consuming. A label-free approach of detecting the presence of HIV is therefore desirable. Of note optical tweezers can be coupled with other technologies including spectroscopy, which also investigates light-matter interactions. For example, coupling of optical tweezers with luminescence spectroscopy techniques has emerged as a powerful tool in biology for micro-manipulation, detection and analysis of individual cells. Integration of optical techniques has enabled studying biological particles in a label-free manner, whilst detecting functional groups and other essential molecules within mixed populations of cells. In the current study, an optical trapping system coupled to luminescence spectroscopy was utilised to detect the presence of HIV infection in TZM-bl cells in vitro. This was performed by infecting TZM-bl cells with the ZM53 HIV-1 pseudovirus, and incubating them for 48 hours prior analysis. The differences between infected and uninfected cells were thereafter displayed as shown by the spectrographs obtained. Combination of these two techniques has a potential in the field of infectious disease diagnostics.

  16. Optical tweezers and surface plasmon resonance combination system based on the high numerical aperture lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Xuchen; Zhang, Bei; Lan, Guoqiang; Wang, Yiqiao; Liu, Shugang

    2015-11-01

    Biology and medicine sample measurement takes an important role in the microscopic optical technology. Optical tweezer has the advantage of accurate capture and non-pollution of the sample. The SPR(surface plasmon resonance) sensor has so many advantages include high sensitivity, fast measurement, less consumption of sample and label-free detection of biological sample that the SPR sensing technique has been used for surface topography, analysis of biochemical and immune, drug screening and environmental monitoring. If they combine, they will play an important role in the biological, chemical and other subjects. The system we propose use the multi-axis cage system, by using the methods of reflection and transmiss ion to improve the space utilization. The SPR system and optical tweezer were builtup and combined in one system. The cage of multi-axis system gives full play to its accuracy, simplicity and flexibility. The size of the system is 20 * 15 * 40 cm3 and thus the sample can be replaced to switch between the optical tweezers system and the SPR system in the small space. It means that we get the refractive index of the sample and control the particle in the same system. In order to control the revolving stage, get the picture and achieve the data stored automatically, we write a LabVIEW procedure. Then according to the data from the back focal plane calculate the refractive index of the sample. By changing the slide we can trap the particle as optical tweezer, which makes us measurement and trap the sample at the same time.

  17. Counter-propagating dual-trap optical tweezers based on linear momentum conservation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ribezzi-Crivellari, M.; Huguet, J. M.; Ritort, F.

    2013-01-01

    We present a dual-trap optical tweezers setup which directly measures forces using linear momentum conservation. The setup uses a counter-propagating geometry, which allows momentum measurement on each beam separately. The experimental advantages of this setup include low drift due to all-optical manipulation, and a robust calibration (independent of the features of the trapped object or buffer medium) due to the force measurement method. Although this design does not attain the high-resolution of some co-propagating setups, we show that it can be used to perform different single molecule measurements: fluctuation-based molecular stiffness characterization at different forces and hopping experiments on molecular hairpins. Remarkably, in our setup it is possible to manipulate very short tethers (such as molecular hairpins with short handles) down to the limit where beads are almost in contact. The setup is used to illustrate a novel method for measuring the stiffness of optical traps and tethers on the basis of equilibrium force fluctuations, i.e., without the need of measuring the force vs molecular extension curve. This method is of general interest for dual trap optical tweezers setups and can be extended to setups which do not directly measure forces.

  18. Counter-propagating dual-trap optical tweezers based on linear momentum conservation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ribezzi-Crivellari, M.; Huguet, J. M. [Small Biosystems Lab, Dept. de Fisica Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Ritort, F. [Small Biosystems Lab, Dept. de Fisica Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Ciber-BBN de Bioingenieria, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid (Spain)

    2013-04-15

    We present a dual-trap optical tweezers setup which directly measures forces using linear momentum conservation. The setup uses a counter-propagating geometry, which allows momentum measurement on each beam separately. The experimental advantages of this setup include low drift due to all-optical manipulation, and a robust calibration (independent of the features of the trapped object or buffer medium) due to the force measurement method. Although this design does not attain the high-resolution of some co-propagating setups, we show that it can be used to perform different single molecule measurements: fluctuation-based molecular stiffness characterization at different forces and hopping experiments on molecular hairpins. Remarkably, in our setup it is possible to manipulate very short tethers (such as molecular hairpins with short handles) down to the limit where beads are almost in contact. The setup is used to illustrate a novel method for measuring the stiffness of optical traps and tethers on the basis of equilibrium force fluctuations, i.e., without the need of measuring the force vs molecular extension curve. This method is of general interest for dual trap optical tweezers setups and can be extended to setups which do not directly measure forces.

  19. Probing the micro-rheological properties of aerosol particles using optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Power, Rory M; Reid, Jonathan P

    2014-01-01

    The use of optical trapping techniques to manipulate probe particles for performing micro-rheological measurements on a surrounding fluid is well-established. Here, we review recent advances made in the use of optical trapping to probe the rheological properties of trapped particles themselves. In particular, we review observations of the continuous transition from liquid to solid-like viscosity of sub-picolitre supersaturated solution aerosol droplets using optical trapping techniques. Direct measurements of the viscosity of the particle bulk are derived from the damped oscillations in shape following coalescence of two particles, a consequence of the interplay between viscous and surface forces and the capillary driven relaxation of the approximately spheroidal composite particle. Holographic optical tweezers provide a facile method for the manipulation of arrays of particles allowing coalescence to be controllably induced between two micron-sized aerosol particles. The optical forces, while sufficiently strong to confine the composite particle, are several orders of magnitude weaker than the capillary forces driving relaxation. Light, elastically back-scattered by the particle, is recorded with sub-100 ns resolution allowing measurements of fast relaxation (low viscosity) dynamics, while the brightfield image can be used to monitor the shape relaxation extending to times in excess of 1000 s. For the slowest relaxation dynamics studied (particles with the highest viscosity) the presence and line shape of whispering gallery modes in the cavity enhanced Raman spectrum can be used to infer the relaxation time while serving the dual purpose of allowing the droplet size and refractive index to be measured with accuracies of ±0.025% and ±0.1%, respectively. The time constant for the damped relaxation can be used to infer the bulk viscosity, spanning from the dilute solution limit to a value approaching that of a glass, typically considered to be >10 12

  20. Probing the micro-rheological properties of aerosol particles using optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Power, Rory M.; Reid, Jonathan P.

    2014-07-01

    The use of optical trapping techniques to manipulate probe particles for performing micro-rheological measurements on a surrounding fluid is well-established. Here, we review recent advances made in the use of optical trapping to probe the rheological properties of trapped particles themselves. In particular, we review observations of the continuous transition from liquid to solid-like viscosity of sub-picolitre supersaturated solution aerosol droplets using optical trapping techniques. Direct measurements of the viscosity of the particle bulk are derived from the damped oscillations in shape following coalescence of two particles, a consequence of the interplay between viscous and surface forces and the capillary driven relaxation of the approximately spheroidal composite particle. Holographic optical tweezers provide a facile method for the manipulation of arrays of particles allowing coalescence to be controllably induced between two micron-sized aerosol particles. The optical forces, while sufficiently strong to confine the composite particle, are several orders of magnitude weaker than the capillary forces driving relaxation. Light, elastically back-scattered by the particle, is recorded with sub-100 ns resolution allowing measurements of fast relaxation (low viscosity) dynamics, while the brightfield image can be used to monitor the shape relaxation extending to times in excess of 1000 s. For the slowest relaxation dynamics studied (particles with the highest viscosity) the presence and line shape of whispering gallery modes in the cavity enhanced Raman spectrum can be used to infer the relaxation time while serving the dual purpose of allowing the droplet size and refractive index to be measured with accuracies of ±0.025% and ±0.1%, respectively. The time constant for the damped relaxation can be used to infer the bulk viscosity, spanning from the dilute solution limit to a value approaching that of a glass, typically considered to be >1012 Pa s, whilst

  1. Using electrical and optical tweezers to facilitate studies of molecular motors†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arsenault, Mark E.; Sun, Yujie; Bau, Haim H.; Goldman, Yale E.

    2013-01-01

    Dielectrophoresis was used to stretch and suspend actin filaments across a trench etched between two electrodes patterned on a glass slide. Optical tweezers were used to bring a motor protein-coated bead into close proximity to a pre-selected, suspended actin filament, facilitating the attachment of the myosin-coated bead to the filament. The clearance beneath the filament allowed the bead to move freely along and around its filamentous track, unhindered by solid surfaces. Using defocused images, the three-dimensional position of the bead was tracked as a function of time to obtain its trajectory. Experiments were carried out with myosin V and myosin X. Both motor proteins followed left-handed helical paths with the myosin X motor exhibiting a shorter pitch than the myosin V. The combined use of electrostatic and optical tweezers facilitates the preparation of motility assays with suspended tracks. Variants of this technique will enable higher complexity experiments in vitro to better understand the behavior of motors in cells. PMID:19506758

  2. Using electrical and optical tweezers to facilitate studies of molecular motors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arsenault, Mark E; Sun, Yujie; Bau, Haim H; Goldman, Yale E

    2009-06-28

    Dielectrophoresis was used to stretch and suspend actin filaments across a trench etched between two electrodes patterned on a glass slide. Optical tweezers were used to bring a motor protein-coated bead into close proximity to a pre-selected, suspended actin filament, facilitating the attachment of the myosin-coated bead to the filament. The clearance beneath the filament allowed the bead to move freely along and around its filamentous track, unhindered by solid surfaces. Using defocused images, the three-dimensional position of the bead was tracked as a function of time to obtain its trajectory. Experiments were carried out with myosin V and myosin X. Both motor proteins followed left-handed helical paths with the myosin X motor exhibiting a shorter pitch than the myosin V. The combined use of electrostatic and optical tweezers facilitates the preparation of motility assays with suspended tracks. Variants of this technique will enable higher complexity experiments in vitro to better understand the behavior of motors in cells.

  3. Optical tweezers with 2.5 kHz bandwidth video detection for single-colloid electrophoresis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otto, Oliver; Gutsche, Christof; Kremer, Friedrich; Keyser, Ulrich F.

    2008-02-01

    We developed an optical tweezers setup to study the electrophoretic motion of colloids in an external electric field. The setup is based on standard components for illumination and video detection. Our video based optical tracking of the colloid motion has a time resolution of 0.2ms, resulting in a bandwidth of 2.5kHz. This enables calibration of the optical tweezers by Brownian motion without applying a quadrant photodetector. We demonstrate that our system has a spatial resolution of 0.5nm and a force sensitivity of 20fN using a Fourier algorithm to detect periodic oscillations of the trapped colloid caused by an external ac field. The electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential of a single colloid can be extracted in aqueous solution avoiding screening effects common for usual bulk measurements.

  4. Design and construction of an optical compact and affordable tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez, M.C.; Perez Moret, Y.; Arronte, M.; Ponce, L.

    2009-01-01

    The following paper presents a new design allowing a reduction on the amount of required optical elements for the construction of the optical tweezers, which results in a compact and affordable system. The latter is composed by a 40 mW Nd: YAG (532 nm) laser and commercially available optics and mounts. A virtual instrument, developed using Lab View 8.0, controls both a XYZ table and a web camera for visualizing. The quality of the laser beam at the end of optical system was characterized using the knife-edge method, resulting in a Gaussian shaped (TEM00) intensity profile. It is presented as well the necessary information to align and calibrate each optical element. (Author)

  5. Optical trapping and Raman spectroscopy of single nanostructures using standing-wave Raman tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Mu-ying; He, Lin; Chen, Gui-hua; Yang, Guang; Li, Yong-qing

    2017-08-01

    Optical tweezers integrated with Raman spectroscopy allows analyzing a single trapped micro-particle, but is generally less effective for individual nano-sized objects in the 10-100 nm range. The main challenge is the weak gradient force on nanoparticles that is insufficient to overcome the destabilizing effect of scattering force and Brownian motion. Here, we present standing-wave Raman tweezers for stable trapping and sensitive characterization of single isolated nanostructures with a low laser power by combining a standing-wave optical trap (SWOT) with confocal Raman spectroscopy. This scheme has stronger intensity gradients and balanced scattering forces, and thus is more stable and sensitive in measuring nanoparticles in liquid with 4-8 fold increase in the Raman signals. It can be used to analyze many nanoparticles that cannot be measured with single-beam Raman tweezers, including individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), graphene flakes, biological particles, polystyrene beads (100 nm), SERS-active metal nanoparticles, and high-refractive semiconductor nanoparticles with a low laser power of a few milliwatts. This would enable sorting and characterization of specific SWCNTs and other nanoparticles based on their increased Raman fingerprints.

  6. Measuring microscopic forces and torques using optical tweezers

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mc

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available stream_source_info McLaren_2009.pdf.txt stream_content_type text/plain stream_size 2976 Content-Encoding UTF-8 stream_name McLaren_2009.pdf.txt Content-Type text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Measuring microscopic forces... and torques using optical tweezers M.G. McLaren1,2, A. Forbes2,3,4 and E. Sideras-Haddad2 1 CSIR National Laser Centre 2 School of Physics, University of Witwatersrand 3 School of Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal 4 School of Physics, University...

  7. Optical particle trapping and dynamic manipulation using spatial light modulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksen, René Lynge

    suitable for optical trapping. A phaseonly spatial light modulator (SLM) is used for the phase encoding of the laser beam. The SLM is controlled directly from a standard computer where phase information is represented as gray-scale image information. Experimentally, both linear and angular movements......This thesis deals with the spatial phase-control of light and its application for optical trapping and manipulation of micron-scale objects. Utilizing the radiation pressure, light exerts on dielectric micron-scale particles, functionality of optical tweezers can be obtained. Multiple intensity...... compression factors of two, which is not achievable with binary phase encoding, have been successfully demonstrated. In addition, the GPC method has been miniaturized and implemented in a planar optical platform and shown to work acceptably, with relatively high visibility. Furthermore, the GPC method has...

  8. Trapping, manipulation and rapid rotation of NBD-C8 fluorescent single microcrystals in optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    GALAUP, Jean-Pierre; RODRIGUEZ-OTAZO, Mariela; AUGIER-CALDERIN, Angel; LAMERE; Jean-Francois; FERY-FORGUES, Suzanne

    2009-01-01

    We have built an optical tweezers experiment based on an inverted microscope to trap and manipulate single crystals of micro or sub-micrometer size made from fluorescent molecules of 4-octylamino-7-nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD-C8). These single crystals have parallelepiped shapes and exhibit birefringence properties evidenced through optical experiments between crossed polarizers in a polarizing microscope. The crystals are uniaxial with their optical axis oriented along their largest dimension. Trapped in the optical trap, the organic micro-crystals are oriented in such a way that their long axis is along the direction of the beam propagation, and their short axis follows the direction of the linear polarization. Therefore, with linearly polarized light, simply rotating the light polarization can orient the crystal. When using circularly or only elliptically polarized light, the crystal can spontaneously rotate and reach rotation speed of several hundreds of turns per second. A surprising result has been observed: when the incident power is growing up, the rotation speed increases to reach a maximum value and then decreases even when the power is still growing up. Moreover, this evolution is irreversible. Different possible explanations can be considered. The development of a 3D control of the crystals by dynamical holography using liquid crystal spatial modulators will be presented and discussed on the basis of the most recent results obtained. (Author)

  9. Crosstalk elimination in the detection of dual-beam optical tweezers by spatial filtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ott, Dino; Oddershede, Lene B.; Reihani, S. Nader S.

    2014-01-01

    In dual-beam optical tweezers, the accuracy of position and force measurements is often compromised by crosstalk between the two detected signals, this crosstalk leading to systematic and significant errors on the measured forces and distances. This is true both for dual-beam optical traps where the splitting of the two traps is done by polarization optics and for dual optical traps constructed by other methods, e.g., holographic tweezers. If the two traps are orthogonally polarized, most often crosstalk is minimized by inserting polarization optics in front of the detector; however, this method is not perfect because of the de-polarization of the trapping beam introduced by the required high numerical aperture optics. Here we present a simple and easy-to-implement method to efficiently eliminate crosstalk. The method is based on spatial filtering by simply inserting a pinhole at the correct position and is highly compatible with standard back focal plane photodiode based detection of position and force. Our spatial filtering method reduces crosstalk up to five times better than polarization filtering alone. The effectiveness is dependent on pinhole size and distance between the traps and is here quantified experimentally and reproduced by theoretical modeling. The method here proposed will improve the accuracy of force-distance measurements, e.g., of single molecules, performed by dual-beam optical traps and hence give much more scientific value for the experimental efforts

  10. Holographic Raman Tweezers Controlled by Hand Gestures and Voice Commands

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tomori, Z.; Antalík, M.; Kesa, P.; Kaňka, Jan; Jákl, Petr; Šerý, Mojmír; Bernatová, Silvie; Zemánek, Pavel

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 3, 2B (2013), s. 331-336 ISSN 2160-8881 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : Holographic Optical Tweezers * Raman Tweezers * Natural User Interface * Leap Motion * Gesture Camera Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers

  11. Lectures on light nonlinear and quantum optics using the density matrix

    CERN Document Server

    Rand, Stephen C.

    2016-01-01

    This book bridges the gap between introductory quantum mechanics and the research front of modern optics and scientific fields that make use of light. While suitable as a reference for the specialist in quantum optics, it also targets non-specialists from other disciplines who need to understand light and its uses in research. It introduces a single analytic tool, the density matrix, to analyze complex optical phenomena encountered in traditional as well as cross-disciplinary research. It moves swiftly in a tight sequence from elementary to sophisticated topics in quantum optics, including optical tweezers, laser cooling, coherent population transfer, optical magnetism, electromagnetically induced transparency, squeezed light, and cavity quantum electrodynamics. A systematic approach starts with the simplest systems—stationary two-level atoms—then introduces atomic motion, adds more energy levels, and moves on to discuss first-, second-, and third-order coherence effects that are the basis for analyzing n...

  12. A revolution in optical manipulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grier, D. G.

    2004-01-01

    Optical tweezers use the forces exerted by a strongly focused beam of light to trap and move objects ranging in size from tens of nanometers to tens of micrometers. Since their introduction in 1986, the optical tweezer has become an important tool for research in the fields of biology, physical chemistry and soft condensed matter physics. Recent advances promise to take optical tweezers out of the laboratory and into the mainstream of manufacturing and diagnostics; they may even become consumer products. The next generation of single-beam optical trap offers revolutionary new opportunities for fundamental and applied research. (author)

  13. Scanning a DNA molecule for bound proteins using hybrid magnetic and optical tweezers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marijn T J van Loenhout

    Full Text Available The functional state of the genome is determined by its interactions with proteins that bind, modify, and move along the DNA. To determine the positions and binding strength of proteins localized on DNA we have developed a combined magnetic and optical tweezers apparatus that allows for both sensitive and label-free detection. A DNA loop, that acts as a scanning probe, is created by looping an optically trapped DNA tether around a DNA molecule that is held with magnetic tweezers. Upon scanning the loop along the λ-DNA molecule, EcoRI proteins were detected with ~17 nm spatial resolution. An offset of 33 ± 5 nm for the detected protein positions was found between back and forwards scans, corresponding to the size of the DNA loop and in agreement with theoretical estimates. At higher applied stretching forces, the scanning loop was able to remove bound proteins from the DNA, showing that the method is in principle also capable of measuring the binding strength of proteins to DNA with a force resolution of 0.1 pN/[Formula: see text]. The use of magnetic tweezers in this assay allows the facile preparation of many single-molecule tethers, which can be scanned one after the other, while it also allows for direct control of the supercoiling state of the DNA molecule, making it uniquely suitable to address the effects of torque on protein-DNA interactions.

  14. Actin and myosin regulate cytoplasm stiffness in plant cells: a study using optical tweezers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Honing, van der H.S.; Ruijter, de N.C.A.; Emons, A.M.C.; Ketelaar, T.

    2010-01-01

    Here, we produced cytoplasmic protrusions with optical tweezers in mature BY-2 suspension cultured cells to study the parameters involved in the movement of actin filaments during changes in cytoplasmic organization and to determine whether stiffness is an actin-related property of plant cytoplasm.

  15. Fabrication of quartz microcylinders by laser interference lithography for angular optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santybayeva, Zhanna; Meghit, Afaf; Desgarceaux, Rudy; Teissier, Roland; Pichot, Frederic; de Marin, Charles; Charlot, Benoit; Pedaci, Francesco

    2016-07-01

    The use of optical tweezers (OTs) and spin angular momentum transfer to birefringent particles allows new mechanical measurements in systems where torque and rotation are relevant parameters at the single-molecule level. There is a growing interest in developing simple, fast, and inexpensive protocols to produce a large number of submicron scale cylinders of quartz, a positive uniaxial birefringent crystal, to be employed for such angular measurements in OTs. Here, we show that laser interference lithography, a method well known for its simplicity, fulfills these requirements and produces quartz cylindrical particles that we successfully use to apply and measure optical torque in the piconewton nm range in an optical torque wrench.

  16. Single-atom trapping and transport in DMD-controlled optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart, Dustin; Kuhn, Axel

    2018-02-01

    We demonstrate the trapping and manipulation of single neutral atoms in reconfigurable arrays of optical tweezers. Our approach offers unparalleled speed by using a Texas instruments digital micro-mirror device as a holographic amplitude modulator with a frame rate of 20 000 per second. We show the trapping of static arrays of up to 20 atoms, as well as transport of individually selected atoms over a distance of 25 μm with laser cooling and 4 μm without. We discuss the limitations of the technique and the scope for technical improvements.

  17. Application of optical tweezers and excimer laser to study protoplast fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kantawang, Titirat; Samipak, Sompid; Limtrakul, Jumras; Chattham, Nattaporn

    2015-07-01

    Protoplast fusion is a physical phenomenon that two protoplasts come in contact and fuse together. Doing so, it is possible to combine specific genes from one protoplast to another during fusion such as drought resistance and disease resistance. There are a few possible methods to induce protoplast fusion, for example, electrofusion and chemical fusion. In this study, chemical fusion was performed with laser applied as an external force to enhance rate of fusion and observed under a microscope. Optical tweezers (1064 nm with 100X objective N.A. 1.3) and excimer laser (308 nm LMU-40X-UVB objective) were set with a Nikon Ti-U inverted microscope. Samples were prepared by soaking in hypertonic solution in order to induce cell plasmolysis. Elodea Canadensis and Allium cepa plasmolysed leaves were cut and observed under microscope. Concentration of solution was varied to induce difference turgor pressures on protoplasts pushing at cell wall. Free protoplasts in solution were trapped by optical tweezers to study the effect of Polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution. PEG was diluted by Ca+ solution during the process to induced protoplast cell contact and fusion. Possibility of protoplast fusion by excimer laser was investigated and found possible. Here we report a novel tool for plant cell fusion using excimer laser. Plant growth after cell fusion is currently conducted.

  18. Dynamic measurements and simulations of airborne picolitre-droplet coalescence in holographic optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bzdek, Bryan R.; Reid, Jonathan P.; Collard, Liam; Sprittles, James E.; Hudson, Andrew J.

    2016-01-01

    We report studies of the coalescence of pairs of picolitre aerosol droplets manipulated with holographic optical tweezers, probing the shape relaxation dynamics following coalescence by simultaneously monitoring the intensity of elastic backscattered light (EBL) from the trapping laser beam (time resolution on the order of 100 ns) while recording high frame rate camera images (time resolution <10 μs). The goals of this work are to: resolve the dynamics of droplet coalescence in holographic optical traps; assign the origin of key features in the time-dependent EBL intensity; and validate the use of the EBL alone to precisely determine droplet surface tension and viscosity. For low viscosity droplets, two sequential processes are evident: binary coalescence first results from the overlap of the optical traps on the time scale of microseconds followed by the recapture of the composite droplet in an optical trap on the time scale of milliseconds. As droplet viscosity increases, the relaxation in droplet shape eventually occurs on the same time scale as recapture, resulting in a convoluted evolution of the EBL intensity that inhibits quantitative determination of the relaxation time scale. Droplet coalescence was simulated using a computational framework to validate both experimental approaches. The results indicate that time-dependent monitoring of droplet shape from the EBL intensity allows for robust determination of properties such as surface tension and viscosity. Finally, the potential of high frame rate imaging to examine the coalescence of dissimilar viscosity droplets is discussed.

  19. Dynamic measurements and simulations of airborne picolitre-droplet coalescence in holographic optical tweezers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bzdek, Bryan R.; Reid, Jonathan P., E-mail: j.p.reid@bristol.ac.uk [School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS (United Kingdom); Collard, Liam [Department of Mathematics, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH (United Kingdom); Sprittles, James E. [Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Hudson, Andrew J. [Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH (United Kingdom)

    2016-08-07

    We report studies of the coalescence of pairs of picolitre aerosol droplets manipulated with holographic optical tweezers, probing the shape relaxation dynamics following coalescence by simultaneously monitoring the intensity of elastic backscattered light (EBL) from the trapping laser beam (time resolution on the order of 100 ns) while recording high frame rate camera images (time resolution <10 μs). The goals of this work are to: resolve the dynamics of droplet coalescence in holographic optical traps; assign the origin of key features in the time-dependent EBL intensity; and validate the use of the EBL alone to precisely determine droplet surface tension and viscosity. For low viscosity droplets, two sequential processes are evident: binary coalescence first results from the overlap of the optical traps on the time scale of microseconds followed by the recapture of the composite droplet in an optical trap on the time scale of milliseconds. As droplet viscosity increases, the relaxation in droplet shape eventually occurs on the same time scale as recapture, resulting in a convoluted evolution of the EBL intensity that inhibits quantitative determination of the relaxation time scale. Droplet coalescence was simulated using a computational framework to validate both experimental approaches. The results indicate that time-dependent monitoring of droplet shape from the EBL intensity allows for robust determination of properties such as surface tension and viscosity. Finally, the potential of high frame rate imaging to examine the coalescence of dissimilar viscosity droplets is discussed.

  20. Holographic optical tweezers for object manipulations at an air-liquid surface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jesacher, Alexander; Fürhapter, Severin; Maurer, Christian; Bernet, Stefan; Ritsch-Marte, Monika

    2006-06-26

    We investigate holographic optical tweezers manipulating micro-beads at a suspended air-liquid interface. Axial confinement of the particles in the two-dimensional interface is maintained by the interplay between surface tension and gravity. Therefore, optical trapping of the micro-beads is possible even with a long distance air objective. Efficient micro-circulation of the liquid can be induced by fast rotating beads, driven by the orbital angular momentum transfer of incident Laguerre-Gaussian (doughnut) laser modes. Our setup allows various ways of creating a tailored dynamic flow of particles and liquid within the surface. We demonstrate examples of surface manipulations like efficient vortex pumps and mixers, interactive particle flow steering by arrays of vortex pumps, the feasibility of achieving a "clocked" traffic of micro beads, and size-selective guiding of beads along optical "conveyor belts".

  1. Light at work: The use of optical forces for particle manipulation, sorting, and analysis

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jonáš, Alexandr; Zemánek, Pavel

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 29, č. 24 (2008), s. 4813-4851 ISSN 0173-0835 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06007; GA MŠk OC08034 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20650511 Keywords : microfluidics * optical chromatography and sorting * optical force and torque * optical tweezers and micro-manipulation / Optical tweezers and micro-manipulation / Raman microspectroscopy * Raman microspectroscopy Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.509, year: 2008

  2. Laser-induced fusion of human embryonic stem cells with optical tweezers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen Shuxun; Wang Xiaolin; Sun Dong [Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Cheng Jinping; Han Cheng, Shuk [Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Kong, Chi-Wing [Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Consortium, and Departments of Medicine and Physiology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Li, Ronald A. [Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Consortium, and Departments of Medicine and Physiology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Center of Cardiovascular Research, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029 (United States)

    2013-07-15

    We report a study on the laser-induced fusion of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) at the single-cell level. Cells were manipulated by optical tweezers and fused under irradiation with pulsed UV laser at 355 nm. Successful fusion was indicated by green fluorescence protein transfer. The influence of laser pulse energy on the fusion efficiency was investigated. The fused products were viable as gauged by live cell staining. Successful fusion of hESCs with somatic cells was also demonstrated. The reported fusion outcome may facilitate studies of cell differentiation, maturation, and reprogramming.

  3. Independent trapping and manipulation of microparticles using dexterous acoustic tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Courtney, Charles R. P.; Demore, Christine E. M.; Wu, Hongxiao; Cochran, Sandy; Grinenko, Alon; Wilcox, Paul D.; Drinkwater, Bruce W.

    2014-01-01

    An electronically controlled acoustic tweezer was used to demonstrate two acoustic manipulation phenomena: superposition of Bessel functions to allow independent manipulation of multiple particles and the use of higher-order Bessel functions to trap particles in larger regions than is possible with first-order traps. The acoustic tweezers consist of a circular 64-element ultrasonic array operating at 2.35 MHz which generates ultrasonic pressure fields in a millimeter-scale fluid-filled chamber. The manipulation capabilities were demonstrated experimentally with 45 and 90-μm-diameter polystyrene spheres. These capabilities bring the dexterity of acoustic tweezers substantially closer to that of optical tweezers

  4. Calibration of optical tweezers with positional detection in the back focal plane

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tolic-Nørrelykke, S.F.; Schäffer, E.; Howard, J.

    2006-01-01

    We explain and demonstrate a new method of force and position calibrations for optical tweezers with back-focal-plane photodetection. The method combines power spectral measurements of thermal motion and the response to a sinusoidal motion of a translation stage. It consequently does not use...... and precise: true values are returned, with small error bars. We tested this experimentally, near and far from surfaces in the lateral directions. Both position and force calibrations were accurate to within 3%. To calibrate, we moved the sample with a piezoelectric translation stage, but the laser beam could...

  5. Optical tweezers for the measurement of binding forces: system description and application for the study of E. coli adhesion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fallman, Erik G.; Schedin, Staffan; Andersson, Magnus J.; Jass, Jana; Axner, Ove

    2003-06-01

    Optical tweezers together with a position sensitive detection system allows measurements of forces in the pN range between micro-sized biological objects. A prototype force measurement system has been constructed around in inverted microscope with an argon-ion pumped Ti:sapphire laser as light source for optical trapping. A trapped particle in the focus of the high numerical aperture microscope-objective behaves like an omni-directional mechanical spring if an external force displaces it. The displacement from the equilibrium position is a measure of the exerted force. For position detection of the trapped particle (polystyrene beads), a He-Ne laser beam is focused a small distance below the trapping focus. An image of the bead appears as a distinct spot in the far field, monitored by a photosensitive detector. The position data is converted to a force measurement by a calibration procedure. The system has been used for measuring the binding forces between E-coli bacterial adhesin and their receptor sugars.

  6. A study of red blood cell deformability in diabetic retinopathy using optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smart, Thomas J.; Richards, Christopher J.; Bhatnagar, Rhythm; Pavesio, Carlos; Agrawal, Rupesh; Jones, Philip H.

    2015-08-01

    Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) in which high blood sugar levels cause swelling, leaking and occlusions in the blood vessels of the retina, often resulting in a loss of sight. The microvascular system requires red blood cells (RBCs) to undergo significant cellular deformation in order to pass through vessels whose diameters are significantly smaller than their own. There is evidence to suggest that DM impairs the deformability of RBCs, and this loss of deformability has been associated with diabetic kidney disease (or nephropathy) - another microvascular complication of DM. However, it remains unclear whether reduced deformability of RBCs correlates with the presence of DR. Here we present an investigation into the deformability of RBCs in patients with diabetic retinopathy using optical tweezers. To extract a value for the deformability of RBCs we use a dual-trap optical tweezers set-up to stretch individual RBCs. RBCs are trapped directly (i.e. without micro-bead handles), so rotate to assume a `side-on' orientation. Video microscopy is used to record the deformation events, and shape analysis software is used to determine parameters such as initial and maximum RBC length, allowing us to calculate the deformability for each RBC. A small decrease in deformability of diabetes cells subject to this stretching protocol is observed when compared to control cells. We also report on initial results on three dimensional imaging of individual RBCs using defocussing microscopy.

  7. Photoacoustic tweezers with a pulsed laser: theory and experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zharov, V P; Malinsky, T V; Kurten, R C

    2005-01-01

    A novel noninvasive optical technique for manipulating particles and cells is presented that utilizes laser-generated forces in an absorbing medium surrounding the particles or cells. In this technique, a laser pulse creates near-object acoustic waves, which during interaction with the objects lead to then being moved or trapped. The main optical schemes are considered, and a theory is presented for this new optical tool, namely photoacoustic (PA) tweezer with pulsed laser. The magnitudes of forces acting on polystyrene particles suspended in water were estimated as a function of the particles' properties for circular and ring geometries of the laser beam. Results of our preliminary experiments demonstrated proof that the manipulation, trapping and even rotation of cells is possible with PA tweezers

  8. Single-cell adhesion probed in-situ using optical tweezers: A case study with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelain, Mickaël; Rouxhet, Paul G.; Pignon, Frédéric; Magnin, Albert; Piau, Jean-Michel

    2012-06-01

    A facile method of using optical trapping to measure cell adhesion forces is presented and applied to the adhesion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on glass, in contact with solutions of different compositions. Trapping yeast cells with optical tweezers (OT) is not perturbed by cell wall deformation or cell deviation from a spherical shape. The trapping force calibration requires correction not only for the hydrodynamic effect of the neighboring wall but also for spherical aberrations affecting the focal volume and the trap stiffness. Yeast cells trapped for up to 5 h were still able to undergo budding but showed an increase of doubling time. The proportion of adhering cells showed the expected variation according to the solution composition. The detachment force varied in the same way. This observation and the fact that the detachment stress was exerted parallel to the substrate surface point to the role of interactions involving solvated macromolecules. Both the proportion of adhering cells and the removal force showed a distribution which, in our experimental conditions, must be attributed to a heterogeneity of surface properties at the cell level or at the subcellular scale. As compared with magnetic tweezers, atomic force microscopy, and more conventional ways of studying cell adhesion (shear-flow cells), OT present several advantages that are emphasized in this paper.

  9. The Simulation of the stabilizing process of glass nanoparticle in optical tweezer using series of laser pulses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ho Quang Quy; Hoang Dinh Hai

    2012-01-01

    In this article the stable region and stabilizing process of dielectric particle in fluid by the optical tweezer using the series of laser pulses are investigated. The influence of the repetition period and number of laser pulses on the radial variance of particle and the so-called stable space-time pillar is simulated and discussed. (author)

  10. Micro-rheology on (polymer-grafted) colloids using optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutsche, C; Elmahdy, M M; Kegler, K; Semenov, I; Stangner, T; Otto, O; Ueberschaer, O; Kremer, F; Keyser, U F; Krueger, M; Rauscher, M; Weeber, R; Harting, J; Kim, Y W; Lobaskin, V; Netz, R R

    2011-01-01

    Optical tweezers are experimental tools with extraordinary resolution in positioning (± 1 nm) a micron-sized colloid and in the measurement of forces (± 50 fN) acting on it-without any mechanical contact. This enables one to carry out a multitude of novel experiments in nano- and microfluidics, of which the following will be presented in this review: (i) forces within single pairs of colloids in media of varying concentration and valency of the surrounding ionic solution, (ii) measurements of the electrophoretic mobility of single colloids in different solvents (concentration, valency of the ionic solution and pH), (iii) similar experiments as in (i) with DNA-grafted colloids, (iv) the nonlinear response of single DNA-grafted colloids in shear flow and (v) the drag force on single colloids pulled through a polymer solution. The experiments will be described in detail and their analysis discussed.

  11. Pushing nanoparticles with light — A femtonewton resolved measurement of optical scattering forces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Zensen

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Optomechanical manipulation of plasmonic nanoparticles is an area of current interest, both fundamental and applied. However, no experimental method is available to determine the forward-directed scattering force that dominates for incident light of a wavelength close to the plasmon resonance. Here, we demonstrate how the scattering force acting on a single gold nanoparticle in solution can be measured. An optically trapped 80 nm particle was repetitively pushed from the side with laser light resonant to the particle plasmon frequency. A lock-in analysis of the particle movement provides a measured value for the scattering force. We obtain a resolution of less than 3 femtonewtons which is an order of magnitude smaller than any measurement of switchable forces performed on nanoparticles in solution with single beam optical tweezers to date. We compared the results of the force measurement with Mie simulations of the optical scattering force on a gold nanoparticle and found good agreement between experiment and theory within a few fN.

  12. Finding trap stiffness of optical tweezers using digital filters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almendarez-Rangel, Pedro; Morales-Cruzado, Beatriz; Sarmiento-Gómez, Erick; Pérez-Gutiérrez, Francisco G

    2018-02-01

    Obtaining trap stiffness and calibration of the position detection system is the basis of a force measurement using optical tweezers. Both calibration quantities can be calculated using several experimental methods available in the literature. In most cases, stiffness determination and detection system calibration are performed separately, often requiring procedures in very different conditions, and thus confidence of calibration methods is not assured due to possible changes in the environment. In this work, a new method to simultaneously obtain both the detection system calibration and trap stiffness is presented. The method is based on the calculation of the power spectral density of positions through digital filters to obtain the harmonic contributions of the position signal. This method has the advantage of calculating both trap stiffness and photodetector calibration factor from the same dataset in situ. It also provides a direct method to avoid unwanted frequencies that could greatly affect calibration procedure, such as electric noise, for example.

  13. Measurement of elastic light scattering from two optically trapped microspheres and red blood cells in a transparent medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinnunen, Matti; Kauppila, Antti; Karmenyan, Artashes; Myllylä, Risto

    2011-09-15

    Optical tweezers can be used to manipulate small objects and cells. A trap can be used to fix the position of a particle during light scattering measurements. The places of two separately trapped particles can also be changed. In this Letter we present elastic light scattering measurements as a function of scattering angle when two trapped spheres are illuminated with a He-Ne laser. This setup is suitable for trapping noncharged homogeneous spheres. We also demonstrate measurement of light scattering patterns from two separately trapped red blood cells. Two different illumination schemes are used for both samples.

  14. Acoustic tweezers via sub-time-of-flight regime surface acoustic waves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, David J; Devendran, Citsabehsan; Ma, Zhichao; Ng, Jia Wei; Neild, Adrian; Ai, Ye

    2016-07-01

    Micrometer-scale acoustic waves are highly useful for refined optomechanical and acoustofluidic manipulation, where these fields are spatially localized along the transducer aperture but not along the acoustic propagation direction. In the case of acoustic tweezers, such a conventional acoustic standing wave results in particle and cell patterning across the entire width of a microfluidic channel, preventing selective trapping. We demonstrate the use of nanosecond-scale pulsed surface acoustic waves (SAWs) with a pulse period that is less than the time of flight between opposing transducers to generate localized time-averaged patterning regions while using conventional electrode structures. These nodal positions can be readily and arbitrarily positioned in two dimensions and within the patterning region itself through the imposition of pulse delays, frequency modulation, and phase shifts. This straightforward concept adds new spatial dimensions to which acoustic fields can be localized in SAW applications in a manner analogous to optical tweezers, including spatially selective acoustic tweezers and optical waveguides.

  15. Single-Molecule Manipulation of Double-Stranded DNA Using Optical Tweezers: Interaction Studies of DNA with RecA and YOYO-1

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bennink, Martin L.; Scharer, Orlando D.; Kanaar, Ronald; Sakata-Sogawa, Kumiko; Schins, J.M.; Kanger, Johannes S.; de Grooth, B.G.; Greve, Jan

    1999-01-01

    By using optical tweezers and a specially designed flow cell with an integrated glass micropipette, we constructed a setup similar to that of Smith et al. (Science 271:795-799, 1996) in which an individual double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecule can be captured between two polystyrene beads. The first

  16. Auto- and cross-power spectral analysis of dual trap optical tweezer experiments using Bayesian inference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Hansen, Yann; Mehlich, Alexander; Pelz, Benjamin; Rief, Matthias; Netz, Roland R

    2012-09-01

    The thermal fluctuations of micron-sized beads in dual trap optical tweezer experiments contain complete dynamic information about the viscoelastic properties of the embedding medium and-if present-macromolecular constructs connecting the two beads. To quantitatively interpret the spectral properties of the measured signals, a detailed understanding of the instrumental characteristics is required. To this end, we present a theoretical description of the signal processing in a typical dual trap optical tweezer experiment accounting for polarization crosstalk and instrumental noise and discuss the effect of finite statistics. To infer the unknown parameters from experimental data, a maximum likelihood method based on the statistical properties of the stochastic signals is derived. In a first step, the method can be used for calibration purposes: We propose a scheme involving three consecutive measurements (both traps empty, first one occupied and second empty, and vice versa), by which all instrumental and physical parameters of the setup are determined. We test our approach for a simple model system, namely a pair of unconnected, but hydrodynamically interacting spheres. The comparison to theoretical predictions based on instantaneous as well as retarded hydrodynamics emphasizes the importance of hydrodynamic retardation effects due to vorticity diffusion in the fluid. For more complex experimental scenarios, where macromolecular constructs are tethered between the two beads, the same maximum likelihood method in conjunction with dynamic deconvolution theory will in a second step allow one to determine the viscoelastic properties of the tethered element connecting the two beads.

  17. Acoustic tweezers: patterning cells and microparticles using standing surface acoustic waves (SSAW).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Jinjie; Ahmed, Daniel; Mao, Xiaole; Lin, Sz-Chin Steven; Lawit, Aitan; Huang, Tony Jun

    2009-10-21

    Here we present an active patterning technique named "acoustic tweezers" that utilizes standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW) to manipulate and pattern cells and microparticles. This technique is capable of patterning cells and microparticles regardless of shape, size, charge or polarity. Its power intensity, approximately 5x10(5) times lower than that of optical tweezers, compares favorably with those of other active patterning methods. Flow cytometry studies have revealed it to be non-invasive. The aforementioned advantages, along with this technique's simple design and ability to be miniaturized, render the "acoustic tweezers" technique a promising tool for various applications in biology, chemistry, engineering, and materials science.

  18. Power spectrum analysis with least-squares fitting: Amplitude bias and its elimination, with application to optical tweezers and atomic force microscope cantilevers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nørlykke, Simon F.; Flyvbjerg, Henrik

    2010-01-01

    of the characteristic frequency and the diffusion coefficient. We give analytical results for the weight-dependent bias for the wide class of systems whose dynamics is described by a linear (integro)differential equation with additive noise, white or colored. Examples are optical tweezers with hydrodynamic self...

  19. Holographic Raman tweezers controlled by multi-modal natural user interface

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tomori, Z.; Keša, P.; Nikorovič, M.; Kaňka, Jan; Jákl, Petr; Šerý, Mojmír; Bernatová, Silvie; Valušová, E.; Antalík, M.; Zemánek, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 18, č. 1 (2016), 015602:1-9 ISSN 2040-8978 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk(CZ) LD14069 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : holographic optical tweezers * Raman microspectroscopy * human-computer interface Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.741, year: 2016

  20. Optical Tweezers-Based Measurements of Forces and Dynamics at Microtubule Ends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baclayon, Marian; Kalisch, Svenja-Marei; Hendel, Ed; Laan, Liedewij; Husson, Julien; Munteanu, E Laura; Dogterom, Marileen

    2017-01-01

    Microtubules are dynamic cytoskeletal polymers that polymerize and depolymerize while interacting with different proteins and structures within the cell. The highly regulated dynamic properties as well as the pushing and pulling forces generated by dynamic microtubule ends play important roles in processes such as in cell division. For instance, microtubule end-binding proteins are known to affect dramatically the dynamic properties of microtubules, and cortical dyneins are known to mediate pulling forces on microtubule ends. We discuss in this chapter our efforts to reconstitute these systems in vitro and mimic their interactions with structures within the cell using micro-fabricated barriers. Using an optical tweezers setup, we investigate the dynamics and forces of microtubules growing against functionalized barriers in the absence and presence of end-binding proteins and barrier-attached motor proteins. This setup allows high-speed as well as nanometer and piconewton resolution measurements on dynamic microtubules.

  1. Optical tweezers and non-ratiometric fluorescent-dye-based studies of respiration in sperm mitochondria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Timothy; Shi, Linda Z; Zhu, Qingyuan; Chandsawangbhuwana, Charlie; Berns, Michael W

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate how the mitochondrial membrane potential affects sperm motility using laser tweezers and a non-ratiometric fluorescent probe, DiOC 6 (3). A 1064 nm Nd:YVO4 continuous wave laser was used to trap motile sperm at a power of 450 mW in the trap spot. Using customized tracking software, the curvilinear velocity (VCL) and the escape force from the laser tweezers were measured. Human (Homo sapiens), dog (Canis lupis familiaris) and drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) sperm were treated with DiOC 6 (3) to measure the membrane potential in the mitochondria-rich sperm midpieces. Sperm from all three species exhibited an increase in fluorescence when treated with the DiOC 6 (3). When a cyanide inhibitor (CCCP) of aerobic respiration was applied, sperm of all three species exhibited a reduction in fluorescence to pre-dye levels. With respect to VCL and escape force, the CCCP had no effect on dog or human sperm, suggesting a major reliance upon anaerobic respiration (glycolysis) for ATP in these two species. Based on the preliminary study on drill sperm, CCCP caused a drop in the VCL, suggesting potential reliance on both glycolysis and aerobic respiration for motility. The results demonstrate that optical trapping in combination with DiOC 6 (3) is an effective way to study sperm motility and energetics

  2. Optical tweezers and non-ratiometric fluorescent-dye-based studies of respiration in sperm mitochondria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Timothy; Shi, Linda Z.; Zhu, Qingyuan; Chandsawangbhuwana, Charlie; Berns, Michael W.

    2011-04-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate how the mitochondrial membrane potential affects sperm motility using laser tweezers and a non-ratiometric fluorescent probe, DiOC6(3). A 1064 nm Nd:YVO4 continuous wave laser was used to trap motile sperm at a power of 450 mW in the trap spot. Using customized tracking software, the curvilinear velocity (VCL) and the escape force from the laser tweezers were measured. Human (Homo sapiens), dog (Canis lupis familiaris) and drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) sperm were treated with DiOC6(3) to measure the membrane potential in the mitochondria-rich sperm midpieces. Sperm from all three species exhibited an increase in fluorescence when treated with the DiOC6(3). When a cyanide inhibitor (CCCP) of aerobic respiration was applied, sperm of all three species exhibited a reduction in fluorescence to pre-dye levels. With respect to VCL and escape force, the CCCP had no effect on dog or human sperm, suggesting a major reliance upon anaerobic respiration (glycolysis) for ATP in these two species. Based on the preliminary study on drill sperm, CCCP caused a drop in the VCL, suggesting potential reliance on both glycolysis and aerobic respiration for motility. The results demonstrate that optical trapping in combination with DiOC6(3) is an effective way to study sperm motility and energetics.

  3. Multimodal in vivo blood flow sensing combining particle image velocimetry and optical tweezers-based blood steering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meissner, Robert; Sugden, Wade W.; Siekmann, Arndt F.; Denz, Cornelia

    2018-02-01

    All higher developed organisms contain complex hierarchical networks of arteries, veins and capillaries. These constitute the cardiovascular system responsible for supplying nutrients, gas and waste exchange. Diseases related to the cardiovascular system are among the main causes for death worldwide. In order to understand the processes leading to arteriovenous malformation, we studied hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), which has a prevalence of 1:5000 worldwide and causes internal bleeding. In zebrafish, HHT is induced by mutation of the endoglin gene involved in HHT and observed to reduce red blood cell (RBC) flow to intersegmental vessels (ISVs) in the tail due to malformations of the dorsal aorta (DA) and posterior cardinal vein (PCV). However, these capillaries are still functional. Changes in the blood flow pattern are observed from in vivo data from zebrafish embryos through particle image velocimetry (PIV). Wall shear rates (WSRs) and blood flow velocities are obtained non-invasively with millisecond resolution. We observe significant increases of blood flow velocity in the DA for endoglin-deficient zebrafish embryos (mutants) at 3 days post fertilization. In the PCV, this increase is even more pronounced. We identified an increased similarity between the DA and the PCV of mutant fish compared to siblings, i.e., unaffected fish. To counteract the reduced RBC flow to ISVs we implement optical tweezers (OT). RBCs are steered into previously unperfused ISVs showing a significant increase of RBC count per minute. We discuss limitations with respect to biocompatibility of optical tweezers in vivo and determination of in vivo wall shear stress (WSS) connected to normal and endoglin-deficicent zebrafish embryos.

  4. Dynamic translocation of ligand-complexed DNA through solid-state nanopores with optical tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sischka, Andy; Spiering, Andre; Anselmetti, Dario; Khaksar, Maryam; Laxa, Miriam; Koenig, Janine; Dietz, Karl-Josef

    2010-01-01

    We investigated the threading and controlled translocation of individual lambda-DNA (λ-DNA) molecules through solid-state nanopores with piconewton force sensitivity, millisecond time resolution and picoampere ionic current sensitivity with a set-up combining quantitative 3D optical tweezers (OT) with electrophysiology. With our virtually interference-free OT set-up the binding of RecA and single peroxiredoxin protein molecules to λ-DNA was quantitatively investigated during dynamic translocation experiments where effective forces and respective ionic currents of the threaded DNA molecule through the nanopore were measured during inward and outward sliding. Membrane voltage-dependent experiments of reversible single protein/DNA translocation scans yield hysteresis-free, asymmetric single-molecule fingerprints in the measured force and conductance signals that can be attributed to the interplay of optical trap and electrostatic nanopore potentials. These experiments allow an exact localization of the bound protein along the DNA strand and open fascinating applications for label-free detection of DNA-binding ligands, where structural and positional binding phenomena can be investigated at a single-molecule level.

  5. Methodological challenges of optical tweezers-based X-ray fluorescence imaging of biological model organisms at synchrotron facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergucht, Eva; Brans, Toon; Beunis, Filip; Garrevoet, Jan; Bauters, Stephen; De Rijcke, Maarten; Deruytter, David; Janssen, Colin; Riekel, Christian; Burghammer, Manfred; Vincze, Laszlo

    2015-07-01

    Recently, a radically new synchrotron radiation-based elemental imaging approach for the analysis of biological model organisms and single cells in their natural in vivo state was introduced. The methodology combines optical tweezers (OT) technology for non-contact laser-based sample manipulation with synchrotron radiation confocal X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microimaging for the first time at ESRF-ID13. The optical manipulation possibilities and limitations of biological model organisms, the OT setup developments for XRF imaging and the confocal XRF-related challenges are reported. In general, the applicability of the OT-based setup is extended with the aim of introducing the OT XRF methodology in all research fields where highly sensitive in vivo multi-elemental analysis is of relevance at the (sub)micrometre spatial resolution level.

  6. Dual-mode optical fiber-based tweezers for robust trapping and manipulation of absorbing particles in air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sil, Souvik; Kanti Saha, Tushar; Kumar, Avinash; Bera, Sudipta K.; Banerjee, Ayan

    2017-12-01

    We develop an optical tweezers system using a single dual-mode optical fiber where mesoscopic absorbing particles can be trapped in three dimensions and manipulated employing photophoretic forces. We generate a superposition of fundamental and first order Hermite-Gaussian beam modes by the simple innovation of coupling a laser into a commercial optical fiber designed to be single mode for a wavelength higher than that of the laser. We achieve robust trapping of the absorbing particles for hours using both the pure fundamental and superposition mode beams and attain large manipulation velocities of ˜5 mm s-1 in the axial direction and ˜0.75 mm s-1 in the radial direction. We then demonstrate that the superposition mode is more effective in trapping and manipulation compared to the fundamental mode by around 80%, which may be increased several times by the use of a pure first order Hermite-Gaussian mode. The work has promising implications for trapping and spectroscopy of aerosols in air using simple optical fiber-based traps.

  7. Normal and system lupus erythematosus red blood cell interactions studied by double trap optical tweezers: direct measurements of aggregation forces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khokhlova, Maria D.; Lyubin, Eugeny V.; Zhdanov, Alexander G.; Rykova, Sophia Yu.; Sokolova, Irina A.; Fedyanin, Andrey A.

    2012-02-01

    Direct measurements of aggregation forces in piconewton range between two red blood cells in pair rouleau are performed under physiological conditions using double trap optical tweezers. Aggregation and disaggregation properties of healthy and pathologic (system lupus erythematosis) blood samples are analyzed. Strong difference in aggregation speed and behavior is revealed using the offered method which is proposed to be a promising tool for SLE monitoring at single cell level.

  8. Vectorial optical fields fundamentals and applications

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    Polarization is a vector nature of light that plays an important role in optical science and engineering. While existing textbook treatments of light assume beams with spatially homogeneous polarization, there is an increasing interest in vectorial optical fields with spatially engineered states of polarization. New effects and phenomena have been predicted and observed for light beams with these unconventional polarization states. This edited review volume aims to provide a comprehensive overview and summarize the latest developments in this important emerging field of optics. This book will cover the fundamentals including mathematical and physical descriptions, experimental generation, manipulation, focusing, propagation, and the applications of the engineered vectorial optical fields in focal field engineering, plasmonic focusing and optical antenna, single molecular imaging, optical tweezers/trapping, as well as optical measurements and instrumentations. Readership: Students, professionals, post-graduat...

  9. Nonparaxial Bessel and Bessel-Gauss pincers light-sheets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitri, F. G.

    2017-01-01

    Nonparaxial optical Bessel and Bessel-Gauss pincers optical-sheets are introduced based upon the angular spectrum decomposition in plane waves. The angular spectrum function and the beam-shape coefficients are expressed by means of improper integrals computed numerically. The radiated component of the electric field is also evaluated, displaying unique features of the nonparaxial Bessel pincers light-sheets. This new type of auto-focusing light-sheets finds potential applications in the development of novel methods in optical light-sheet tweezers for particle manipulation in opto-fluidics, particle sizing and imaging. Numerical predictions for the scattering, radiation force and torque, and particle dynamics also benefit from the developed beam solution.

  10. Optimization of particle trapping and patterning via photovoltaic tweezers: role of light modulation and particle size

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matarrubia, J; García-Cabañes, A; Plaza, J L; Agulló-López, F; Carrascosa, M

    2014-01-01

    The role of light modulation m and particle size on the morphology and spatial resolution of nano-particle patterns obtained by photovoltaic tweezers on Fe : LiNbO 3 has been investigated. The impact of m when using spherical as well as non-spherical (anisotropic) nano-particles deposited on the sample surface has been elucidated. Light modulation is a key parameter determining the particle profile contrast that is optimum for spherical particles and high-m values (m ∼ 1). The minimum particle periodicities reachable are also investigated obtaining periodic patterns up to 3.5 µm. This is a value at least one order of magnitude shorter than those obtained in previous reported experiments. Results are successfully explained and discussed in light of the previous reported models for photorefraction including nonlinear carrier transport and dielectrophoretic trapping. From the results, a number of rules for particle patterning optimization are derived. (paper)

  11. Optical tweezers reveal how proteins alter replication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaurasiya, Kathy

    Single molecule force spectroscopy is a powerful method that explores the DNA interaction properties of proteins involved in a wide range of fundamental biological processes such as DNA replication, transcription, and repair. We use optical tweezers to capture and stretch a single DNA molecule in the presence of proteins that bind DNA and alter its mechanical properties. We quantitatively characterize the DNA binding mechanisms of proteins in order to provide a detailed understanding of their function. In this work, we focus on proteins involved in replication of Escherichia coli (E. coli ), endogenous eukaryotic retrotransposons Ty3 and LINE-1, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). DNA polymerases replicate the entire genome of the cell, and bind both double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) during DNA replication. The replicative DNA polymerase in the widely-studied model system E. coli is the DNA polymerase III subunit alpha (DNA pol III alpha). We use optical tweezers to determine that UmuD, a protein that regulates bacterial mutagenesis through its interactions with DNA polymerases, specifically disrupts alpha binding to ssDNA. This suggests that UmuD removes alpha from its ssDNA template to allow DNA repair proteins access to the damaged DNA, and to facilitate exchange of the replicative polymerase for an error-prone translesion synthesis (TLS) polymerase that inserts nucleotides opposite the lesions, so that bacterial DNA replication may proceed. This work demonstrates a biophysical mechanism by which E. coli cells tolerate DNA damage. Retroviruses and retrotransposons reproduce by copying their RNA genome into the nuclear DNA of their eukaryotic hosts. Retroelements encode proteins called nucleic acid chaperones, which rearrange nucleic acid secondary structure and are therefore required for successful replication. The chaperone activity of these proteins requires strong binding affinity for both single- and double-stranded nucleic

  12. Using optical tweezers for measuring the interaction forces between human bone cells and implant surfaces: System design and force calibration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersson, Martin; Madgavkar, Ashwin; Stjerndahl, Maria; Wu, Yanrong; Tan, Weihong; Duran, Randy; Niehren, Stefan; Mustafa, Kamal; Arvidson, Kristina; Wennerberg, Ann

    2007-01-01

    Optical tweezers were used to study the interaction and attachment of human bone cells to various types of medical implant materials. Ideally, the implant should facilitate cell attachment and promote migration of the progenitor cells in order to decrease the healing time. It is therefore of interest, in a controlled manner, to be able to monitor the cell adhesion process. Results from such studies would help foresee the clinical outcome of integrating medical implants. The interactions between two primary cell culture models, human gingival fibroblasts and bone forming human osteoblast cells, and three different implant materials, glass, titanium, and hydroxyapatite, were studied. A novel type of optical tweezers, which has a newly designed quadrant detector and a powerful 3 W laser was constructed and force calibrated using two different methods: one method in which the stiffness of the optical trap was obtained by monitoring the phase lag between the trap and the moved object when imposing a forced oscillation on the trapped object and another method in which the maximum trapping force was derived from the critical velocity at which the object escapes the trap. Polystyrene beads as well as cells were utilized for the calibrations. This is the first time that cells have been used directly for these types of force calibrations and, hence, direct measurements of forces exerted on cells can be performed, thus avoiding the difficulties often encountered when translating the results obtained from cell measurements to the calibrations obtained with reference materials. This more straightforward approach represents an advantage in comparison to established methods

  13. Cell manipulation tool with combined microwell array and optical tweezers for cell isolation and deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Xiaolin; Gou, Xue; Chen, Shuxun; Yan, Xiao; Sun, Dong

    2013-01-01

    Isolation from rare cells and deposition of sorted cells with high accuracy for further study are critical to a wide range of biomedical applications. In the current paper, we report an automated cell manipulation tool with combined optical tweezers and a uniquely designed microwell array, which functions for recognition, isolation, assembly, transportation and deposition of the interesting cells. The microwell array allows the passive hydrodynamic docking of cells, while offering the opportunity to inspect the interesting cell phenotypes with high spatio-temporal resolution based on the flexible image processing technique. In addition, dynamic and parallel cell manipulation in three dimensions can realize the target cell levitation from microwell and pattern assembly with multiple optical traps. Integrated with the programmed motorized stage, the optically levitated and assembled cells can be transported and deposited to the predefined microenvironment, so the tool can facilitate the integration of other on-chip functionalities for further study without removing these isolated cells from the chip. Experiments on human embryonic stem cells and yeast cells are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed cell manipulation tool. Besides the application to cell isolation and deposition, three other biological applications with this tool are also presented. (paper)

  14. Transfer of non-Gaussian quantum states of mechanical oscillator to light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filip, Radim; Rakhubovsky, Andrey A.

    2015-11-01

    Non-Gaussian quantum states are key resources for quantum optics with continuous-variable oscillators. The non-Gaussian states can be deterministically prepared by a continuous evolution of the mechanical oscillator isolated in a nonlinear potential. We propose feasible and deterministic transfer of non-Gaussian quantum states of mechanical oscillators to a traveling light beam, using purely all-optical methods. The method relies on only basic feasible and high-quality elements of quantum optics: squeezed states of light, linear optics, homodyne detection, and electro-optical feedforward control of light. By this method, a wide range of novel non-Gaussian states of light can be produced in the future from the mechanical states of levitating particles in optical tweezers, including states necessary for the implementation of an important cubic phase gate.

  15. Four-dimensional optical manipulation of colloidal particles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodrigo, Peter John; Daria, Vincent Ricardo Mancao; Glückstad, Jesper

    2010-01-01

    years ago. Bringing together many landmark papers on the field, Optical Tweezers: Methods and Applications covers the techniques and uses of optical tweezers. Each section is introduced by a brief commentary, setting the papers into their historical and contemporary contexts. The first two sections...... of the best in the field, this compendium presents important historical and current developments of optical tweezers in a range of scientific areas, from the manipulation of bacteria to the treatment of DNA....

  16. Rapid feedback control and stabilization of an optical tweezers with a budget microcontroller

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nino, Daniel; Wang, Haowei; N Milstein, Joshua

    2014-01-01

    Laboratories ranging the scientific disciplines employ feedback control to regulate variables within their experiments, from the flow of liquids within a microfluidic device to the temperature within a cell incubator. We have built an inexpensive, yet fast and rapidly deployed, feedback control system that is straightforward and flexible to implement from a commercially available Arduino Due microcontroller. This is in comparison with the complex, time-consuming and often expensive electronics that are commonly implemented. As an example of its utility, we apply our feedback controller to the task of stabilizing the main trapping laser of an optical tweezers. The feedback controller, which is inexpensive yet fast and rapidly deployed, was implemented from hacking an open source Arduino Due microcontroller. Our microcontroller based feedback system can stabilize the laser intensity to a few tenths of a per cent at 200 kHz, which is an order of magnitude better than the laser's base specifications, illustrating the utility of these devices. (paper)

  17. Rapid feedback control and stabilization of an optical tweezers with a budget microcontroller

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nino, Daniel; Wang, Haowei; N Milstein, Joshua, E-mail: josh.milstein@utoronto.ca [Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6 (Canada)

    2014-09-01

    Laboratories ranging the scientific disciplines employ feedback control to regulate variables within their experiments, from the flow of liquids within a microfluidic device to the temperature within a cell incubator. We have built an inexpensive, yet fast and rapidly deployed, feedback control system that is straightforward and flexible to implement from a commercially available Arduino Due microcontroller. This is in comparison with the complex, time-consuming and often expensive electronics that are commonly implemented. As an example of its utility, we apply our feedback controller to the task of stabilizing the main trapping laser of an optical tweezers. The feedback controller, which is inexpensive yet fast and rapidly deployed, was implemented from hacking an open source Arduino Due microcontroller. Our microcontroller based feedback system can stabilize the laser intensity to a few tenths of a per cent at 200 kHz, which is an order of magnitude better than the laser's base specifications, illustrating the utility of these devices. (paper)

  18. Identification of individual biofilm-forming bacterial cells using Raman tweezers

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Samek, Ota; Bernatová, Silvie; Ježek, Jan; Šiler, Martin; Šerý, Mojmír; Krzyžánek, Vladislav; Hrubanová, Kamila; Zemánek, Pavel; Holá, V.; Růžička, F.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 20, č. 5 (2015), 051038:1-6 ISSN 1083-3668 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP205/11/1687; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : Raman tweezers * Staphylococcus epidermidis * biofilm Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 2.556, year: 2015

  19. Temperature control and measurement with tunable femtosecond optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mondal, Dipankar; Goswami, Debabrata

    2016-09-01

    We present the effects of wavelength dependent temperature rise in a femtosecond optical tweezers. Our experiments involve the femtosecond trapping laser tunable from 740-820 nm at low power 25 mW to cause heating in the trapped volume within a homogeneous solution of sub micro-molar concentration of IR dye. The 780 nm high repetition rate laser acts as a resonant excitation source which helps to create the local heating effortlessly within the trapping volume. We have used both position autocorrelation and equipartion theorem to evaluate temperature at different wavelength having different absorption coefficient. Fixing the pulse width in the temporal domain gives constant bandwidth at spatial domain, which makes our system behave as a tunable temperature rise device with high precision. This observation leads us to calculate temperature as well as viscosity within the vicinity of the trapping zone. A mutual energy transfer occurs between the trapped bead and solvents that leads to transfer the thermal energy of solvents into the kinetic energy of the trap bead and vice-versa. Thus hot solvated molecules resulting from resonant and near resonant excitation of trapping wavelength can continuously dissipate heat to the trapped bead which will be reflected on frequency spectrum of Brownian noise exhibited by the bead. Temperature rise near the trapping zone can significantly change the viscosity of the medium. We observe temperature rise profile according to its Gaussian shaped absorption spectrum with different wavelength.

  20. Characterization of photoactivated singlet oxygen damage in single-molecule optical trap experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landry, Markita P; McCall, Patrick M; Qi, Zhi; Chemla, Yann R

    2009-10-21

    Optical traps or "tweezers" use high-power, near-infrared laser beams to manipulate and apply forces to biological systems, ranging from individual molecules to cells. Although previous studies have established that optical tweezers induce photodamage in live cells, the effects of trap irradiation have yet to be examined in vitro, at the single-molecule level. In this study, we investigate trap-induced damage in a simple system consisting of DNA molecules tethered between optically trapped polystyrene microspheres. We show that exposure to the trapping light affects the lifetime of the tethers, the efficiency with which they can be formed, and their structure. Moreover, we establish that these irreversible effects are caused by oxidative damage from singlet oxygen. This reactive state of molecular oxygen is generated locally by the optical traps in the presence of a sensitizer, which we identify as the trapped polystyrene microspheres. Trap-induced oxidative damage can be reduced greatly by working under anaerobic conditions, using additives that quench singlet oxygen, or trapping microspheres lacking the sensitizers necessary for singlet state photoexcitation. Our findings are relevant to a broad range of trap-based single-molecule experiments-the most common biological application of optical tweezers-and may guide the development of more robust experimental protocols.

  1. EDITORIAL: Nonlinear optical manipulation, patterning and control in nano- and micro-scale systems Nonlinear optical manipulation, patterning and control in nano- and micro-scale systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denz, Cornelia; Simoni, Francesco

    2009-03-01

    Nonlinearities are becoming more and more important for a variety of applications in nanosciences, bio-medical sciences, information processing and photonics. For applications at the crossings of these fields, especially microscopic and nanoscopic imaging and manipulation, nonlinearities play a key role. They may range from simple nonlinear parameter changes up to applications in manipulating, controlling and structuring material by light, or the manipulation of light by light itself. It is this area between basic nonlinear optics and photonic applications that includes `hot' topics such as ultra-resolution optical microscopy, micro- and nanomanipulation and -structuring, or nanophotonics. This special issue contains contributions in this field, many of them from the International Conference on Nonlinear Microscopy and Optical Control held in conjunction with a network meeting of the ESF COST action MP0604 `Optical Micromanipulation by Nonlinear Nanophotonics', 19-22 February 2008, Münster, Germany. Throughout this special issue, basic investigations of material structuring by nonlinear light--matter interaction, light-induced control of nanoparticles, and novel nonlinear material investigation techniques, are presented, covering the basic field of optical manipulation and control. These papers are followed by impressive developments of optical tweezers. Nowadays, optical phase contrast tweezers, twin and especially multiple beam traps, develop particle control in a new dimension: particles can be arranged, sorted and identified with high throughput. One of the most prominent forthcoming applications of optical tweezers is in the field of microfluidics. The action of light on fluids will open new horizons in microfluidic manipulation and control. The field of optical manipulation and control is a very broad field that has developed in an impressive way, in a short time, in Europe with the installation of the MP0604 network. Top researchers from 19 countries are

  2. Improved axial position detection in optical tweezers measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dreyer, Jakob Kisbye; Berg-Sørensen, Kirstine; Oddershede, Lene

    2004-01-01

    We investigate the axial position detection of a trapped microsphere in an optical trap by using a quadrant photodiode. By replacing the photodiode with a CCD camera, we obtain detailed information on the light scattered by the microsphere. The correlation of the interference pattern with the axial...... position displays complex behavior with regions of positive and negative interference. By analyzing the scattered light intensity as a function of the axial position of the trapped sphere, we propose a simple method to increase the sensitivity and control the linear range of axial position detection....

  3. Substrate-dependent cell elasticity measured by optical tweezers indentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousafzai, Muhammad S.; Ndoye, Fatou; Coceano, Giovanna; Niemela, Joseph; Bonin, Serena; Scoles, Giacinto; Cojoc, Dan

    2016-01-01

    In the last decade, cell elasticity has been widely investigated as a potential label free indicator for cellular alteration in different diseases, cancer included. Cell elasticity can be locally measured by pulling membrane tethers, stretching or indenting the cell using optical tweezers. In this paper, we propose a simple approach to perform cell indentation at pN forces by axially moving the cell against a trapped microbead. The elastic modulus is calculated using the Hertz-model. Besides the axial component, the setup also allows us to examine the lateral cell-bead interaction. This technique has been applied to measure the local elasticity of HBL-100 cells, an immortalized human cell line, originally derived from the milk of a woman with no evidence of breast cancer lesions. In addition, we have studied the influence of substrate stiffness on cell elasticity by performing experiments on cells cultured on two substrates, bare and collagen-coated, having different stiffness. The mean value of the cell elastic modulus measured during indentation was 26±9 Pa for the bare substrate, while for the collagen-coated substrate it diminished to 19±7 Pa. The same trend was obtained for the elastic modulus measured during the retraction of the cell: 23±10 Pa and 13±7 Pa, respectively. These results show the cells adapt their stiffness to that of the substrate and demonstrate the potential of this setup for low-force probing of modifications to cell mechanics induced by the surrounding environment (e.g. extracellular matrix or other cells).

  4. The Use of Raman Tweezers and Chemometric Analysis to Discriminate the Urological Cell Lines, PC-3, LNCaP, BPH and MGH-U1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey, T. J.; Hughes, C.; Ward, A. D.; Gazi, E.; Faria, E. Correia; Clarke, N. W.; Brown, M.; Snook, R.; Gardner, P.

    2008-11-01

    Here we report on investigations into using Raman optical tweezers to analyse both live and chemically fixed prostate and bladder cells. Spectra were subjected to chemometric analysis to discriminate and classify the cell types based on their spectra. Subsequent results revealed the potential of Raman tweezers as a potential clinical diagnostic tool.

  5. Rotation, oscillation and hydrodynamic synchronization of optically trapped oblate spheroidal microparticles

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Arzola, Alejandro V.; Jákl, Petr; Chvátal, Lukáš; Zemánek, Pavel

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 22, č. 13 (2014), s. 16207-1621 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LH12018 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : orbital angular-momentum * lineary polarized-light * ellipsoidal molecules * microscopic particles * Gaussian beams * tweezers Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.488, year: 2014

  6. Nonparaxial Bessel and Bessel–Gauss pincers light-sheets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitri, F.G., E-mail: F.G.Mitri@ieee.org

    2017-01-23

    Highlights: • Bessel and Bessel–Gauss autofocusing light sheets (i.e. beams in 2D) are developed. • The light-sheets are synthesized based on the angular spectrum decomposition method. • Computations of the scattering, radiation force and torque benefit from the solutions. - Abstract: Nonparaxial optical Bessel and Bessel–Gauss pincers optical-sheets are introduced based upon the angular spectrum decomposition in plane waves. The angular spectrum function and the beam-shape coefficients are expressed by means of improper integrals computed numerically. The radiated component of the electric field is also evaluated, displaying unique features of the nonparaxial Bessel pincers light-sheets. This new type of auto-focusing light-sheets finds potential applications in the development of novel methods in optical light-sheet tweezers for particle manipulation in opto-fluidics, particle sizing and imaging. Numerical predictions for the scattering, radiation force and torque, and particle dynamics also benefit from the developed beam solution.

  7. Nonparaxial Bessel and Bessel–Gauss pincers light-sheets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitri, F.G.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Bessel and Bessel–Gauss autofocusing light sheets (i.e. beams in 2D) are developed. • The light-sheets are synthesized based on the angular spectrum decomposition method. • Computations of the scattering, radiation force and torque benefit from the solutions. - Abstract: Nonparaxial optical Bessel and Bessel–Gauss pincers optical-sheets are introduced based upon the angular spectrum decomposition in plane waves. The angular spectrum function and the beam-shape coefficients are expressed by means of improper integrals computed numerically. The radiated component of the electric field is also evaluated, displaying unique features of the nonparaxial Bessel pincers light-sheets. This new type of auto-focusing light-sheets finds potential applications in the development of novel methods in optical light-sheet tweezers for particle manipulation in opto-fluidics, particle sizing and imaging. Numerical predictions for the scattering, radiation force and torque, and particle dynamics also benefit from the developed beam solution.

  8. Objective-lens-free Fiber-based Position Detection with Nanometer Resolution in a Fiber Optical Trapping System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ti, Chaoyang; Ho-Thanh, Minh-Tri; Wen, Qi; Liu, Yuxiang

    2017-10-13

    Position detection with high accuracy is crucial for force calibration of optical trapping systems. Most existing position detection methods require high-numerical-aperture objective lenses, which are bulky, expensive, and difficult to miniaturize. Here, we report an affordable objective-lens-free, fiber-based position detection scheme with 2 nm spatial resolution and 150 MHz bandwidth. This fiber based detection mechanism enables simultaneous trapping and force measurements in a compact fiber optical tweezers system. In addition, we achieved more reliable signal acquisition with less distortion compared with objective based position detection methods, thanks to the light guiding in optical fibers and small distance between the fiber tips and trapped particle. As a demonstration of the fiber based detection, we used the fiber optical tweezers to apply a force on a cell membrane and simultaneously measure the cellular response.

  9. Optical bistability controlling light with light

    CERN Document Server

    Gibbs, Hyatt

    1985-01-01

    Optical Bistability: Controlling Light with Light focuses on optical bistability in nonlinear optical systems. Emphasis is on passive (non-laser) systems that exhibit reversible bistability with input intensity as the hysteresis variable, along with the physics and the potential applications of such systems for nonlinear optical signal processing. This book consists of seven chapters and begins with a historical overview of optical bistability in lasers and passive systems. The next chapter describes steady-state theories of optical bistability, including the Bonifacio-Lugiato model, as we

  10. Molecular tweezers with varying anions: a comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutt, Som; Wilch, Constanze; Gersthagen, Thomas; Talbiersky, Peter; Bravo-Rodriguez, Kenny; Hanni, Matti; Sánchez-García, Elsa; Ochsenfeld, Christian; Klärner, Frank-Gerrit; Schrader, Thomas

    2013-07-05

    Selective binding of the phosphate-substituted molecular tweezer 1a to protein lysine residues was suggested to explain the inhibition of certain enzymes and the aberrant aggregation of amyloid petide Aβ42 or α-synuclein, which are assumed to be responsible for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, respectively. In this work we systematically investigated the binding of four water-soluble tweezers 1a-d (substituted by phosphate, methanephosphonate, sulfate, or O-methylenecarboxylate groups) to amino acids and peptides containing lysine or arginine residues by using fluorescence spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The comparison of the experimental results with theoretical data obtained by a combination of QM/MM and ab initio(1)H NMR shift calculations provides clear evidence that the tweezers 1a-c bind the amino acid or peptide guest molecules by threading the lysine or arginine side chain through the tweezers' cavity, whereas in the case of 1d the guest molecule is preferentially positioned outside the tweezer's cavity. Attractive ionic, CH-π, and hydrophobic interactions are here the major binding forces. The combination of experiment and theory provides deep insight into the host-guest binding modes, a prerequisite to understanding the exciting influence of these tweezers on the aggregation of proteins and the activity of enzymes.

  11. Developing a New Biophysical Tool to Combine Magneto-Optical Tweezers with Super-Resolution Fluorescence Microscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaokun Zhou

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available We present a novel experimental setup in which magnetic and optical tweezers are combined for torque and force transduction onto single filamentous molecules in a transverse configuration to allow simultaneous mechanical measurement and manipulation. Previously we have developed a super-resolution imaging module which, in conjunction with advanced imaging techniques such as Blinking assisted Localisation Microscopy (BaLM, achieves localisation precision of single fluorescent dye molecules bound to DNA of ~30 nm along the contour of the molecule; our work here describes developments in producing a system which combines tweezing and super-resolution fluorescence imaging. The instrument also features an acousto-optic deflector that temporally divides the laser beam to form multiple traps for high throughput statistics collection. Our motivation for developing the new tool is to enable direct observation of detailed molecular topological transformation and protein binding event localisation in a stretching/twisting mechanical assay that previously could hitherto only be deduced indirectly from the end-to-end length variation of DNA. Our approach is simple and robust enough for reproduction in the lab without the requirement of precise hardware engineering, yet is capable of unveiling the elastic and dynamic properties of filamentous molecules that have been hidden using traditional tools.

  12. Massive ordering and alignment of cylindrical micro-objects by photovoltaic optoelectronic tweezers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elvira, Iris; Muñoz-Martínez, Juan F; Barroso, Álvaro; Denz, Cornelia; Ramiro, José B; García-Cabañes, Angel; Agulló-López, Fernando; Carrascosa, Mercedes

    2018-01-01

    Optical tools for manipulation and trapping of micro- and nano-objects are a fundamental issue for many applications in nano- and biotechnology. This work reports on the use of one such method, known as photovoltaic optoelectronics tweezers, to orientate and organize cylindrical microcrystals, specifically elongated zeolite L, on the surface of Fe-doped LiNbO 3 crystal plates. Patterns of aligned zeolites have been achieved through the forces and torques generated by the bulk photovoltaic effect. The alignment patterns with zeolites parallel or perpendicular to the substrate surface are highly dependent on the features of light distribution and crystal configuration. Moreover, dielectrophoretic chains of zeolites with lengths up to 100 μm have often been observed. The experimental results of zeolite trapping and alignment have been discussed and compared together with theoretical simulations of the evanescent photovoltaic electric field and the dielectrophoretic potential. They demonstrate the remarkable capabilities of the optoelectronic photovoltaic method to orientate and pattern anisotropic microcrystals. The combined action of patterning and alignment offers a unique tool to prepare functional nanostructures with potential applications in a variety of fields such as nonlinear optics or plasmonics.

  13. FIBER OPTIC LIGHTING SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Munir BATUR

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Recently there have been many important and valuable developments in the communication industry. The huge increase in the sound, data and visual communications has caused a parallel increase in the demand for systems with wider capacity, higher speed and higher quality. Communication systems that use light to transfer data are immensely increased. There have recently many systems in which glass or plastic fiber cables were developed for light wave to be transmitted from a source to a target place. Fiber optic systems, are nowadays widely used in energy transmission control systems, medicine, industry and lighting. The basics of the system is, movement of light from one point to another point in fiber cable with reflections. Fiber optic lighting systems are quite secure than other lighting systems and have flexibility for realizing many different designs. This situation makes fiber optics an alternative for other lighting systems. Fiber optic lighting systems usage is increasing day-by-day in our life. In this article, these systems are discussed in detail.

  14. Evolution of colloidal dispersions in novel time-varying optical potentials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koss, Brian Alan

    Optical traps use forces exerted by a tightly focused light beam to trap objects from tens of nanometers to tens of micrometers in size. Since their introduction in 1986, optical tweezers have become very useful to biology, chemistry, and soft condensed-matter physics. Work presented here, promises to advance optical tweezers not only in fundamental scientific research, but also in applications outside of the laboratory and into the mainstream of miniaturized manufacturing and diagnostics. By providing unprecedented access to the mesoscopic world, a new generation of optical traps, called Dynamic Holographic Optical Tweezers (HOTs) offers revolutionary new opportunities for fundamental and applied research. To demonstrate this technique, HOTs will be used to pump particles via a new method of transport called Optical Peristalsis (OP). OP is efficient method for transporting mesoscopic objects in three dimensions using short repetitive sequences of holographic optical trapping patterns. Transport in this process is analogous to peristaltic pumping, with the configurations of optical traps mimicking states of a peristaltic pump. While not limited to the deterministic particle transport, OP, can also be a platform to investigate the stochastic limit of particle transport. Advances in recent years have demonstrated that a variety of time-varying perturbations can induce drift in a diffusive system without exerting an overall force. Among these, are thermal ratchet models in which the system is subjected to time-varying energy landscapes that break spatiotemporal symmetry and thereby induce drift. Typically, the potential energy landscape is chosen to be the sawtooth potential. This work describes an alternate class of symmetric thermal ratchet models, that are not sawtooth, and demonstrates their efficacy in biasing the diffusion of colloidal spheres in both the stochastic and deterministic limits. Unlike previous models, each state in this thermal ratchet consists of

  15. A feasibility study of in vivo applications of single beam acoustic tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Ying; Lee, Changyang; Chen, Ruimin; Zhou, Qifa; Shung, K. Kirk

    2014-01-01

    Tools that are capable of manipulating micro-sized objects have been widely used in such fields as physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. Several devices, including optical tweezers, atomic force microscope, micro-pipette aspirator, and standing surface wave type acoustic tweezers have been studied to satisfy this need. However, none of them has been demonstrated to be suitable for in vivo and clinical studies. Single beam acoustic tweezers (SBAT) is a technology that uses highly focused acoustic beam to trap particles toward the beam focus. Its feasibility was first theoretically and experimentally demonstrated by Lee and Shung several years ago. Since then, much effort has been devoted to improving this technology. At present, the tool is capable of trapping a microparticle as small as 1 μm, as well as a single red blood cell. Although in comparing to other microparticles manipulating technologies, SBAT has advantages of providing stronger trapping force and deeper penetration depth in tissues, and producing less tissue damage, its potential for in vivo applications has yet been explored. It is worth noting that ultrasound has been used as a diagnostic tool for over 50 years and no known major adverse effects have been observed at the diagnostic energy level. This paper reports the results of an initial attempt to assess the feasibility of single beam acoustic tweezers to trap microparticles in vivo inside of a blood vessel. The acoustic intensity of SBAT under the trapping conditions that were utilized was measured. The mechanical index and thermal index at the focus of acoustic beam were found to be 0.48 and 0.044, respectively, which meet the standard of commercial diagnostic ultrasound system.

  16. A feasibility study of in vivo applications of single beam acoustic tweezers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Ying, E-mail: yli582@usc.edu; Lee, Changyang; Chen, Ruimin; Zhou, Qifa; Shung, K. Kirk [NIH Transducer Resource Center and Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1111 (United States)

    2014-10-27

    Tools that are capable of manipulating micro-sized objects have been widely used in such fields as physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. Several devices, including optical tweezers, atomic force microscope, micro-pipette aspirator, and standing surface wave type acoustic tweezers have been studied to satisfy this need. However, none of them has been demonstrated to be suitable for in vivo and clinical studies. Single beam acoustic tweezers (SBAT) is a technology that uses highly focused acoustic beam to trap particles toward the beam focus. Its feasibility was first theoretically and experimentally demonstrated by Lee and Shung several years ago. Since then, much effort has been devoted to improving this technology. At present, the tool is capable of trapping a microparticle as small as 1 μm, as well as a single red blood cell. Although in comparing to other microparticles manipulating technologies, SBAT has advantages of providing stronger trapping force and deeper penetration depth in tissues, and producing less tissue damage, its potential for in vivo applications has yet been explored. It is worth noting that ultrasound has been used as a diagnostic tool for over 50 years and no known major adverse effects have been observed at the diagnostic energy level. This paper reports the results of an initial attempt to assess the feasibility of single beam acoustic tweezers to trap microparticles in vivo inside of a blood vessel. The acoustic intensity of SBAT under the trapping conditions that were utilized was measured. The mechanical index and thermal index at the focus of acoustic beam were found to be 0.48 and 0.044, respectively, which meet the standard of commercial diagnostic ultrasound system.

  17. Tunable light source for fiber optic lighting applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narendran, Nadarajah; Bierman, Andrew; Finney, Mark J.; Edwards, Ian K.

    1997-09-01

    This paper examines the possibility of tuning the lamp spectrum to compensate for color distortions in fiber optic lighting systems. Because most optical fibers have strong absorption in the blue and red wavelength regions, white light entering and propagating down an optical fiber suffers varied amounts of attenuation as a function of wavelength. As a result, the light exiting the optical fiber has a greenish tint that the lighting design community considers undesirable in interior lighting applications. HID lamps are commonly used for the light source in this industry. Certain classes of HID lamps tend to shift in color when their operating position or the input voltage to the lamp is changed. An experimental study is being conducted to characterize the color shift properties of a small HID lamp as a function of tilt and input voltage. The study also examines the possibility of exploiting this color shift to compensate for the color distortions caused by optical fibers. The details of the experiment and the results are presented in this manuscript.

  18. Mechanical properties of stored red blood cells using optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontes, Adriana; Alexandre de Thomaz, Andre; de Ysasa Pozzo, Liliana; de Lourdes Barjas-Castro, Maria; Brandao, Marcelo M.; Saad, Sara T. O.; Barbosa, Luiz Carlos; Cesar, Carlos Lenz

    2005-08-01

    We have developed a method for measuring the red blood cell (RBC) membrane overall elasticity μ by measuring the deformation of the cells when dragged at a constant velocity through a plasma fluid by an optical tweezers. The deformability of erythrocytes is a critical determinant of blood flow in the microcirculation. We tested our method and hydrodynamic models, which included the presence of two walls, by measuring the RBC deformation as a function of drag velocity and of the distance to the walls. The capability and sensitivity of this method can be evaluated by its application to a variety of studies, such as, the measurement of RBC elasticity of sickle cell anemia patients comparing homozygous (HbSS), including patients taking hydroxyrea (HU) and heterozygous (HbAS) with normal donors and the RBC elasticity measurement of gamma irradiated stored blood for transfusion to immunosupressed patients as a function of time and dose. These studies show that the technique has the sensitivity to discriminate heterozygous and homozygous sickle cell anemia patients from normal donors and even follow the course of HU treatment of Homozygous patients. The gamma irradiation studies show that there is no significant change in RBC elasticity over time for up to 14 days of storage, regardless of whether the unit was irradiated or not, but there was a huge change in the measured elasticity for the RBC units stored for more than 21 days after irradiation. These finds are important for the assessment of stored irradiated RBC viability for transfusion purposes because the present protocol consider 28 storage days after irradiation as the limit for the RBC usage.

  19. Towards All-optical Light Robotics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glückstad, Jesper

    In the Programmable Phase Optics (PPO) group at DTU Fotonik we pioneered the new and emerging research area of so-called Light Robotics including the new and disruptive 3D-printed micro-tools coined Wave-guided Optical Waveguides that can be real-time optically manipulated and “remote-controlled”......In the Programmable Phase Optics (PPO) group at DTU Fotonik we pioneered the new and emerging research area of so-called Light Robotics including the new and disruptive 3D-printed micro-tools coined Wave-guided Optical Waveguides that can be real-time optically manipulated and “remote......-controlled” in a volume with six-degrees-of-freedom. To be exploring the full potential of this new drone-like 3D light robotics approach in challenging microscopic geometries requires a versatile and real-time reconfigurable light coupling that can dynamically track a plurality of “light robots” in 3D to ensure...

  20. Leishmania amazonensis chemotaxis under glucose gradient studied by the strength and directionality of forces measured with optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Ysasa Pozzo, Liliana; Fontes, Adriana; de Thomaz, André A.; Barbosa, Luiz Carlos; Ayres, Diana Copi; Giorgio, Selma; Cesar, Carlos Lenz

    2007-02-01

    Chemotaxis is the mechanism microorganisms use to sense the environment surrounding them and to direct their movement towards attractive, or away from the repellent, chemicals. The biochemical sensing is almost the only way for communication between unicellular organisms. Prokaryote and Eukaryote chemotaxis has been mechanically studied mainly by observing the directionality and timing of the microorganisms movements subjected to a chemical gradient, but not through the directionality and strength of the forces it generates. To observe the vector force of microorganisms under a chemical gradient we developed a system composed of two large chambers connected by a tiny duct capable to keep the chemical gradient constant for more than ten hours. We also used the displacements of a microsphere trapped in an Optical Tweezers as the force transducer to measure the direction and the strength of the propulsion forces of flagellum of the microorganism under several gradient conditions. A 9μm diameter microsphere particle was trapped with a Nd:YAG laser and its movement was measured through the light scattered focused on a quadrant detector. We observed the behavior of the protozoa Leishmania amazonensis (eukaryote) under several glucose gradients. This protozoa senses the gradient around it by swimming in circles for three to five times following by tumbling, and not by the typical straight swimming/tumbling of bacteria. Our results also suggest that force direction and strength are also used to control its movement, not only the timing of swimming/tumbling, because we observed a higher force strength clearly directed towards the glucose gradient.

  1. Optimized systems for energy efficient optical tweezing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kampmann, R.; Kleindienst, R.; Grewe, A.; Bürger, Elisabeth; Oeder, A.; Sinzinger, S.

    2013-03-01

    Compared to conventional optics like singlet lenses or even microscope objectives advanced optical designs help to develop properties specifically useful for efficient optical tweezers. We present an optical setup providing a customized intensity distribution optimized with respect to large trapping forces. The optical design concept combines a refractive double axicon with a reflective parabolic focusing mirror. The axicon arrangement creates an annular field distribution and thus clears space for additional integrated observation optics in the center of the system. Finally the beam is focused to the desired intensity distribution by a parabolic ring mirror. The compact realization of the system potentially opens new fields of applications for optical tweezers such as in production industries and micro-nano assembly.

  2. Investigation of gel formation and volatilization of acetate acid in magnesium acetate droplets by the optical tweezers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Xi-Juan; Wang, Yang; Cai, Chen; Pang, Shu-Feng; Ma, Jia-Bi; Zhang, Yun-Hong

    2018-07-05

    Hygroscopicity and volatility of single magnesium acetate (MgAc 2 ) aerosol particles at various relative humidities (RHs) are studied by a single-beam optical tweezers, and refractive indices (RIs) and morphology are characterized by cavity enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Gel formation and volatilization of acetate acid (HAc) in MgAc 2 droplets are observed. Due to the formation of amorphous gel structure, water transposition in droplets at RH magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH) 2 ) inclusions are formed in MgAc 2 droplets due to the volatilization of HAc, and whispering gallery modes (WGMs) of MgAc 2 droplets in the Raman spectrum quench after 50,000 s. In sharp contrast, after 86,000 s at RH ≈ 70%, NaAc droplets are in well-mixed liquid states, containing soluble sodium hydroxide (NaOH). At this state, the RI of NaAc droplet is increased, and the quenching of WGMs is not observable. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Optical fiber tips for biological applications: From light confinement, biosensing to bioparticles manipulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paiva, Joana S; Jorge, Pedro A S; Rosa, Carla C; Cunha, João P S

    2018-05-01

    The tip of an optical fiber has been considered an attractive platform in Biology. The simple cleaved end of an optical fiber can be machined, patterned and/or functionalized, acquiring unique properties enabling the exploitation of novel optical phenomena. Prompted by the constant need to measure and manipulate nanoparticles, the invention of the Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (SNOM) triggered the optimization and development of novel fiber tip microfabrication methods. In fact, the fiber tip was soon considered a key element in SNOM by confining light to sufficiently small extensions, challenging the diffraction limit. As result and in consequence of the newly proposed "Lab On Tip" concept, several geometries of fiber tips were applied in three main fields: imaging (in Microscopy/Spectroscopy), biosensors and micromanipulation (Optical Fiber Tweezers, OFTs). These are able to exert forces on microparticles, trap and manipulate them for relevant applications, as biomolecules mechanical study or protein aggregates unfolding. This review presents an overview of the main achievements, most impactful studies and limitations of fiber tip-based configurations within the above three fields, along the past 10 years. OFTs could be in future a valuable tool for studying several cellular phenomena such as neurodegeneration caused by abnormal protein fibrils or manipulating organelles within cells. This could contribute to understand the mechanisms of some diseases or biophenomena, as the axonal growth in neurons. To the best of our knowledge, no other review article has so far provided such a broad view. Despite of the limitations, fiber tips have key roles in Biology/Medicine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Optics, light and lasers

    CERN Document Server

    Meschede, Dieter

    2008-01-01

    Starting from the concepts of classical optics, Optics, Light and Lasers introduces in detail the phenomena of linear and nonlinear light matter interaction, the properties of modern laser sources, and the concepts of quantum optics. Several examples taken from the scope of modern research are provided to emphasize the relevance of optics in current developments within science and technology. The text has been written for newcomers to the topic and benefits from the author's ability to explain difficult sequences and effects in a straightforward and easily comprehensible way. To this second, c

  5. Optimal design of tweezer control for chimera states

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omelchenko, Iryna; Omel'chenko, Oleh E.; Zakharova, Anna; Schöll, Eckehard

    2018-01-01

    Chimera states are complex spatio-temporal patterns which consist of coexisting domains of spatially coherent and incoherent dynamics in systems of coupled oscillators. In small networks, chimera states usually exhibit short lifetimes and erratic drifting of the spatial position of the incoherent domain. A tweezer feedback control scheme can stabilize and fix the position of chimera states. We analyze the action of the tweezer control in small nonlocally coupled networks of Van der Pol and FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators, and determine the ranges of optimal control parameters. We demonstrate that the tweezer control scheme allows for stabilization of chimera states with different shapes, and can be used as an instrument for controlling the coherent domains size, as well as the maximum average frequency difference of the oscillators.

  6. Photorefractive Axicon: Study of Light-induced Effect by Bessel Beam in Photorefractive Crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vieira, T A; Gesualdi, M R R; Zamboni-Rached, M; Muramatsu, M

    2011-01-01

    In this work, we present the theoretical and computational study of the original analysis of the light-induced effects by Bessel beams in photorefractive crystals. Modern applications of these beams as: metrological, alignment of optical systems, optical tweezers, non linear optics, optical communication, and others, becoming a very interesting substitute for a Gaussian beam when this is subject to diffraction and dispersion effects to large distance propagation. On the other hand, the photorefractive crystals are very important materials for applications in non-linear optics, holographic storage, interferometry and optical information processing. We perform an analysis of the index refraction modulation generated by Bessel beam in photorefractive medium discussing the possibility this optical material to control and generation of Bessel beam properties.

  7. Light propagation in linear optical media

    CERN Document Server

    Gillen, Glen D; Guha, Shekhar

    2013-01-01

    Light Propagation in Linear Optical Media describes light propagation in linear media by expanding on diffraction theories beyond what is available in classic optics books. In one volume, this book combines the treatment of light propagation through various media, interfaces, and apertures using scalar and vector diffraction theories. After covering the fundamentals of light and physical optics, the authors discuss light traveling within an anisotropic crystal and present mathematical models for light propagation across planar boundaries between different media. They describe the propagation o

  8. Design and optimization of arrays of neodymium iron boron-based magnets for magnetic tweezers applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zacchia, Nicholas A.; Valentine, Megan T. [Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106 (United States)

    2015-05-15

    We present the design methodology for arrays of neodymium iron boron (NdFeB)-based magnets for use in magnetic tweezers devices. Using finite element analysis (FEA), we optimized the geometry of the NdFeB magnet as well as the geometry of iron yokes designed to focus the magnetic fields toward the sample plane. Together, the magnets and yokes form a magnetic array which is the basis of the magnetic tweezers device. By systematically varying 15 distinct shape parameters, we determined those features that maximize the magnitude of the magnetic field gradient as well as the length scale over which the magnetic force operates. Additionally, we demonstrated that magnetic saturation of the yoke material leads to intrinsic limitations in any geometric design. Using this approach, we generated a compact and light-weight magnetic tweezers device that produces a high field gradient at the image plane in order to apply large forces to magnetic beads. We then fabricated the optimized yoke and validated the FEA by experimentally mapping the magnetic field of the device. The optimization data and iterative FEA approach outlined here will enable the streamlined design and construction of specialized instrumentation for force-sensitive microscopy.

  9. Design and optimization of arrays of neodymium iron boron-based magnets for magnetic tweezers applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zacchia, Nicholas A; Valentine, Megan T

    2015-05-01

    We present the design methodology for arrays of neodymium iron boron (NdFeB)-based magnets for use in magnetic tweezers devices. Using finite element analysis (FEA), we optimized the geometry of the NdFeB magnet as well as the geometry of iron yokes designed to focus the magnetic fields toward the sample plane. Together, the magnets and yokes form a magnetic array which is the basis of the magnetic tweezers device. By systematically varying 15 distinct shape parameters, we determined those features that maximize the magnitude of the magnetic field gradient as well as the length scale over which the magnetic force operates. Additionally, we demonstrated that magnetic saturation of the yoke material leads to intrinsic limitations in any geometric design. Using this approach, we generated a compact and light-weight magnetic tweezers device that produces a high field gradient at the image plane in order to apply large forces to magnetic beads. We then fabricated the optimized yoke and validated the FEA by experimentally mapping the magnetic field of the device. The optimization data and iterative FEA approach outlined here will enable the streamlined design and construction of specialized instrumentation for force-sensitive microscopy.

  10. Optical trapping of carbon nanotubes and graphene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Vasi

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available We study optical trapping of nanotubes and graphene. We extract the distribution of both centre-of-mass and angular fluctuations from three-dimensional tracking of these optically trapped carbon nanostructures. The optical force and torque constants are measured from auto and cross-correlation of the tracking signals. We demonstrate that nanotubes enable nanometer spatial, and femto-Newton force resolution in photonic force microscopy by accurately measuring the radiation pressure in a double frequency optical tweezers. Finally, we integrate optical trapping with Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy demonstrating the use of a Raman and photoluminescence tweezers by investigating the spectroscopy of nanotubes and graphene flakes in solution. Experimental results are compared with calculations based on electromagnetic scattering theory.

  11. Molecular tweezers modulate 14-3-3 protein-protein interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bier, David; Rose, Rolf; Bravo-Rodriguez, Kenny; Bartel, Maria; Ramirez-Anguita, Juan Manuel; Dutt, Som; Wilch, Constanze; Klärner, Frank-Gerrit; Sanchez-Garcia, Elsa; Schrader, Thomas; Ottmann, Christian

    2013-03-01

    Supramolecular chemistry has recently emerged as a promising way to modulate protein functions, but devising molecules that will interact with a protein in the desired manner is difficult as many competing interactions exist in a biological environment (with solvents, salts or different sites for the target biomolecule). We now show that lysine-specific molecular tweezers bind to a 14-3-3 adapter protein and modulate its interaction with partner proteins. The tweezers inhibit binding between the 14-3-3 protein and two partner proteins—a phosphorylated (C-Raf) protein and an unphosphorylated one (ExoS)—in a concentration-dependent manner. Protein crystallography shows that this effect arises from the binding of the tweezers to a single surface-exposed lysine (Lys214) of the 14-3-3 protein in the proximity of its central channel, which normally binds the partner proteins. A combination of structural analysis and computer simulations provides rules for the tweezers' binding preferences, thus allowing us to predict their influence on this type of protein-protein interactions.

  12. System for diffusing light from an optical fiber or light guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maitland, Duncan J [Pleasant Hill, CA; Wilson, Thomas S [San Leandro, CA; Benett, William J [Livermore, CA; Small, IV, Ward [

    2008-06-10

    A system for diffusing light from an optical fiber wherein the optical fiber is coupled to a light source, comprising forming a polymer element adapted to be connected to the optical fiber and incorporating a scattering element with the polymer element wherein the scattering element diffuses the light from the polymer element. The apparatus of the present invention comprises a polymer element operatively connected to the optical fiber and a scattering element operatively connected with the shape polymer element that diffuses the light from the polymer element.

  13. Plasmon assisted optical trapping: fundamentals and biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serafetinides, Alexandros A.; Makropoulou, Mersini; Tsigaridas, Georgios N.; Gousetis, Anastasios

    2015-01-01

    The field of optical trapping has dramatically grown due to implementation in various arenas including physics, biology, medicine and nanotechnology. Certainly, optical tweezers are an invaluable tool to manipulate a variation of particles, such as small dielectric spheres, cells, bacteria, chromosomes and even genes, by highly focused laser beams through microscope. As the main disadvantage of the conventional optical trapping systems is the diffraction limit of the incident light, plasmon assisted nanotrapping is reported as a suitable technique for trapping sub-wavelength metallic or dielectric particles. In this work, firstly, we report briefly on the basic theory of plasmon excitation, focusing on the interaction of nanoscale metallic structures with laser light. Secondly, experimental and numerical simulation results are also presented, demonstrating enhancement of the trapping efficiency of glass or SiO2 substrates, coated with Au and Ag nanostructures, with or without nanoparticles. The optical forces were calculated by measuring the particle's escape velocity calibration method. Finally, representative applications of plasmon assisted optical trapping are reviewed, from cancer therapeutics to fundamental biology and cell nanosurgery.

  14. Quantitative optical trapping and optical manipulation of micro-sized objects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rania Sayed

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available An optical tweezers technique is used for ultraprecise micromanipulation to measure positions of micrometer scale objects with a precision down to the nanometer scale. It consists of a high performance research microscope with motorized scanning stage and sensitive position detection system. Up to 10 traps can be used quasi-simultaneously. Non photodamage optical trapping of Escherichia coli (E. coli bacteria cells of 2 µm in length, as an example of motile bacteria, has been shown in this paper. Also, efficient optical trapping and rotation of polystyrene latex particles of 3 µm in diameter have been studied, as an optical handle for the pick and place of other tiny objects. A fast galvoscanner is used to produce multiple optical traps for manipulation of micro-sized objects and optical forces of these trapped objects quantified and measured according to explanation of ray optics regime. The diameter of trapped particle is bigger than the wavelength of the trapping laser light. The force constant (k has been determined in real time from the positional time series recorded from the trapped object that is monitored by a CCD camera through a personal computer.

  15. Magneto-optical light scattering from ferromagnetic surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez, M.U.; Armelles, G.; Martinez Boubeta, C.; Cebollada, A.

    2003-01-01

    We have studied the optical and magneto-optical components of the light scattered by the surface of several Fe films with different morphologies. We present a method, based on the ratio between the optical and magneto-optical components of the scattered intensity, to discern the physical origin, either structural or magnetic corrugation, of the light scattered by these ferromagnetic surfaces. Surface versus bulk magnetic information can be separated by magneto-optical light scattering measurements, the scattered light being more sensitive to magnetization differences between surface and bulk than the reflected one

  16. Polarized light and optical measurement

    CERN Document Server

    Clarke, D N; Ter Haar, D

    2013-01-01

    Polarized Light and Optical Measurement is a five-chapter book that begins with a self-consistent conceptual picture of the phenomenon of polarization. Chapter 2 describes a number of interactions of light and matter used in devising optical elements in polarization studies. Specific optical elements are given in Chapter 3. The last two chapters explore the measurement of the state of polarization and the various roles played in optical instrumentation by polarization and polarization-sensitive elements. This book will provide useful information in this field of interest for research workers,

  17. In Situ Raman Spectroscopy of COOH-Functionalized SWCNTs Trapped with Optoelectronic Tweezers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J. Pauzauskie

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Optoelectronic tweezers (OETs were used to trap and deposit aqueous dispersions of carboxylic-acid-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube bundles. Dark-field video microscopy was used to visualize the dynamics of the bundles both with and without virtual electrodes, showing rapid accumulation of carbon nanotubes when optical virtual electrodes are actuated. Raman microscopy was used to probe SWCNT materials following deposition onto metallic fiducial markers as well as during trapping. The local carbon nanotube concentration was observed to increase rapidly during trapping by more than an order of magnitude in less than one second due to localized optical dielectrophoresis forces. This combination of enrichment and spectroscopy with a single laser spot suggests a broad range of applications in physical, chemical, and biological sciences.

  18. Static and dynamic behavior of two optically bound microparticles in a standing wave

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brzobohatý, Oto; Karásek, Vítězslav; Šiler, Martin; Trojek, Jan; Zemánek, Pavel

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 19, č. 20 (2011), s. 19613-19626 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/09/0348; GA ČR GPP205/11/P294; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01; GA MŠk(CZ) LC06007 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20650511 Keywords : single-beam * binding * particles * nanoparticles * tweezers * matter * forces * light * micromanipulation * manipulation Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.587, year: 2011

  19. Probing the mechanical properties, conformational changes, and interactions of nucleic acids with magnetic tweezers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kriegel, Franziska; Ermann, Niklas; Lipfert, Jan

    2017-01-01

    Nucleic acids are central to the storage and transmission of genetic information. Mechanical properties, along with their sequence, both enable and fundamentally constrain the biological functions of DNA and RNA. For small deformations from the equilibrium conformations, nucleic acids are well described by an isotropic elastic rod model. However, external forces and torsional strains can induce conformational changes, giving rise to a complex force-torque phase diagram. This review focuses on magnetic tweezers as a powerful tool to precisely determine both the elastic parameters and conformational transitions of nucleic acids under external forces and torques at the single-molecule level. We review several variations of magnetic tweezers, in particular conventional magnetic tweezers, freely orbiting magnetic tweezers and magnetic torque tweezers, and discuss their characteristic capabilities. We then describe the elastic rod model for DNA and RNA and discuss conformational changes induced by mechanical stress. The focus lies on the responses to torque and twist, which are crucial in the mechanics and interactions of nucleic acids and can directly be measured using magnetic tweezers. We conclude by highlighting several recent studies of nucleic acid-protein and nucleic acid-small-molecule interactions as further applications of magnetic tweezers and give an outlook of some exciting developments to come. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  20. Potential-well model in acoustic tweezers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Shih-Tsung; Yeh, Chih-Kuang

    2010-06-01

    Standing-wave acoustic tweezers are popularly used for non-invasive and non-contact particle manipulation. Because of their good penetration in biological tissue, they also show promising prospects for in vivo applications. According to the concept of an optical vortex, we propose an acoustics-vortex- based trapping model of acoustic tweezers. A four-element 1-MHz planar transducer was used to generate 1-MHz sine waves at 1 MPa, with adjacent elements being driven with a pi/2-rad phase difference. Each element was a square with a side length of 5.08 mm, with kerfs initially set at 0.51 mm. An acoustic vortex constituting the spiral motion of an acoustic wave around the beam axis was created, with an axial null. Applying Gor'kov's theory in the Rayleigh regime yielded the potential energy and radiation force for use in subsequent analysis. In the transverse direction, the vortex structure behaved as a series of potential wells that tended to drive a suspended particle toward the beam axis. They were highly fragmented in the near field that is very close to the transducer where there was spiral interference, and well-constructed in the far field. We found that the significant trapping effect was only present between these two regions in the transverse direction--particles were free to move along the beam axis, and a repulsive force was observed in the outer acoustic vortex. Because the steepness of the potential gradient near an axial null dominates the trapping effect, the far field of the acoustic vortex is inappropriate for trapping. Particles too close to the transducer are not sufficiently trapped because of the fragmented potential pattern. We suggest that the ideal distance from the transducer for trapping particles is in front of one-fourth of the Rayleigh distance, based on the superposition of the wavefronts. The maximum trapping force acting on a 13-mum polystyrene sphere in the produced acoustic vortex was 50.0 pN, and it was possible to trap

  1. Energetics, kinetics, and pathway of SNARE folding and assembly revealed by optical tweezers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yongli

    2017-07-01

    Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) are universal molecular engines that drive membrane fusion. Particularly, synaptic SNAREs mediate fast calcium-triggered fusion of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles with plasma membranes for synaptic transmission, the basis of all thought and action. During membrane fusion, complementary SNAREs located on two apposed membranes (often called t- and v-SNAREs) join together to assemble into a parallel four-helix bundle, releasing the energy to overcome the energy barrier for fusion. A long-standing hypothesis suggests that SNAREs act like a zipper to draw the two membranes into proximity and thereby force them to fuse. However, a quantitative test of this SNARE zippering hypothesis was hindered by difficulties to determine the energetics and kinetics of SNARE assembly and to identify the relevant folding intermediates. Here, we first review different approaches that have been applied to study SNARE assembly and then focus on high-resolution optical tweezers. We summarize the folding energies, kinetics, and pathways of both wild-type and mutant SNARE complexes derived from this new approach. These results show that synaptic SNAREs assemble in four distinct stages with different functions: slow N-terminal domain association initiates SNARE assembly; a middle domain suspends and controls SNARE assembly; and rapid sequential zippering of the C-terminal domain and the linker domain directly drive membrane fusion. In addition, the kinetics and pathway of the stagewise assembly are shared by other SNARE complexes. These measurements prove the SNARE zippering hypothesis and suggest new mechanisms for SNARE assembly regulated by other proteins. © 2017 The Protein Society.

  2. A demonstration of particle duality of light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Haili; Liu, Zhihai; Sun, Qiuhua; Zhao, Yancheng

    2017-08-01

    The need of understanding and teaching about wave-particle duality if light with gets more and more apparent in the background of the attention of modern physics. As early as the beginning of twentieth Century, Einstein dared to "deny" the development of a very perfect light electromagnetic theory, so that the quantum of light can be developed. In 1924, De Broglie put forward wave-particle duality if light to other micro particles and the concept of matter wave, pointed out that all micro particle has wave-particle duality. This is a very abstract concept for students, most college physics teaching all lack of demonstration about particle duality of light. The present article aims to contribute to demonstrate the wave-particle duality of light at the same time using a simple way based on fiber optical tweezers. It is hoped that useful lesson can be absorbed so that students can deepen the understanding of the particle and wave properties of light. To complement the demonstration experiment for this attribute light has momentum.

  3. Natural user interface as a supplement of the holographic Raman tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomori, Zoltan; Kanka, Jan; Kesa, Peter; Jakl, Petr; Sery, Mojmir; Bernatova, Silvie; Antalik, Marian; Zemánek, Pavel

    2014-09-01

    Holographic Raman tweezers (HRT) manipulates with microobjects by controlling the positions of multiple optical traps via the mouse or joystick. Several attempts have appeared recently to exploit touch tablets, 2D cameras or Kinect game console instead. We proposed a multimodal "Natural User Interface" (NUI) approach integrating hands tracking, gestures recognition, eye tracking and speech recognition. For this purpose we exploited "Leap Motion" and "MyGaze" low-cost sensors and a simple speech recognition program "Tazti". We developed own NUI software which processes signals from the sensors and sends the control commands to HRT which subsequently controls the positions of trapping beams, micropositioning stage and the acquisition system of Raman spectra. System allows various modes of operation proper for specific tasks. Virtual tools (called "pin" and "tweezers") serving for the manipulation with particles are displayed on the transparent "overlay" window above the live camera image. Eye tracker identifies the position of the observed particle and uses it for the autofocus. Laser trap manipulation navigated by the dominant hand can be combined with the gestures recognition of the secondary hand. Speech commands recognition is useful if both hands are busy. Proposed methods make manual control of HRT more efficient and they are also a good platform for its future semi-automated and fully automated work.

  4. Carambola optics for recycling of light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leutz, Ralf; Fu, Ling; Ries, Harald

    2006-04-20

    Recycling of light allows the luminance (radiance) emitted by a light source to be increased at the cost of reducing the total luminous flux (radiant power). Recycling of light means returning part of the emitted light to the source, where part of it will escape absorption. An optical design that is suitable for multiple and controlled recycling is described. Carambola optics is named for its resemblance to star fruit. Several pairs of mirrors or prisms redirect light repeatedly onto the source, thus achieving multiple transits of the light through the source. This recycled light exits the carambola in the same phase space as light directly emitted and not recycled.

  5. 21 CFR 872.4620 - Fiber optic dental light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fiber optic dental light. 872.4620 Section 872...) MEDICAL DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Surgical Devices § 872.4620 Fiber optic dental light. (a) Identification. A fiber optic dental light is a device that is a light, usually AC-powered, that consists of glass or...

  6. Optical forces through guided light deflections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Palima, Darwin; Bañas, Andrew Rafael; Vizsnyiczai, Gaszton

    2013-01-01

    . In this work we look into the object shaping aspect and its potential for controlled optical manipulation. Using a simple bent waveguide as example, our numerical simulations show that the guided deflection of light efficiently converts incident light momentum into optical force with one order...

  7. Nano-optical conveyor belt, part II: Demonstration of handoff between near-field optical traps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yuxin; Ryan, Jason; Hansen, Paul; Cheng, Yao-Te; Lu, Tsung-Ju; Hesselink, Lambertus

    2014-06-11

    Optical tweezers have been widely used to manipulate biological and colloidal material, but the diffraction limit of far-field optics makes focused beams unsuitable for manipulating nanoscale objects with dimensions much smaller than the wavelength of light. While plasmonic structures have recently been successful in trapping nanoscale objects with high positioning accuracy, using such structures for manipulation over longer range has remained a significant challenge. In this work, we introduce a conveyor belt design based on a novel plasmonic structure, the resonant C-shaped engraving (CSE). We show how long-range manipulation is made possible by means of handoff between neighboring CSEs, and we present a simple technique for controlling handoff by rotating the polarization of laser illumination. We experimentally demonstrate handoff between a pair of CSEs for polystyrene spheres 200, 390, and 500 nm in diameter. We then extend this technique and demonstrate controlled particle transport down a 4.5 μm long "nano-optical conveyor belt."

  8. Synthesis and Guest Recognition of Switchable Pt-Salphen Based Molecular Tweezers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorien Benda

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Molecular tweezers are artificial receptors that have an open cavity generated by two recognition units pre-organized by a spacer. Switchable molecular tweezers, using a stimuli-responsive spacer, are particularly appealing as prototypes of the molecular machines that combine mechanical motion and allosteric recognition properties. In this present study, the synthesis of switchable molecular tweezers composed of a central terpyridine unit substituted in 4,4″ positions by two Pt(II-salphen complexes is reported. The terpyridine ligand can be reversibly converted upon Zn(II coordination from a free ‘U’-shaped closed form to a coordinated ‘W’ open form. This new substitution pattern enables a reverse control of the mechanical motion compared to the previously reported 6,6″ substituted terpyridine-based tweezers. Guest binding studies with aromatic guests showed an intercalation of coronene in the cavity created by the Pt-salphen moieties in the closed conformation. The formation of 1:1 host-guest complex was investigated by a combination of NMR studies and DFT calculations.

  9. Matrix light and pixel light: optical system architecture and requirements to the light source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spinger, Benno; Timinger, Andreas L.

    2015-09-01

    Modern Automotive headlamps enable improved functionality for more driving comfort and safety. Matrix or Pixel light headlamps are not restricted to either pure low beam functionality or pure high beam. Light in direction of oncoming traffic is selectively switched of, potential hazard can be marked via an isolated beam and the illumination on the road can even follow a bend. The optical architectures that enable these advanced functionalities are diverse. Electromechanical shutters and lens units moved by electric motors were the first ways to realize these systems. Switching multiple LED light sources is a more elegant and mechanically robust solution. While many basic functionalities can already be realized with a limited number of LEDs, an increasing number of pixels will lead to more driving comfort and better visibility. The required optical system needs not only to generate a desired beam distribution with a high angular dynamic, but also needs to guarantee minimal stray light and cross talk between the different pixels. The direct projection of the LED array via a lens is a simple but not very efficient optical system. We discuss different optical elements for pre-collimating the light with minimal cross talk and improved contrast between neighboring pixels. Depending on the selected optical system, we derive the basic light source requirements: luminance, surface area, contrast, flux and color homogeneity.

  10. Adaptive Generation and Diagnostics of Linear Few-Cycle Light Bullets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Bock

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Recently we introduced the class of highly localized wavepackets (HLWs as a generalization of optical Bessel-like needle beams. Here we report on the progress in this field. In contrast to pulsed Bessel beams and Airy beams, ultrashort-pulsed HLWs propagate with high stability in both spatial and temporal domain, are nearly paraxial (supercollimated, have fringe-less spatial profiles and thus represent the best possible approximation to linear “light bullets”. Like Bessel beams and Airy beams, HLWs show self-reconstructing behavior. Adaptive HLWs can be shaped by ultraflat three-dimensional phase profiles (generalized axicons which are programmed via calibrated grayscale maps of liquid-crystal-on-silicon spatial light modulators (LCoS-SLMs. Light bullets of even higher complexity can either be freely formed from quasi-continuous phase maps or discretely composed from addressable arrays of identical nondiffracting beams. The characterization of few-cycle light bullets requires spatially resolved measuring techniques. In our experiments, wavefront, pulse and phase were detected with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, 2D-autocorrelation and spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER. The combination of the unique propagation properties of light bullets with the flexibility of adaptive optics opens new prospects for applications of structured light like optical tweezers, microscopy, data transfer and storage, laser fusion, plasmon control or nonlinear spectroscopy.

  11. Bulky melamine-based Zn-porphyrin tweezer as a CD probe of molecular chirality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrovic, Ana G; Vantomme, Ghislaine; Negrón-Abril, Yashira L; Lubian, Elisa; Saielli, Giacomo; Menegazzo, Ileana; Cordero, Roselynn; Proni, Gloria; Nakanishi, Koji; Carofiglio, Tommaso; Berova, Nina

    2011-10-01

    The transfer of chirality from a guest molecule to an achiral host is the subject of significant interest especially when, upon chiral induction, the chiroptical response of the host/guest complex can effectively report the absolute configuration (AC) of the guest. For more than a decade, dimeric metalloporphyrin hosts (tweezers) have been successfully applied as chirality probes for determination of the AC for a wide variety of chiral synthetic compounds and natural products. The objective of this study is to investigate the utility of a new class of melamine-bridged Zn-porphyrin tweezers as sensitive AC reporters. A combined approach based on an experimental CD analysis and a theoretical prediction of the prevailing interporphyrin helicity demonstrates that these tweezers display favorable properties for chiral recognition. Herein, we discuss the application of the melamine-bridged tweezer to the chiral recognition of a diverse set of chiral guests, such as 1,2-diamines, α-amino-esters and amides, secondary alcohols, and 1,2-amino-alcohols. The bulky periphery and the presence of a rigid porphyrin linkage lead, in some cases, to a more enhanced CD sensitivity than that reported earlier with other tweezers. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  12. Front lighted optical tooling method and apparatus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stone, W. J.

    1985-01-01

    An optical tooling method and apparatus uses a front lighted shadowgraphic technique to enhance visual contrast of reflected light. The apparatus includes an optical assembly including a fiducial mark, such as cross hairs, reflecting polarized light with a first polarization, a polarizing element backing the fiducial mark and a reflective surface backing the polarizing element for reflecting polarized light bypassing the fiducial mark and traveling through the polarizing element. The light reflected by the reflecting surface is directed through a second pass of the polarizing element toward the frontal direction with a polarization differing from the polarization of the light reflected by the fiducial mark. When used as a tooling target, the optical assembly may be mounted directly to a reference surface or may be secured in a mounting, such as a magnetic mounting. The optical assembly may also be mounted in a plane defining structure and used as a spherometer in conjunction with an optical depth measuring instrument. A method of measuring a radius of curvature of an unknown surface includes positioning the spherometer on a surface between the surface and a depth measuring optical instrument. As the spherometer is frontally illuminated, the distance from the depth measuring instrument to the fiducial mark and the underlying surface are alternately measured and the difference in these measurements is used as the sagittal height to calculate a radius of curvature

  13. Microscopy of biological sample through advanced diffractive optics from visible to X-ray wavelength regime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Fabrizio, Enzo; Cojoc, Dan; Emiliani, Valentina; Cabrini, Stefano; Coppey-Moisan, Maite; Ferrari, Enrico; Garbin, Valeria; Altissimo, Matteo

    2004-11-01

    The aim of this report is to demonstrate a unified version of microscopy through the use of advanced diffractive optics. The unified scheme derives from the technical possibility of realizing front wave engineering in a wide range of electromagnetic spectrum. The unified treatment is realized through the design and nanofabrication of phase diffractive elements (PDE) through which wave front beam shaping is obtained. In particular, we will show applications, by using biological samples, ranging from micromanipulation using optical tweezers to X-ray differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy combined with X-ray fluorescence. We report some details on the design and physical implementation of diffractive elements that besides focusing also perform other optical functions: beam splitting, beam intensity, and phase redistribution or mode conversion. Laser beam splitting is used for multiple trapping and independent manipulation of micro-beads surrounding a cell as an array of tweezers and for arraying and sorting microscopic size biological samples. Another application is the Gauss to Laguerre-Gauss mode conversion, which allows for trapping and transfering orbital angular momentum of light to micro-particles immersed in a fluid. These experiments are performed in an inverted optical microscope coupled with an infrared laser beam and a spatial light modulator for diffractive optics implementation. High-resolution optics, fabricated by means of e-beam lithography, are demonstrated to control the intensity and the phase of the sheared beams in x-ray DIC microscopy. DIC experiments with phase objects reveal a dramatic increase in image contrast compared to bright-field x-ray microscopy. Besides the topographic information, fluorescence allows detection of certain chemical elements (Cl, P, Sc, K) in the same setup, by changing the photon energy of the x-ray beam. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  14. Complex Light and Optical Forces X

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    This year marked the 10th Anniversary Edition of the conference on Complex Light and Optical Forces that is part of Photonics West. We again had a record number of submissions, indicative of the rising visibility and stature of this conference. Indeed, Complex Light and Optical Forces is still...... the only yearly venue worldwide for presenting research on complex light. This year we did not find a need to organize joint sessions with other conferences at Photonics West....

  15. Optical design of an in vivo laparoscopic lighting system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaolong; Abdolmalaki, Reza Yazdanpanah; Mancini, Gregory J.; Tan, Jindong

    2017-12-01

    This paper proposes an in vivo laparoscopic lighting system design to address the illumination issues, namely poor lighting uniformity and low optical efficiency, existing in the state-of-the-art in vivo laparoscopic cameras. The transformable design of the laparoscopic lighting system is capable of carrying purposefully designed freeform optical lenses for achieving lighting performance with high illuminance uniformity and high optical efficiency in a desired target region. To design freeform optical lenses for extended light sources such as LEDs with Lambertian light intensity distributions, we present an effective and complete freeform optical design method. The procedures include (1) ray map computation by numerically solving a standard Monge-Ampere equation; (2) initial freeform optical surface construction by using Snell's law and a lens volume restriction; (3) correction of surface normal vectors due to accumulated errors from the initially constructed surfaces; and (4) feedback modification of the solution to deal with degraded illuminance uniformity caused by the extended sizes of the LEDs. We employed an optical design software package to evaluate the performance of our laparoscopic lighting system design. The simulation results show that our design achieves greater than 95% illuminance uniformity and greater than 89% optical efficiency (considering Fresnel losses) for illuminating the target surgical region.

  16. Optical design of an in vivo laparoscopic lighting system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaolong; Abdolmalaki, Reza Yazdanpanah; Mancini, Gregory J; Tan, Jindong

    2017-12-01

    This paper proposes an in vivo laparoscopic lighting system design to address the illumination issues, namely poor lighting uniformity and low optical efficiency, existing in the state-of-the-art in vivo laparoscopic cameras. The transformable design of the laparoscopic lighting system is capable of carrying purposefully designed freeform optical lenses for achieving lighting performance with high illuminance uniformity and high optical efficiency in a desired target region. To design freeform optical lenses for extended light sources such as LEDs with Lambertian light intensity distributions, we present an effective and complete freeform optical design method. The procedures include (1) ray map computation by numerically solving a standard Monge-Ampere equation; (2) initial freeform optical surface construction by using Snell's law and a lens volume restriction; (3) correction of surface normal vectors due to accumulated errors from the initially constructed surfaces; and (4) feedback modification of the solution to deal with degraded illuminance uniformity caused by the extended sizes of the LEDs. We employed an optical design software package to evaluate the performance of our laparoscopic lighting system design. The simulation results show that our design achieves greater than 95% illuminance uniformity and greater than 89% optical efficiency (considering Fresnel losses) for illuminating the target surgical region. (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

  17. Holographic Raman tweezers controlled by multi-modal natural user interface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomori, Zoltán; Keša, Peter; Nikorovič, Matej; Valušová, Eva; Antalík, Marián; Kaňka, Jan; Jákl, Petr; Šerý, Mojmír; Bernatová, Silvie; Zemánek, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    Holographic optical tweezers provide a contactless way to trap and manipulate several microobjects independently in space using focused laser beams. Although the methods of fast and efficient generation of optical traps are well developed, their user friendly control still lags behind. Even though several attempts have appeared recently to exploit touch tablets, 2D cameras, or Kinect game consoles, they have not yet reached the level of natural human interface. Here we demonstrate a multi-modal ‘natural user interface’ approach that combines finger and gaze tracking with gesture and speech recognition. This allows us to select objects with an operator’s gaze and voice, to trap the objects and control their positions via tracking of finger movement in space and to run semi-automatic procedures such as acquisition of Raman spectra from preselected objects. This approach takes advantage of the power of human processing of images together with smooth control of human fingertips and downscales these skills to control remotely the motion of microobjects at microscale in a natural way for the human operator. (paper)

  18. Soft magnetic tweezers: a proof of principle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosconi, Francesco; Allemand, Jean François; Croquette, Vincent

    2011-03-01

    We present here the principle of soft magnetic tweezers which improve the traditional magnetic tweezers allowing the simultaneous application and measurement of an arbitrary torque to a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule. They take advantage of a nonlinear coupling regime that appears when a fast rotating magnetic field is applied to a superparamagnetic bead immersed in a viscous fluid. In this work, we present the development of the technique and we compare it with other techniques capable of measuring the torque applied to the DNA molecule. In this proof of principle, we use standard electromagnets to achieve our experiments. Despite technical difficulties related to the present implementation of these electromagnets, the agreement of measurements with previous experiments is remarkable. Finally, we propose a simple way to modify the experimental design of electromagnets that should bring the performances of the device to a competitive level.

  19. Design of fiber optic probes for laser light scattering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhadwal, Harbans S.; Chu, Benjamin

    1989-01-01

    A quantitative analysis is presented of the role of optical fibers in laser light scattering. Design of a general fiber optic/microlens probe by means of ray tracing is described. Several different geometries employing an optical fiber of the type used in lightwave communications and a graded index microlens are considered. Experimental results using a nonimaging fiber optic detector probe show that due to geometrical limitations of single mode fibers, a probe using a multimode optical fiber has better performance, for both static and dynamic measurements of the scattered light intensity, compared with a probe using a single mode fiber. Fiber optic detector probes are shown to be more efficient at data collection when compared with conventional approaches to measurements of the scattered laser light. Integration of fiber optic detector probes into a fiber optic spectrometer offers considerable miniaturization of conventional light scattering spectrometers, which can be made arbitrarily small. In addition static and dynamic measurements of scattered light can be made within the scattering cell and consequently very close to the scattering center.

  20. Transformation optics beyond the manipulation of light trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginis, Vincent; Tassin, Philippe

    2015-08-28

    Since its inception in 2006, transformation optics has become an established tool to understand and design electromagnetic systems. It provides a geometrical perspective into the properties of light waves without the need for a ray approximation. Most studies have focused on modifying the trajectories of light rays, e.g. beam benders, lenses, invisibility cloaks, etc. In this contribution, we explore transformation optics beyond the manipulation of light trajectories. With a few well-chosen examples, we demonstrate that transformation optics can be used to manipulate electromagnetic fields up to an unprecedented level. In the first example, we introduce an electromagnetic cavity that allows for deep subwavelength confinement of light. The cavity is designed with transformation optics even though the concept of trajectory ceases to have any meaning in a structure as small as this cavity. In the second example, we show that the properties of Cherenkov light emitted in a transformation-optical material can be understood and modified from simple geometric considerations. Finally, we show that optical forces--a quadratic function of the fields--follow the rules of transformation optics too. By applying a folded coordinate transformation to a pair of waveguides, optical forces can be enhanced just as if the waveguides were closer together. With these examples, we open up an entirely new spectrum of devices that can be conceived using transformation optics. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  1. Optical and IR light curves of VV Puppis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szkody, P.; Bailey, J.A.; Hough, J.H.

    1983-01-01

    We present optical (0.36 to 0.6 μm) light curves with time resolutions of seconds and infrared (IR) (1.25 to 2.2 μm) light curves with time resolutions of minutes for VV Puppis during a high state. The optical light curves show a single hump with largest amplitude in the V filter, while the IR light curves show a double hump sinusoidal variation. Flickering is evident in both the optical and IR light curves, with the largest amplitude in optical B light. Through subtraction of the low state fluxes from our high state values, we obtain a flux distribution of the accretion column which peaks at 0.55 μm and becomes #betta# 2 in the IR, consistent with current cyclotron models. Comparison of the observed IR variations throughout the orbit with the expected variations due to an M4 star heated by an accretion column at an inclination of 66 0 suggests that the IR light is a combination of the secondary star plus contributions from two emitting poles. (author)

  2. Graphene-edge dielectrophoretic tweezers for trapping of biomolecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barik, Avijit; Zhang, Yao; Grassi, Roberto; Nadappuram, Binoy Paulose; Edel, Joshua B; Low, Tony; Koester, Steven J; Oh, Sang-Hyun

    2017-11-30

    The many unique properties of graphene, such as the tunable optical, electrical, and plasmonic response make it ideally suited for applications such as biosensing. As with other surface-based biosensors, however, the performance is limited by the diffusive transport of target molecules to the surface. Here we show that atomically sharp edges of monolayer graphene can generate singular electrical field gradients for trapping biomolecules via dielectrophoresis. Graphene-edge dielectrophoresis pushes the physical limit of gradient-force-based trapping by creating atomically sharp tweezers. We have fabricated locally backgated devices with an 8-nm-thick HfO 2 dielectric layer and chemical-vapor-deposited graphene to generate 10× higher gradient forces as compared to metal electrodes. We further demonstrate near-100% position-controlled particle trapping at voltages as low as 0.45 V with nanodiamonds, nanobeads, and DNA from bulk solution within seconds. This trapping scheme can be seamlessly integrated with sensors utilizing graphene as well as other two-dimensional materials.

  3. Applications of quantum electro-optic control and squeezed light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lam, P.K.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: The control theory of electronic feedback or feedforward is a topic well understood by many scientists and engineers. With many of the modern equipment relying on automation and robotics, an understanding of this classical control theory is a common requisite for many technologists. In the field of optics, electronic control theory is also commonly used in many situations. From the temperature controlling of laser systems, the auto-alignment of optical elements, to the locking of optical resonators, all make use of electronic control theory in their operations. In this talk, we present the use the control theory in the context of quantum optics. In much the same as its classical counterpart, the 'quantum electro-optic' control loop consists simply of an optical beam splitter, a detector and an electro-optic modulator. This simple system, however, can offer many interesting applications when used in combination with nonclassical states of light. One well-known example of non-classical light is that of the squeezed state of light. A light beam is referred to as being amplitude 'squeezed' when its amplitude has less noise when compared to that of a coherent light state. In fact, the field fluctuation of such light states in some sense lower that the field fluctuation of the photonic vacuum state. Yet another interesting non-classical light state is the so-called 'Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen' entangled pair. This consists of two beams of light, each of which has properties that are highly dependent on each other. Using both the quantum electro-optic control loops and these light states, we demonstrate schemes which allow us to perform noiseless optical amplification, quantum non-demolition measurement and quantum teleportation. These schemes may be important building blocks to the realisation of future quantum communications and quantum information networks

  4. Shedding Light on Fiber Optics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bunch, Robert M.

    1994-01-01

    Explains the principles of fiber optics as a medium for light-wave communication. Current uses of fiber systems on college campuses include voice, video, and local area network applications. A group of seven school districts in Minnesota are linked via fiber-optic cables. Other uses are discussed. (MLF)

  5. Two-point active microrheology in a viscous medium exploiting a motional resonance excited in dual-trap optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Shuvojit; Kumar, Randhir; Banerjee, Ayan

    2018-04-01

    Two-point microrheology measurements from widely separated colloidal particles approach the bulk viscosity of the host medium more reliably than corresponding single-point measurements. In addition, active microrheology offers the advantage of enhanced signal to noise over passive techniques. Recently, we reported the observation of a motional resonance induced in a probe particle in dual-trap optical tweezers when the control particle was driven externally [Paul et al., Phys. Rev. E 96, 050102(R) (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevE.96.050102]. We now demonstrate that the amplitude and phase characteristics of the motional resonance can be used as a sensitive tool for active two-point microrheology to measure the viscosity of a viscous fluid. Thus, we measure the viscosity of viscous liquids from both the amplitude and phase response of the resonance, and demonstrate that the zero crossing of the phase response of the probe particle with respect to the external drive is superior compared to the amplitude response in measuring viscosity at large particle separations. We compare our viscosity measurements with those using a commercial rheometer and obtain an agreement ˜1 % . The method can be extended to viscoelastic material where the frequency dependence of the resonance may provide further accuracy for active microrheological measurements.

  6. Metamaterials for light rays: ray optics without wave-optical analog in the ray-optics limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamilton, Alasdair C; Courtial, Johannes

    2009-01-01

    Volumes of sub-wavelength electromagnetic elements can act like homogeneous materials: metamaterials. In analogy, sheets of optical elements such as prisms can act ray-optically like homogeneous sheet materials. In this sense, such sheets can be considered to be metamaterials for light rays (METATOYs). METATOYs realize new and unusual transformations of the directions of transmitted light rays. We study here, in the ray-optics and scalar-wave limits, the wave-optical analog of such transformations, and we show that such an analog does not always exist. Perhaps, this is the reason why many of the ray-optical possibilities offered by METATOYs have never before been considered.

  7. Fiber Optics: A New World of Possibilities in Light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchinson, John

    1990-01-01

    The background and history of light and fiber optics are discussed. Applications for light passed either directly or indirectly through optical fibers are described. Suggestions for science activities that use fiber optics are provided. (KR)

  8. Applying torque to the Escherichia coli flagellar motor using magnetic tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Oene, Maarten M.; Dickinson, Laura E.; Cross, Bronwen; Pedaci, Francesco; Lipfert, Jan; Dekker, Nynke H.

    2017-01-01

    The bacterial flagellar motor of Escherichia coli is a nanoscale rotary engine essential for bacterial propulsion. Studies on the power output of single motors rely on the measurement of motor torque and rotation under external load. Here, we investigate the use of magnetic tweezers, which in principle allow the application and active control of a calibrated load torque, to study single flagellar motors in Escherichia coli. We manipulate the external load on the motor by adjusting the magnetic field experienced by a magnetic bead linked to the motor, and we probe the motor’s response. A simple model describes the average motor speed over the entire range of applied fields. We extract the motor torque at stall and find it to be similar to the motor torque at drag-limited speed. In addition, use of the magnetic tweezers allows us to force motor rotation in both forward and backward directions. We monitor the motor’s performance before and after periods of forced rotation and observe no destructive effects on the motor. Our experiments show how magnetic tweezers can provide active and fast control of the external load while also exposing remaining challenges in calibration. Through their non-invasive character and straightforward parallelization, magnetic tweezers provide an attractive platform to study nanoscale rotary motors at the single-motor level. PMID:28266562

  9. Recent Achievements on Photovoltaic Optoelectronic Tweezers Based on Lithium Niobate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angel García-Cabañes

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This review presents an up-dated summary of the fundamentals and applications of optoelectronic photovoltaic tweezers for trapping and manipulation of nano-objects on the surface of lithium niobate crystals. It extends the contents of previous reviews to cover new topics and developments which have emerged in recent years and are marking the trends for future research. Regarding the theoretical description of photovoltaic tweezers, detailed simulations of the electrophoretic and dielectrophoretic forces acting on different crystal configurations are discussed in relation to the structure of the obtained trapping patterns. As for the experimental work, we will pay attention to the manipulation and patterning of micro-and nanoparticles that has experimented an outstanding progress and relevant applications have been reported. An additional focus is now laid on recent work about micro-droplets, which is a central topic in microfluidics and optofluidics. New developments in biology and biomedicine also constitute a relevant part of the review. Finally, some topics partially related with photovoltaic tweezers and a discussion on future prospects and challenges are included.

  10. Light distribution in diffractive multifocal optics and its optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portney, Valdemar

    2011-11-01

    To expand a geometrical model of diffraction efficiency and its interpretation to the multifocal optic and to introduce formulas for analysis of far and near light distribution and their application to multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) and to diffraction efficiency optimization. Medical device consulting firm, Newport Coast, California, USA. Experimental study. Application of a geometrical model to the kinoform (single focus diffractive optical element) was expanded to a multifocal optic to produce analytical definitions of light split between far and near images and light loss to other diffraction orders. The geometrical model gave a simple interpretation of light split in a diffractive multifocal IOL. An analytical definition of light split between far, near, and light loss was introduced as curve fitting formulas. Several examples of application to common multifocal diffractive IOLs were developed; for example, to light-split change with wavelength. The analytical definition of diffraction efficiency may assist in optimization of multifocal diffractive optics that minimize light loss. Formulas for analysis of light split between different foci of multifocal diffractive IOLs are useful in interpreting diffraction efficiency dependence on physical characteristics, such as blaze heights of the diffractive grooves and wavelength of light, as well as for optimizing multifocal diffractive optics. Disclosure is found in the footnotes. Copyright © 2011 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Biobeam—Multiplexed wave-optical simulations of light-sheet microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weigert, Martin; Bundschuh, Sebastian T.

    2018-01-01

    Sample-induced image-degradation remains an intricate wave-optical problem in light-sheet microscopy. Here we present biobeam, an open-source software package that enables simulation of operational light-sheet microscopes by combining data from 105–106 multiplexed and GPU-accelerated point-spread-function calculations. The wave-optical nature of these simulations leads to the faithful reproduction of spatially varying aberrations, diffraction artifacts, geometric image distortions, adaptive optics, and emergent wave-optical phenomena, and renders image-formation in light-sheet microscopy computationally tractable. PMID:29652879

  12. Real-time particle tracking at 10,000 fps using optical fiber illumination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otto, Oliver; Czerwinski, Fabian; Gornall, Joanne L; Stober, Gunter; Oddershede, Lene B; Seidel, Ralf; Keyser, Ulrich F

    2010-10-25

    We introduce optical fiber illumination for real-time tracking of optically trapped micrometer-sized particles with microsecond time resolution. Our light source is a high-radiance mercury arc lamp and a 600 μm optical fiber for short-distance illumination of the sample cell. Particle tracking is carried out with a software implemented cross-correlation algorithm following image acquisition from a CMOS camera. Our image data reveals that fiber illumination results in a signal-to-noise ratio usually one order of magnitude higher compared to standard Köhler illumination. We demonstrate position determination of a single optically trapped colloid with up to 10,000 frames per second over hours. We calibrate our optical tweezers and compare the results with quadrant photo diode measurements. Finally, we determine the positional accuracy of our setup to 2 nm by calculating the Allan variance. Our results show that neither illumination nor software algorithms limit the speed of real-time particle tracking with CMOS technology.

  13. Bio-optofluidics and Bio-photonics: Programmable Phase Optics activities at DTU Fotonik

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bañas, Andrew Rafael; Palima, Darwin; Pedersen, Finn

    We present ongoing research and development activities for constructing a compact next generation BioPhotonics Workstation and a Bio-optofluidic Cell Sorter (cell-BOCS) for all-optical micromanipulation platforms utilizing low numerical aperture beam geometries. Unlike conventional high NA optical...... tweezers, the BioPhotonics workstation is e.g. capable of long range 3D manipulation. This enables a variety of biological studies such as manipulation of intricate microfabricated assemblies or for automated and parallel optofluidic cell sorting. To further reduce its overhead, we propose ways of making...... the BioPhotonics Workstation platform more photon efficient by studying the 3D distribution of the counter propagating beams and utilizing the Generalized Phase Contrast (GPC) method for illuminating the applied spatial light modulators....

  14. An active one-particle microrheometer: incorporating magnetic tweezers to total internal reflection microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Xiangjun; Hua, Li; Wu, Chi; Ngai, To

    2013-03-01

    We present a novel microrheometer by incorporating magnetic tweezers in the total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM) that enables measuring of viscoelastic properties of materials near solid surface. An evanescent wave generated by a solid∕liquid interface in the TIRM is used as the incident light source in the microrheometer. When a probe particle (of a few micrometers diameter) moves near the interface, it can interact with the evanescent field and reflect its position with respect to the interface by the scattered light intensity. The exponential distance dependence of the evanescent field, on the one hand, makes this technique extremely sensitive to small changes from z-fluctuations of the probe (with a resolution of several nanometers), and on the other, it does not require imaging of the probe with high lateral resolution. Another distinct advantage is the high sensitivity in determining the z position of the probe in the absence of any labeling. The incorporated magnetic tweezers enable us to effectively manipulate the distance of the embedded particle from the interface either by a constant or an oscillatory force. The force ramp is easy to implement through a coil current ramp. In this way, the local viscous and elastic properties of a given system under different confinements can therefore be measured by resolving the near-surface particle motion. To test the feasibility of applying this microrheology to soft materials, we measured the viscoelastic properties of sucrose and poly(ethylene glycol) solutions and compared the results to bulk rheometry. In addition, we applied this technique in monitoring the structure and properties of deformable microgel particles near the flat surface.

  15. Cerenkov light generated in optical fibres and other light pipes irradiated by electron beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beddar, A.S.; Mackie, T.R.; Attix, F.H.

    1992-01-01

    The use of a small plastic scintillator coupled to an optical fibre bundle light pipe for the dosimetry of radiotherapy x-ray or electron beams in a phantom has been studied. Under such conditions, some light is generated by the direct action of the radiation on the optical fibres themselves, and this 'background' signal must be correctly accounted for. Electron beams were incident on fused silica optical fibres and other light pipes made of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene and water. The observed light signal generated in all cases was found to depend strongly on the angle between the electron direction and the light pipe axis, and to correlate well with the angular characteristics uniquely associated with Cerenkov radiation. The use of a parallel fibre bundle light pipe, identical to the one that carries light from the scintillator, offers a suitable means of generating a similar background Cerenkov light signal that can be subtracted to obtain output from the scintillation dosimeter alone. (author)

  16. Uncharged water-soluble porphyrin tweezers as a supramolecular sensor for α-amino acids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villari, Valentina; Mineo, Placido; Micali, Norberto; Angelini, Nicola; Vitalini, Daniele; Scamporrino, Emilio

    2007-01-01

    The binding between uncharged cobalt porphyrin tweezers and L-amino acids in aqueous solutions is studied by means of UV-vis and circular dichroism spectroscopy. By varying the length of the aliphatic bridge between the two porphyrin units, the number of cobalt ions in the porphyrin cores and the pH of the solution, the chirality induction phenomenon has been investigated. The binding of the amino acid to the porphyrin seems to occur via a coordination mechanism between the metal and the nitrogen of the amino group; the steric, hydrophobic and π-π interactions operate to stabilize the complexes. The chirogenesis displays an opposite behaviour in the presence of aromatic guests with respect to the non-aromatic ones. Moreover, the UV-vis and the induced circular dichroism spectral changes suggest that the amino acid arrangement in the tweezers is determined by many factors, so that, unlike in organic solvent, the porphyrin tweezers in aqueous solution allow for two different arrangements of the same aromatic amino acid. The experimental findings indicate that the porphyrins tweezers reported in the paper are promising in opening perspectives toward their application as a selective molecular sensor in aqueous solutions directly

  17. Optical design of adjustable light emitting diode for different lighting requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Jia-Ning; Yu Jie; Tong Yu-Zhen; Zhang Guo-Yi

    2012-01-01

    Light emitting diode (LED) sources have been widely used for illumination. Optical design, especially freedom compact lens design is necessary to make LED sources applied in lighting industry, such as large-range interior lighting and small-range condensed lighting. For different lighting requirements, the size of target planes should be variable. In our paper we provide a method to design freedom lens according to the energy conservation law and Snell law through establishing energy mapping between the luminous flux emitted by a Lambertian LED source and a certain area of the target plane. The algorithm of our design can easily change the radius of each circular target plane, which makes the size of the target plane adjustable. Ray-tracing software Tracepro is used to validate the illuminance maps and polar-distribution maps. We design lenses for different sizes of target planes to meet specific lighting requirements. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  18. Investigation into local cell mechanics by atomic force microscopy mapping and optical tweezer vertical indentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coceano, G; Yousafzai, M S; Ma, W; Ndoye, F; Venturelli, L; Hussain, I; Bonin, S; Niemela, J; Scoles, G; Cojoc, D; Ferrari, E

    2016-02-12

    Investigating the mechanical properties of cells could reveal a potential source of label-free markers of cancer progression, based on measurable viscoelastic parameters. The Young's modulus has proved to be the most thoroughly studied so far, however, even for the same cell type, the elastic modulus reported in different studies spans a wide range of values, mainly due to the application of different experimental conditions. This complicates the reliable use of elasticity for the mechanical phenotyping of cells. Here we combine two complementary techniques, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical tweezer microscopy (OTM), providing a comprehensive mechanical comparison of three human breast cell lines: normal myoepithelial (HBL-100), luminal breast cancer (MCF-7) and basal breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) cells. The elastic modulus was measured locally by AFM and OTM on single cells, using similar indentation approaches but different measurement parameters. Peak force tapping AFM was employed at nanonewton forces and high loading rates to draw a viscoelastic map of each cell and the results indicated that the region on top of the nucleus provided the most meaningful results. OTM was employed at those locations at piconewton forces and low loading rates, to measure the elastic modulus in a real elastic regime and rule out the contribution of viscous forces typical of AFM. When measured by either AFM or OTM, the cell lines' elasticity trend was similar for the aggressive MDA-MB-231 cells, which were found to be significantly softer than the other two cell types in both measurements. However, when comparing HBL-100 and MCF-7 cells, we found significant differences only when using OTM.

  19. Accuracy and Mechanistic Details of Optical Printing of Single Au and Ag Nanoparticles

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gargiulo, J.; Violi, I.L.; Cerrota, S.; Chvátal, Lukáš; Cortés, E.; Perassi, E.M.; Diaz, F.; Zemánek, Pavel; Stefani, D.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 11, č. 10 (2017), s. 9678-9688 ISSN 1936-0851 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36681G Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : colloidal patterning * nanofabrication * optical forces * optical tweezers Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers OBOR OECD: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics) Impact factor: 13.942, year: 2016

  20. Quantifying Force and Viscoelasticity Inside Living Cells Using an Active–Passive Calibrated Optical Trap

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ritter, Christine M.; Maes, Josep; Oddershede, Lene

    2017-01-01

    As described in the previous chapters, optical tweezers have become a tool of precision for in vitro single-molecule investigations, where the single molecule of interest most often is studied in purified form in an experimental assay with a well-controlled fluidic environment. A well-controlled ...... is that the size and refractive properties of the trapped object and the viscoelastic properties of its environment need not be known. We explain the protocol and demonstrate its use with experiments of trapped granules inside live S.pombe cells.......As described in the previous chapters, optical tweezers have become a tool of precision for in vitro single-molecule investigations, where the single molecule of interest most often is studied in purified form in an experimental assay with a well-controlled fluidic environment. A well......-controlled fluidic environment implies that the physical properties of the liquid, most notably the viscosity, are known and the fluidic environment can, for calibrational purposes, be treated as a simple liquid. In vivo, however, optical tweezers have primarily been used as a tool of manipulation and not so often...

  1. Application of laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy techniques to the monitoring of single cell response to stimuli

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, James W.; Liu, Rui; Matthews, Dennis L.

    2012-06-01

    Laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS) combines optical trapping with micro-Raman spectroscopy to enable label-free biochemical analysis of individual cells and small biological particles in suspension. The integration of the two technologies greatly simplifies the sample preparation and handling of suspension cells for spectroscopic analysis in physiologically meaningful conditions. In our group, LTRS has been used to study the effects of external perturbations, both chemical and mechanical, on the biochemistry of the cell. Single cell dynamics can be studied by performing longitudinal studies to continuously monitor the response of the cell as it interacts with its environment. The ability to carry out these measurements in-vitro makes LTRS an attractive tool for many biomedical applications. Here, we discuss the use of LTRS to study the response of cancer cells to chemotherapeutics and bacteria cells to antibiotics and show that the life cycle and apoptosis of the cells can be detected. These results show the promise of LTRS for drug discovery/screening, antibiotic susceptibility testing, and chemotherapy response monitoring applications. In separate experiments, we study the response of red blood cells to the mechanical forces imposed on the cell by the optical tweezers. A laser power dependent deoxygenation of the red blood cell in the single beam trap is reported. Normal, sickle cell, and fetal red blood cells have a different behavior that enables the discrimination of the cell types based on this mechanochemical response. These results show the potential utility of LTRS for diagnosing and studying red blood cell diseases.

  2. Optical tweezers for measuring the interaction of the two single red blood cells in flow condition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kisung; Muravyov, Alexei; Semenov, Alexei; Wagner, Christian; Priezzhev, Alexander

    2017-03-01

    Aggregation of red blood cells (RBCs) is an intrinsic property of blood, which has direct effect on the blood viscosity and therefore affects overall the blood circulation throughout the body. It is attracting interest for the research in both fundamental science and clinical application. Despite of the intensive research, the aggregation mechanism is remaining not fully clear. Recent advances in methods allowed measuring the interaction between single RBCs in a well-defined configuration leading the better understanding of the mechanism of the process. However the most of the studies were made on the static cells. Thus, the measurements in flow mimicking conditions are missing. In this work, we aim to study the interaction of two RBCs in the flow conditions. We demonstrate the characterization of the cells interaction strength (or flow tolerance) by measuring the flow velocity to be applied to separate two aggregated cells trapped by double channel optical tweezers in a desired configuration. The age-separated cells were used for this study. The obtained values for the minimum flow velocities needed to separate the two cells were found to be 78.9 +/- 6.1 μm/s and 110 +/- 13 μm/s for old and young cells respectively. The data obtained is in agreement with the observations reported by other authors. The significance of our results is in ability for obtaining a comprehensible and absolute physical value characterizing the cells interaction in flow conditions (not like the Aggregation Index measured in whole blood suspensions by other techniques, which is some abstract parameter)

  3. A polypeptide-DNA hybrid with selective linking capability applied to single molecule nano-mechanical measurements using optical tweezers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Moayed

    Full Text Available Many applications in biosensing, biomaterial engineering and single molecule biophysics require multiple non-covalent linkages between DNA, protein molecules, and surfaces that are specific yet strong. Here, we present a novel method to join proteins and dsDNA molecule at their ends, in an efficient, rapid and specific manner, based on the recently developed linkage between the protein StrepTactin (STN and the peptide StrepTag II (ST. We introduce a two-step approach, in which we first construct a hybrid between DNA and a tandem of two STs peptides (tST. In a second step, this hybrid is linked to polystyrene bead surfaces and Maltose Binding Protein (MBP using STN. Furthermore, we show the STN-tST linkage is more stable against forces applied by optical tweezers than the commonly used biotin-Streptavidin (STV linkage. It can be used in conjunction with Neutravidin (NTV-biotin linkages to form DNA tethers that can sustain applied forces above 65 pN for tens of minutes in a quarter of the cases. The method is general and can be applied to construct other surface-DNA and protein-DNA hybrids. The reversibility, high mechanical stability and specificity provided by this linking procedure make it highly suitable for single molecule mechanical studies, as well as biosensing and lab on chip applications.

  4. Orthogonal Operation of Constitutional Dynamic Networks Consisting of DNA-Tweezer Machines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yue, Liang; Wang, Shan; Cecconello, Alessandro; Lehn, Jean-Marie; Willner, Itamar

    2017-12-26

    Overexpression or down-regulation of cellular processes are often controlled by dynamic chemical networks. Bioinspired by nature, we introduce constitutional dynamic networks (CDNs) as systems that emulate the principle of the nature processes. The CDNs comprise dynamically interconvertible equilibrated constituents that respond to external triggers by adapting the composition of the dynamic mixture to the energetic stabilization of the constituents. We introduce a nucleic acid-based CDN that includes four interconvertible and mechanically triggered tweezers, AA', BB', AB' and BA', existing in closed, closed, open, and open configurations, respectively. By subjecting the CDN to auxiliary triggers, the guided stabilization of one of the network constituents dictates the dynamic reconfiguration of the structures of the tweezers constituents. The orthogonal and reversible operations of the CDN DNA tweezers are demonstrated, using T-A·T triplex or K + -stabilized G-quadruplex as structural motifs that control the stabilities of the constituents. The implications of the study rest on the possible applications of input-guided CDN assemblies for sensing, logic gate operations, and programmed activation of molecular machines.

  5. Raman Tweezers as a Diagnostic Tool of Hemoglobin-Related Blood Disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giulia Rusciano

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available This review presents the development of a Raman Tweezers system for detecting hemoglobin-related blood disorders at a single cell level. The study demonstrates that the molecular fingerprint insight provided by Raman analysis holds great promise for distinguishing between healthy and diseased cells in the field of biomedicine. Herein a Raman Tweezers system has been applied to investigate the effects of thalassemia, a blood disease quite diffuse in the Mediterranean Sea region. By resonant excitation of hemoglobin Raman bands, we examined the oxygenation capability of normal, alpha- and beta-thalassemic erythrocytes. A reduction of this fundamental red blood cell function, particularly severe for beta-thalassemia, has been found. Raman spectroscopy was also used to draw hemoglobin distribution inside single erythrocytes; the results confirmed the characteristic anomaly (target shape, occurring in thalassemia and some other blood disorders. The success of resonance Raman spectroscopy for thalassemia detection reported in this review provide an interesting starting point to explore the application of a Raman Tweezers system in the analysis of several blood disorders.

  6. Light-switching-light optical transistor based on metallic nanoparticle cross-chains geometry incorporating Kerr nonlinearity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    AbdelMalek, Fathi; Aroua, Walid [National Institute of Applied Science and Technology, University of Carthage, Tunis (Tunisia); Haxha, Shyqyri [Computer Science and Technology Department, Bedfordshire University, Luton (United Kingdom); Flint, Ian [Selex ES Ltd, Luton, Bedfordshire (United Kingdom)

    2016-08-15

    In this research work, we propose all-optical transistor based on metallic nanoparticle cross-chains geometry. The geometry of the proposed device consists of two silver nanoparticle chains arranged along the x- and z-axis. The x-chain contains a Kerr nonlinearity, the source beam is set at the left side of the later, while the control beam is located at the top side of the z-chain. The control beam can turn ON and OFF the light transmission of an incoming light. We report a theoretical model of a very small all-optical transistor proof-of-concept made of optical 'light switching light' concept. We show that the transmission efficiency strongly depends on the control beam and polarization of the incoming light. We investigate the influence of a perfect reflector and reflecting substrate on the transmission of the optical signal when the control beam is turned ON and OFF. These new findings make our unique design a potential candidate for future highly-integrated optical information processing chips. (copyright 2016 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  7. Design of optical element combining Fresnel lens with microlens array for uniform light-emitting diode lighting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guangzhen; Wang, Lili; Li, Fuli; Kong, Depeng

    2012-09-01

    One kind of optical element combining Fresnel lens with microlens array is designed simply for LED lighting based on geometrical optics and nonimaging optics. This design method imposes no restriction on the source intensity pattern. The designed element has compact construction and can produce multiple shapes of illumination distribution. Taking square lighting as an example, tolerance analysis is carried out to determine tolerance limits for applying the element in the assembly process. This element can produce on-axis lighting and off-axis lighting.

  8. Proceedings of the OPTELACIC 2009. VI International TECNOLASER Event. II Meeting of Optic, Life and Heritage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-04-01

    The Center of Applied Technologies and Nuclear Development (CEADEN) and the Cuban Physical Society (SCF) celebrated the VI International Workshop Tecnolaser, T ECNOLASER 2009 , and the II International Meeting Optics, Life and Heritage in the CAPITOLIO, Havana, Cuba, the week of 13-16 April 2009, under the general lemma O ptics and Laser Technology in Science, Industry and Culture . Main Topics for Tecnolaser Session: Laser technology, optics, processing of images, and spectroscopy in medicine, biology, chemistry, nonotechnology and industry; Electronics, mechanics and automation associated to optics and laser techniques; Development and construction of laser installations, instruments and optic elements; Optoelectronic, photonic and fiber optic; Processing of materials with laser; Optic techniques of measurement and spectroscopy and Optic tweezers. Main Topics for Optics, Life and Heritage: Optics and Light in Life Sciences; Environmental Analysis by Means of Optics, Image Processing, or Laser spectroscopy; Optics, Laser, Image Processing or Spectroscopy in Heritage Conservation and Restauration; Optics and Holography in Art; Archaeological and Museological Optics Applications; Hand drawn holography and Biophotonic

  9. Radial modes in phase-only twisted light beams

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Sephton, Bereneice C

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) are ubiquitous in many experiments carried out today and cover a wide range of research, from surface microstructure processing to optical tweezers and communications. It follows that these beams are a...

  10. A development optical course based on optical fiber white light interference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Haili; Sun, Qiuhua; Zhao, Yancheng; Li, Qingbo

    2017-08-01

    The Michelson interferometer is a very important instrument in optical part for college physics teaching. But most students only know the instrument itself and don't know how to use it in practical engineering problems. A case about optical fiber white light interference based on engineering practice was introduced in the optical teaching of college physics and then designed a development course of university physical optics part. This system based on low-coherence white light interferometric technology can be used to measure distribution strain or temperature. It also could be used in the case of temperature compensation mode.This teaching design can use the knowledge transfer rule to enable students to apply the basic knowledge in the university physics to the new knowledge domain, which can promote the students' ability of using scientific methods to solve complex engineering problems.

  11. Optical registration of spaceborne low light remote sensing camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chong-yang; Hao, Yan-hui; Xu, Peng-mei; Wang, Dong-jie; Ma, Li-na; Zhao, Ying-long

    2018-02-01

    For the high precision requirement of spaceborne low light remote sensing camera optical registration, optical registration of dual channel for CCD and EMCCD is achieved by the high magnification optical registration system. System integration optical registration and accuracy of optical registration scheme for spaceborne low light remote sensing camera with short focal depth and wide field of view is proposed in this paper. It also includes analysis of parallel misalignment of CCD and accuracy of optical registration. Actual registration results show that imaging clearly, MTF and accuracy of optical registration meet requirements, it provide important guarantee to get high quality image data in orbit.

  12. Chiral particles in the dual-beam optical trap

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brzobohatý, Oto; Hernández, R.J.; Simpson, Stephen Hugh; Mazzulla, A.; Cipparrone, G.; Zemánek, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 24, č. 23 (2016), 26382:1-10 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LD14069; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA ČR(CZ) GA14-16195S; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : optical tweezers * optical manipulation * liquid crystals * chiral media Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.307, year: 2016

  13. Towards optical brain imaging: getting light through a bone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, J. V.; Hokr, B. H.; Nodurft, D. T.; Yakovlev, V. V.

    2018-06-01

    Optical imaging and detection in biological samples is severely limited by scattering effects. In particular, optical techniques for measuring conditions beneath the skull and within the bone marrow hold significant promise when it comes to speed, sensitivity and specificity. However, the strong optical scattering due to bone hinders the realization of these methods. In this article, we propose a technique to enhance the transmittance of light through bone. This is achieved by injecting light below the top surface of the bone and utilizing multiple scattering to increase transmittance. This technique suggests that enhancements of 2-6 times may be realized by injection of light 1 mm below the surface of the bone. By enhancing the transmittance of light through bone, we will greatly improve our ability to utilize optical methods to better understand and diagnose conditions within biological media.

  14. Experimental and theoretical determination of optical binding forces

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brzobohatý, Oto; Čižmár, T.; Karásek, Vítězslav; Šiler, Martin; Dholakia, K.; Zemánek, Pavel

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 18, č. 24 (2010), s. 25389-25402 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/09/0348; GA MŠk OC08034; GA MŠk(CZ) LC06007; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20650511 Keywords : optical binding forces * micro-particles * inter-particle effects * optical manipulation * optical tweezers Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.749, year: 2010

  15. Light gradients and optical microniches in coral tissues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel eWangpraseurt

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Light quantity and quality are among the most important factors determining the physiology and stress response of zooxanthellate corals. Yet, almost nothing is known about the light field that Symbiodinium experiences within their coral host, and the basic optical properties of coral tissue are unknown. We used scalar irradiance microprobes to characterise vertical and lateral light gradients within and across tissues of several coral species. Our results revealed the presence of steep light gradients with PAR (photosynthetically available radiation decreasing by about one order of magnitude from the tissue surface to the coral skeleton. Surface scalar irradiance was consistently higher over polyp tissue than over coenosarc tissue in faviid corals. Coral bleaching increased surface scalar irradiance by ~150% (between 500-700 nm relative to a healthy coral. Photosynthesis peaked around 300 µm within the tissue, which corresponded to a zone exhibiting strongest depletion of scalar irradiance. Deeper coral tissue layers, e.g. ~1000 µm into aboral polyp tissues, harbor optical microniches, where only ~10% of the incident irradiance remains. We conclude that the optical microenvironment of corals exhibits strong lateral and vertical gradients of scalar irradiance, which are affected by both tissue and skeleton optical properties. Our results imply that zooxanthellae populations inhabit a strongly heterogeneous light environment and highlight the presence of different optical microniches in corals; an important finding for understanding the photobiology, stress response, as well as the phenotypic and genotypic plasticity of coral symbionts.

  16. Photodiode Based Detection for Multiple Trap Optical Tweezers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ott, Dino

    This thesis is concerned with the position tracking of microscopic, optically trapped particles and the quantification of the forces acting on them. A new detection method for simultaneous, three-dimensional tracking of multiple particles is presented, its performance is evaluated, and its...... usefulness is illustrated in specific application examples. Optical traps enable contact-less, all-optical manipulation of microscopic objects. Over the last decades, this laser-based micro-manipulation tool has facilitated numerous exciting discoveries within biology and physics, and it is today regarded...

  17. The relevance of light diffusion profiles for interstitial PDT using light-diffusing optical fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stringasci, Mirian D.; Fortunato, Thereza C.; Moriyama, Lilian T.; Vollet Filho, José Dirceu; Bagnato, Vanderlei S.; Kurachi, Cristina

    2017-02-01

    Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a technique used for several tumor types treatment. Light penetration on biological tissue is one limiting factor for PDT applied to large tumors. An alternative is using interstitial PDT, in which optical fibers are inserted into tumors. Cylindrical diffusers have been used in interstitial PDT. Light emission of different diffusers depends on the manufacturing process, size and optical properties of fibers, which make difficult to establish an adequate light dosimetry, since usually light profile is not designed for direct tissue-fiber contact. This study discusses the relevance of light distribution by a cylindrical diffuser into a turbid lipid emulsion solution, and how parts of a single diffuser contribute to illumination. A 2 cm-long cylindrical diffuser optical fiber was connected to a diode laser (630 nm), and the light spatial distribution was measured by scanning the solution with a collection probe. From the light field profile generated by a 1 mm-long intermediary element of a 20 mm-long cylindrical diffuser, recovery of light distribution for the entire diffuser was obtained. PDT was performed in rat healthy liver for a real treatment outcome analysis. By using computational tools, a typical necrosis profile generated by the irradiation with such a diffuser fiber was reconstructed. The results showed that it was possible predicting theoretically the shape of a necrosis profile in a healthy, homogeneous tissue with reasonable accuracy. The ability to predict the necrosis profile obtained from an interstitial illumination by optical diffusers has the potential improve light dosimetry for interstitial PDT.

  18. Optical antenna for a visible light communications receiver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valencia-Estrada, Juan Camilo; García-Márquez, Jorge; Topsu, Suat; Chassagne, Luc

    2018-01-01

    Visible Light Communications (VLC) receivers adapted to be used in high transmission rates will eventually use either, high aperture lenses or non-linear optical elements capable of converting light arriving to the receiver into an electric signal. The high aperture lens case, reveals a challenge from an optical designers point-of-view. As a matter of fact, the lens must collect a wide aperture intensity flux using a limited aperture as its use is intended to portable devices. This last also limits both, lens thickness and its focal length. Here, we show a first design to be adapted to a VLC receiver that take these constraints into account. This paper describes a method to design catadioptric and monolithic lenses to be used as an optical collector of light entering from a near point light source as a spherical fan L with a wide acceptance angle α° and high efficiency. These lenses can be mass produced and therefore one can find many practical applications in VLC equipped devices. We show a first design for a near light source without magnification, and second one with a detector's magnification in a meridional section. We utilize rigorous geometric optics, vector analysis and ordinary differential equations.

  19. Polarized light in optics and spectroscopy

    CERN Document Server

    Kliger, David S

    1990-01-01

    This comprehensive introduction to polarized light provides students and researchers with the background and the specialized knowledge needed to fully utilize polarized light. It provides a basic introduction to the interaction of light with matter for those unfamiliar with photochemistry and photophysics. An in-depth discussion of polarizing optics is also given. Different analytical techniques are introduced and compared and introductions to the use of polarized light in various forms of spectroscopy are provided.Key Features* Starts at a basic level and develops tools for resear

  20. Multi-layered fabrication of large area PDMS flexible optical light guide sheets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Robert; Knopf, George K.; Bordatchev, Evgueni V.

    2017-02-01

    Large area polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) flexible optical light guide sheets can be used to create a variety of passive light harvesting and illumination systems for wearable technology, advanced indoor lighting, non-planar solar light collectors, customized signature lighting, and enhanced safety illumination for motorized vehicles. These thin optically transparent micro-patterned polymer sheets can be draped over a flat or arbitrarily curved surface. The light guiding behavior of the optical light guides depends on the geometry and spatial distribution of micro-optical structures, thickness and shape of the flexible sheet, refractive indices of the constituent layers, and the wavelength of the incident light. A scalable fabrication method that combines soft-lithography, closed thin cavity molding, partial curing, and centrifugal casting is described in this paper for building thin large area multi-layered PDMS optical light guide sheets. The proposed fabrication methodology enables the of internal micro-optical structures (MOSs) in the monolithic PDMS light guide by building the optical system layer-by-layer. Each PDMS layer in the optical light guide can have the similar, or a slightly different, indices of refraction that permit total internal reflection within the optical sheet. The individual molded layers may also be defect free or micro-patterned with microlens or reflecting micro-features. In addition, the bond between adjacent layers is ensured because each layer is only partially cured before the next functional layer is added. To illustrate the scalable build-by-layers fabrication method a three-layer mechanically flexible illuminator with an embedded LED strip is constructed and demonstrated.

  1. Manipulation of nanoparticles and biological samples through enhanced optical forces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Benjamin

    Non-invasive optical manipulation of particles has emerged as a powerful and versatile tool for biological study and nanotechnology. We propose and demonstrate large scale nanoparticle assembly using opto-thermal force produced by conventional optical tweezers. This method is shown to allow precise concentration and assembly of particles including carbon-nanotubes, VO2 nanorods, and CdTe quantum dots. Assembled devices were shown to have good contact with patterned electrodes. In addition, we propose and demonstrate a purely optical approach to rotate and align particles using the interaction of polarized light with photonic crystal nanostructures to generate enhanced trapping force. With a weakly focused laser beam we observed efficient trapping and transportation of polystyrene beads with sizes ranging from 10 microm down to 190 nm as well as cancer cell nuclei. In addition, we demonstrated alignment of non-spherical particles using a 1-D photonic crystal structure. Bacterial cells were trapped, rotated and aligned with optical intensity as low as 17 microW/microm 2. This approach can be extended to using 2-D photonic crystal nanostructures for full rotation control.

  2. An adjustable multi-scale single beam acoustic tweezers based on ultrahigh frequency ultrasonic transducer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xiaoyang; Lam, Kwok Ho; Chen, Ruimin; Chen, Zeyu; Yu, Ping; Chen, Zhongping; Shung, K Kirk; Zhou, Qifa

    2017-11-01

    This paper reports the fabrication, characterization, and microparticle manipulation capability of an adjustable multi-scale single beam acoustic tweezers (SBAT) that is capable of flexibly changing the size of "tweezers" like ordinary metal tweezers with a single-element ultrahigh frequency (UHF) ultrasonic transducer. The measured resonant frequency of the developed transducer at 526 MHz is the highest frequency of piezoelectric single crystal based ultrasonic transducers ever reported. This focused UHF ultrasonic transducer exhibits a wide bandwidth (95.5% at -10 dB) due to high attenuation of high-frequency ultrasound wave, which allows the SBAT effectively excite with a wide range of excitation frequency from 150 to 400 MHz by using the "piezoelectric actuator" model. Through controlling the excitation frequency, the wavelength of ultrasound emitted from the SBAT can be changed to selectively manipulate a single microparticle of different sizes (3-100 μm) by using only one transducer. This concept of flexibly changing "tweezers" size is firstly introduced into the study of SBAT. At the same time, it was found that this incident ultrasound wavelength play an important role in lateral trapping and manipulation for microparticle of different sizes. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2637-2647. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Thermal tuning of spectral emission from optically trapped liquid-crystal droplet resonators

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jonáš, A.; Pilát, Zdeněk; Ježek, Jan; Bernatová, Silvie; Fořt, Tomáš; Zemánek, Pavel; Aas, M.; Kiraz, A.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 34, č. 9 (2017), s. 1855-1864 ISSN 0740-3224 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LD14069; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : emission spectroscopy * drops * optical tweezers Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers OBOR OECD: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics) Impact factor: 1.843, year: 2016

  4. Thermally induced micro-motion by inflection in optical potential

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šiler, Martin; Jákl, Petr; Brzobohatý, Oto; Ryabov, A.; Filip, R.; Zemánek, Pavel

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 7, MAY (2017), s. 1-8, č. článku 1697. ISSN 2045-2322 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36681G; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : molecular motors * brownian-motion * manipulation * efficiency * tweezers Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers OBOR OECD: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics) Impact factor: 4.259, year: 2016

  5. Light scattering in optical CT scanning of Presage dosimeters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Y; Adamovics, J; Cheeseborough, J C; Chao, K S; Wuu, C S, E-mail: yx2010@columbia.ed

    2010-11-01

    The intensity of the scattered light from the Presage dosimeters was measured using a Thorlabs PM100D optical power meter (Thorlabs Inc, Newton, NJ) with an optical sensor of 1 mm diameter sensitive area. Five Presage dosimeters were made as cylinders of 15.2 cm, 10 cm, 4 cm diameters and irradiated with 6 MV photons using a Varian Clinac 2100EX. Each dosimeter was put into the scanning tank of an OCTOPUS' optical CT scanner (MGS Research Inc, Madison, CT) filled with a refractive index matching liquid. A laser diode was positioned at one side of the water tank to generate a stationary laser beam of 0.8 mm width. On the other side of the tank, an in-house manufactured positioning system was used to move the optical sensor in the direction perpendicular to the outgoing laser beam from the dosimeters at an increment of 1 mm. The amount of scattered photons was found to be more than 1% of the primary light signal within 2 mm from the laser beam but decreases sharply with increasing off-axis distance. The intensity of the scattered light increases with increasing light attenuations and/or absorptions in the dosimeters. The scattered light at the same off-axis distance was weaker for dosimeters of larger diameters and for larger detector-to-dosimeter distances. Methods for minimizing the effect of the light scattering in different types of optical CT scanners are discussed.

  6. Rapid formation of size-controllable multicellular spheroids via 3D acoustic tweezers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kejie; Wu, Mengxi; Guo, Feng; Li, Peng; Chan, Chung Yu; Mao, Zhangming; Li, Sixing; Ren, Liqiang; Zhang, Rui; Huang, Tony Jun

    2016-07-05

    The multicellular spheroid is an important 3D cell culture model for drug screening, tissue engineering, and fundamental biological research. Although several spheroid formation methods have been reported, the field still lacks high-throughput and simple fabrication methods to accelerate its adoption in drug development industry. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) based cell manipulation methods, which are known to be non-invasive, flexible, and high-throughput, have not been successfully developed for fabricating 3D cell assemblies or spheroids, due to the limited understanding on SAW-based vertical levitation. In this work, we demonstrated the capability of fabricating multicellular spheroids in the 3D acoustic tweezers platform. Our method used drag force from microstreaming to levitate cells in the vertical direction, and used radiation force from Gor'kov potential to aggregate cells in the horizontal plane. After optimizing the device geometry and input power, we demonstrated the rapid and high-throughput nature of our method by continuously fabricating more than 150 size-controllable spheroids and transferring them to Petri dishes every 30 minutes. The spheroids fabricated by our 3D acoustic tweezers can be cultured for a week with good cell viability. We further demonstrated that spheroids fabricated by this method could be used for drug testing. Unlike the 2D monolayer model, HepG2 spheroids fabricated by the 3D acoustic tweezers manifested distinct drug resistance, which matched existing reports. The 3D acoustic tweezers based method can serve as a novel bio-manufacturing tool to fabricate complex 3D cell assembles for biological research, tissue engineering, and drug development.

  7. Cooperative effects between color centers in diamond: applications to optical tweezers and optomechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradac, Carlo; Prasanna Venkatesh, B.; Besga, Benjamin; Johnsson, Mattias; Brennen, Gavin; Molina-Terriza, Gabriel; Volz, Thomas; Juan, Mathieu L.

    2017-08-01

    Since the early work by Ashkin in 1970,1 optical trapping has become one of the most powerful tools for manipulating small particles, such as micron sized beads2 or single atoms.3 Interestingly, both an atom and a lump of dielectric material can be manipulated through the same mechanism: the interaction energy of a dipole and the electric field of the laser light. In the case of atom trapping, the dominant contribution typically comes from the allowed optical transition closest to the laser wavelength while it is given by the bulk polarisability for mesoscopic particles. This difference lead to two very different contexts of applications: one being the trapping of small objects mainly in biological settings,4 the other one being dipole traps for individual neutral atoms5 in the field of quantum optics. In this context, solid state artificial atoms present the interesting opportunity to combine these two aspects of optical manipulation. We are particularly interested in nanodiamonds as they constitute a bulk dielectric object by themselves, but also contain artificial atoms such as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) or silicon-vacancy (SiV) colour centers. With this system, both regimes of optical trapping can be observed at the same time even at room temperature. In this work, we demonstrate that the resonant force from the optical transition of NV centres at 637 nm can be measured in a nanodiamond trapped in water. This additional contribution to the total force is significant, reaching up to 10%. In addition, due to the very large density of NV centres in a sub-wavelength crystal, collective effects between centres have an important effect on the magnitude of the resonant force.6 The possibility to observe such cooperatively enhanced optical force at room temperature is also theoretically confirmed.7 This approach may enable the study of cooperativity in various nanoscale solid-state systems and the use of atomic physics techniques in the field of nano-manipulation and opto-mechanics.

  8. Numerical Investigations on a Distributed Fiber-Optic Lighting System with an End Reflector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Shuhua; Gong Huaping; Tu Yumeng; Meng Ying

    2011-01-01

    A novel distributed fiber-optic decorative lighting system with the reflection coating on the extremity of fiber-optic is designed, which used the multi-mold optical fiber made up of large core diameter(Diameter of core and cladding is 105μm and 125μm, respectly). After introducing the distributional optical fiber decorative lighting system briefly, the ralationship between corrosion depth of the optical fiber core and the leakage of fiber-optic has been analyzed with the Rsoft, and then the relationship of the lighting power and the uniformity of lighting power with the leakage rate of optical fiber lamp, the reflective of reflection coating has been discussed.The simulation analysis shows that, when the core diameter is corroded to 80∼85 μm, the leakage rate of optical fiber may achieve 5.0%, which suits the optical fiber decorative lighting. Considering all kinds of factors, when optical fiber lamp's quantity is 20, the coating index of reflection is 95%, optical fiber lamp's leakage of light rate is 5.0%, and the optical fiber lamp's distance is 1 meter, the quite high illuminating power may be achieved, as well as the good lighting uniformity.Finally the experimental study of decorative lighting system is given. And the experimental result is in keeping well with the theory simulation conclusion.

  9. HoloHands: games console interface for controlling holographic optical manipulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, C.; McPherson, M.; McDougall, C.; McGloin, D.

    2013-03-01

    The increasing number of applications for holographic manipulation techniques has sparked the development of more accessible control interfaces. Here, we describe a holographic optical tweezers experiment which is controlled by gestures that are detected by a Microsoft Kinect. We demonstrate that this technique can be used to calibrate the tweezers using the Stokes drag method and compare this to automated calibrations. We also show that multiple particle manipulation can be handled. This is a promising new line of research for gesture-based control which could find applications in a wide variety of experimental situations.

  10. HoloHands: games console interface for controlling holographic optical manipulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDonald, C; McPherson, M; McDougall, C; McGloin, D

    2013-01-01

    The increasing number of applications for holographic manipulation techniques has sparked the development of more accessible control interfaces. Here, we describe a holographic optical tweezers experiment which is controlled by gestures that are detected by a Microsoft Kinect. We demonstrate that this technique can be used to calibrate the tweezers using the Stokes drag method and compare this to automated calibrations. We also show that multiple particle manipulation can be handled. This is a promising new line of research for gesture-based control which could find applications in a wide variety of experimental situations. (paper)

  11. Optical traps with geometric aberrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roichman, Yael; Waldron, Alex; Gardel, Emily; Grier, David G.

    2006-01-01

    We assess the influence of geometric aberrations on the in-plane performance of optical traps by studying the dynamics of trapped colloidal spheres in deliberately distorted holographic optical tweezers. The lateral stiffness of the traps turns out to be insensitive to moderate amounts of coma, astigmatism, and spherical aberration. Moreover holographic aberration correction enables us to compensate inherent shortcomings in the optical train, thereby adaptively improving its performance. We also demonstrate the effects of geometric aberrations on the intensity profiles of optical vortices, whose readily measured deformations suggest a method for rapidly estimating and correcting geometric aberrations in holographic trapping systems

  12. Study of light transmission through optical fiber-to-fiber connector assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, M.; Gutowski, M.; Adams, M.; Solomon, J.

    1998-01-01

    Optical fiber-to-fiber connectors are now being used widely in particle tracking detectors. We describe the properties of the connectors, their production, and measurements of the light transmission through the gap of the connector assembly. We studied light transmission for various types of connectors illuminated by several different light sources. The light transmission was found to be dependent on the angular distribution of the light rays passing through a connector assembly. Two arrangements were studied, a point source and a diffuse source. A green LED with a diffuser is believed to best reproduce the angular distributions of light in the real detector applications. We also studied the transmission as a function of the index of refraction of the optical couplants. The light transmission depends on the index of refraction of an optical couplant placed in the gap, and improves as it approaches the index of refraction of the fiber core. Light transmissions of 80%∼88% were obtained without any optical couplant in the connector gap and transmissions of 89%∼99% with various optical couplants. A Monte Carlo study using measured light distributions from a fiber end produced a reasonable agreement with the transmission measurements made on a connector assembly

  13. Study of light transmission through optical fiber-to-fiber connector assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, M.; Gutowski, M.; Adams, M.; Solomon, J.

    1998-01-01

    Optical fiber-to-fiber connectors are now being used widely in particle tracking detectors. We describe the properties of the connectors, their production, and measurements of the light transmission through the gap of the connector assembly. We studied light transmission for various types of connectors illuminated by several different light sources. The light transmission was found to be dependent on the angular distribution of the light rays passing through a connector assembly. Two arrangements were studied, a point source and a diffuse source. A green LED with a diffuser is believed to best reproduce the angular distributions of light in the real detector applications. We also studied the transmission as a function of the index of refraction of the optical couplants. The light transmission depends on the index of refraction of an optical couplant placed in the gap, and improves as it approaches the index of refraction of the fiber core. Light transmissions of 80%∼88% were obtained without any optical couplant in the connector gap and transmissions of 89%∼99% with various optical couplants. A Monte Carlo study using measured light distributions from a fiber end produced a reasonable agreement with the transmission measurements made on a connector assembly. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

  14. Optical Characteristics of a Multichannel Hybrid Integrated Light Source for Ultra-High-Bandwidth Optical Interconnections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takanori Shimizu

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The optical characteristics of a multi-channel hybrid integrated light source were described for an optical interconnection with a bandwidth of over 10 Tbit/s. The power uniformity of the relative intensity of a 1000-channel light source was shown, and the minimum standard deviation s of the optical power of the 200 output ports at each 25-channel laser diode (LD array was estimated to be 0.49 dB. This hybrid integrated light source is expected to be easily adaptable to a photonics-electronics convergence system for ultra-high-bandwidth interchip interconnections.

  15. Illusion optics in chaotic light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Suheng; Gan Shu; Xiong Jun; Zhang Xiangdong; Wang Kaige

    2010-01-01

    The time-reversal process provides the possibility to counteract the time evolution of a physical system. Recent research has shown that such a process can occur in the first-order field correlation of chaotic light and result in the spatial interference and phase-reversal diffraction in an unbalanced interferometer. Here we report experimental investigations on the invisibility cloak and illusion phenomena in chaotic light. In an unbalanced interferometer illuminated by thermal light, we have observed the cloak effect and the optical transformation of one object into another object. The experimental results can be understood by the phase-reversal diffraction, and they demonstrate the theoretical proposal of similar effects in complementary media.

  16. Particle jumps between optical traps in a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šiler, Martin; Zemánek, Pavel

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 12, Aug 2 (2010), 083001:1-20 ISSN 1367-2630 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06007; GA MŠk OC08034 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20650511 Keywords : stochastic resonance * brownian-motion * tweezers * forces * manipulation * calibration * separation * interface * diffusion * tracking Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.849, year: 2010

  17. Thermally induced passage and current of particles in a highly unstable optical potential

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ryabov, A.; Zemánek, Pavel; Filip, R.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 94, č. 4 (2016), 042108:1-9 ISSN 2470-0045 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36681G Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : Brownian movement * Electron transitions * Optical tweezers Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 2.366, year: 2016

  18. Perform light and optic experiments in Augmented Reality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wozniak, Peter; Vauderwange, Oliver; Curticapean, Dan; Javahiraly, Nicolas; Israel, Kai

    2015-10-01

    In many scientific studies lens experiments are part of the curriculum. The conducted experiments are meant to give the students a basic understanding for the laws of optics and its applications. Most of the experiments need special hardware like e.g. an optical bench, light sources, apertures and different lens types. Therefore it is not possible for the students to conduct any of the experiments outside of the university's laboratory. Simple optical software simulators enabling the students to virtually perform lens experiments already exist, but are mostly desktop or web browser based. Augmented Reality (AR) is a special case of mediated and mixed reality concepts, where computers are used to add, subtract or modify one's perception of reality. As a result of the success and widespread availability of handheld mobile devices, like e.g. tablet computers and smartphones, mobile augmented reality applications are easy to use. Augmented reality can be easily used to visualize a simulated optical bench. The students can interactively modify properties like e.g. lens type, lens curvature, lens diameter, lens refractive index and the positions of the instruments in space. Light rays can be visualized and promote an additional understanding of the laws of optics. An AR application like this is ideally suited to prepare the actual laboratory sessions and/or recap the teaching content. The authors will present their experience with handheld augmented reality applications and their possibilities for light and optic experiments without the needs for specialized optical hardware.

  19. Nonlinear light-matter interactions in engineered optical media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Litchinitser, Natalia

    In this talk, we consider fundamental optical phenomena at the interface of nonlinear and singular optics in artificial media, including theoretical and experimental studies of linear and nonlinear light-matter interactions of vector and singular optical beams in metamaterials. We show that unique optical properties of metamaterials open unlimited prospects to ``engineer'' light itself. Thanks to their ability to manipulate both electric and magnetic field components, metamaterials open new degrees of freedom for tailoring complex polarization states and orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light. We will discuss several approaches to structured light manipulation on the nanoscale using metal-dielectric, all-dielectric and hyperbolic metamaterials. These new functionalities, including polarization and OAM conversion, beam magnification and de-magnification, and sub-wavelength imaging using novel non-resonant hyperlens are likely to enable a new generation of on-chip or all-fiber structured light applications. The emergence of metamaterials also has a strong potential to enable a plethora of novel nonlinear light-matter interactions and even new nonlinear materials. In particular, nonlinear focusing and defocusing effects are of paramount importance for manipulation of the minimum focusing spot size of structured light beams necessary for nanoscale trapping, manipulation, and fundamental spectroscopic studies. Colloidal suspensions offer as a promising platform for engineering polarizibilities and realization of large and tunable nonlinearities. We will present our recent studies of the phenomenon of spatial modulational instability leading to laser beam filamentation in an engineered soft-matter nonlinear medium. Finally, we introduce so-called virtual hyperbolic metamaterials formed by an array of plasma channels in air as a result of self-focusing of an intense laser pulse, and show that such structure can be used to manipulate microwave beams in a free space. This

  20. Light Robotics: an all-optical nano- and micro-toolbox

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glückstad, Jesper; Villangca, Mark Jayson; Palima, Darwin

    2017-01-01

    potential of this new ‘drone-like’ light-driven micro-robotics in challenging microscopic geometries requires a versatile and real-time reconfigurable light addressing that can dynamically track a plurality of tiny micro-robots in 3D to ensure continuous optimal light coupling on the fly. Our latest......Recently we proposed the concept of so-called Light Robotics including the new and disruptive 3D fabricated micro-tools coined Wave-guided Optical Waveguides that can be real-time optically manipulated and remote-controlled with a joystick in a volume with six-degrees-of-freedom. Exploring the full...

  1. Fiber fuse light-induced continuous breakdown of silica glass optical fiber

    CERN Document Server

    Todoroki, Shin-ichi

    2014-01-01

    This book describes the fiber fuse phenomenon that causes a serious problem for the present optical communication systems. High-power light often brings about catastrophic damage to optical devices. Silica glass optical fibers with ultralow transmission loss are not the exception. A fiber fuse appears in a heated region of the fiber cable delivering a few watts of light and runs toward the light source destroying its core region. Understanding this phenomenon is a necessary first step in the development of future optical communication systems. This book provides supplementary videos and photog

  2. Determining the structure-mechanics relationships of dense microtubule networks with confocal microscopy and magnetic tweezers-based microrheology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yali; Valentine, Megan T

    2013-01-01

    The microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton is essential in maintaining the shape, strength, and organization of cells. Its spatiotemporal organization is fundamental for numerous dynamic biological processes, and mechanical stress within the MT cytoskeleton provides an important signaling mechanism in mitosis and neural development. This raises important questions about the relationships between structure and mechanics in complex MT structures. In vitro, reconstituted cytoskeletal networks provide a minimal model of cell mechanics while also providing a testing ground for the fundamental polymer physics of stiff polymer gels. Here, we describe our development and implementation of a broad tool kit to study structure-mechanics relationships in reconstituted MT networks, including protocols for the assembly of entangled and cross-linked MT networks, fluorescence imaging, microstructure characterization, construction and calibration of magnetic tweezers devices, and mechanical data collection and analysis. In particular, we present the design and assembly of three neodymium iron boron (NdFeB)-based magnetic tweezers devices optimized for use with MT networks: (1) high-force magnetic tweezers devices that enable the application of nano-Newton forces and possible meso- to macroscale materials characterization; (2) ring-shaped NdFeB-based magnetic tweezers devices that enable oscillatory microrheology measurements; and (3) portable magnetic tweezers devices that enable direct visualization of microscale deformation in soft materials under applied force. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Human tissue optical properties measurements and light propagation modelling

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dam, JS

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available Biomedical Optics is the study of the optical properties of living biological material, especially its scattering and absorption characteristics, and their significance to light propagation within the material. Determination of tissue optical...

  4. Illumination properties and energy savings of a solar fiber optic lighting system balanced by artificial lights

    OpenAIRE

    Lingfors, David

    2013-01-01

    A solar fiber optic lighting system, SP3 from the Swedish company Parans Solar Lighting AB, has been installed in a study area/corridor test site. A collector is tracking the sun during daytime, focusing the direct sun irradiance via Fresnel lenses into optical fibers, which guide the solar light into the building. The illumination properties of the system have been characterized. The energy saving due to reduced need of artificial lighting have been calculated and methods for balancing the a...

  5. Combining optical trapping in a microfluidic channel with simultaneous micro-Raman spectroscopy and motion detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawton, Penelope F.; Saunter, Christopher D.; Girkin, John M.

    2014-03-01

    Since their invention by Ashkin optical tweezers have demonstrated their ability and versatility as a non-invasive tool for micromanipulation. One of the most useful additions to the basic optical tweezers system is micro-Raman spectroscopy, which permits highly sensitive analysis of single cells or particles. We report on the development of a dual laser system combining two spatial light modulators to holographically manipulate multiple traps (at 1064nm) whilst undertaking Raman spectroscopy using a 532nm laser. We can thus simultaneously trap multiple particles and record their Raman spectra, without perturbing the trapping system. The dual beam system is built around micro-fluidic channels where crystallisation of calcium carbonate occurs on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads. The setup is designed to simulate at a microscopic level the reactions that occur on items in a dishwasher, where permanent filming of calcium carbonate on drinking glasses is a problem. Our system allows us to monitor crystal growth on trapped particles in which the Raman spectrum and changes in movement of the bead are recorded. Due to the expected low level of crystallisation on the bead surfaces this allows us to obtain results quickly and with high sensitivity. The long term goal is to study the development of filming on samples in-situ with the microfl.uidic system acting as a model dishwasher.

  6. Optically Driven Mobile Integrated Micro-Tools for a Lab-on-a-Chip

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Jui Liu

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This study proposes an optically driven complex micromachine with an Archimedes microscrew as the mechanical power, a sphere as a coupler, and three knives as the mechanical tools. The micromachine is fabricated by two-photon polymerization and is portably driven by optical tweezers. Because the microscrew can be optically trapped and rotates spontaneously, it provides driving power for the complex micro-tools. In other words, when a laser beam focuses on the micromachine, the microscrew is trapped toward the focus point and simultaneously rotates. A demonstration showed that the integrated micromachines are grasped by the optical tweezers and rotated by the Archimedes screw. The rotation efficiencies of the microrotors with and without knives are 1.9 rpm/mW and 13.5 rpm/mW, respectively. The micromachine can also be portably dragged along planed routes. Such Archimedes screw-based optically driven complex mechanical micro-tools enable rotation similar to moving machines or mixers, which could contribute to applications for a biological microfluidic chip or a lab-on-a-chip.

  7. Photonic Torque Microscopy of the Nonconservative Force Field for Optically Trapped Silicon Nanowires

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Irrera, A.; Maggazu, A.; Artoni, P.; Simpson, Stephen Hugh; Hanna, S.; Jones, P.H.; Priolo, F.; Gucciardi, P. G.; Marago, O.M.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 16, č. 7 (2016), s. 4181-4188 ISSN 1530-6984 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36681G Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : optical tweezers * silicon nanowires * nonequilibrium dynamics * Brownian motion Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 12.712, year: 2016

  8. Optical forces induced behavior of a particle in a non-diffracting vortex beam

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šiler, Martin; Jákl, Petr; Brzobohatý, Oto; Zemánek, Pavel

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 20, č. 22 (2012), s. 24304-24319 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA ČR GPP205/11/P294; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01; GA MŠk LH12018 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : optical vortex beam * tweezers * optical forces Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.546, year: 2012

  9. Cylindrical particle manipulation and negative spinning using a nonparaxial Hermite-Gaussian light-sheet beam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitri, F. G.

    2016-10-01

    Based on the angular spectrum decomposition method (ASDM), a nonparaxial solution for the Hermite-Gaussian (HG m ) light-sheet beam of any order m is derived. The beam-shape coefficients (BSCs) are expressed in a compact form and computed using the standard Simpson’s rule for numerical integration. Subsequently, the analysis is extended to evaluate the longitudinal and transverse radiation forces as well as the spin torque on an absorptive dielectric cylindrical particle in 2D without any restriction to a specific range of frequencies. The dynamics of the cylindrical particle are also examined based on Newton’s second law of motion. The numerical results show that a Rayleigh or Mie cylindrical particle can be trapped, pulled or propelled in the optical field depending on its initial position in the cross-sectional plane of the HG m light-sheet. Moreover, negative or positive axial spin torques can arise depending on the choice of the non-dimensional size parameter ka (where k is the wavenumber and a is the radius of the cylinder) and the location of the absorptive cylinder in the beam. This means that the HG m light-sheet beam can induce clockwise or anti-clockwise rotations depending on its shift from the center of the cylinder. In addition, individual vortex behavior can arise in the cross-sectional plane of wave propagation. The present analysis presents an analytical model to predict the optical radiation forces and torque induced by a HG m light-sheet beam on an absorptive cylinder for applications in optical light-sheet tweezers, optical micro-machines, particle manipulation and opto-fluidics to name a few areas of research.

  10. Spectral tuning of lasing emission from optofluidic droplet microlasers using optical stretching

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Aas, M.; Jonáš, A.; Kiraz, A.; Ježek, Jan; Brzobohatý, Oto; Pilát, Zdeněk; Zemánek, Pavel

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 21, č. 18 (2013), s. 21380-21394 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA ČR GPP205/11/P294; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01; GA TA ČR TA03010642 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : Microcavities * Dye lasers * Optical tweezers * Optical manipulation * Fluorescence, laser-induced Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.525, year: 2013

  11. Switching of light with light using cold atoms inside a hollow optical fiber

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bajcsy, Michal; Hofferberth, S.; Peyronel, Thibault

    2010-01-01

    We demonstrate a fiber-optical switch that operates with a few hundred photons per switching pulse. The light-light interaction is mediated by laser-cooled atoms. The required strong interaction between atoms and light is achieved by simultaneously confining photons and atoms inside the microscopic...... hollow core of a single-mode photonic-crystal fiber....

  12. Processes for design, construction and utilisation of arrays of light-emitting diodes and light-emitting diode-coupled optical fibres for multi-site brain light delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Jacob G; Allen, Brian D; Guerra, Alexander A; Boyden, Edward S

    2015-05-01

    Optogenetics enables light to be used to control the activity of genetically targeted cells in the living brain. Optical fibers can be used to deliver light to deep targets, and LEDs can be spatially arranged to enable patterned light delivery. In combination, arrays of LED-coupled optical fibers can enable patterned light delivery to deep targets in the brain. Here we describe the process flow for making LED arrays and LED-coupled optical fiber arrays, explaining key optical, electrical, thermal, and mechanical design principles to enable the manufacturing, assembly, and testing of such multi-site targetable optical devices. We also explore accessory strategies such as surgical automation approaches as well as innovations to enable low-noise concurrent electrophysiology.

  13. Characteristic Analysis Light Intensity Sensor Based On Plastic Optical Fiber At Various Configuration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arifin, A.; Lusiana; Yunus, Muhammad; Dewang, Syamsir

    2018-03-01

    This research discusses the light intensity sensor based on plastic optical fiber. This light intensity sensor is made of plastic optical fiber consisting of two types, namely which is cladding and without cladding. Plastic optical fiber used multi-mode step-index type made of polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA). The infrared LED emits light into the optical fiber of the plastic and is subsequently received by the phototransistor to be converted to an electric voltage. The sensor configuration is made with three models: straight configuration, U configuration and gamma configuration with cladding and without cladding. The measured light source uses a 30 Watt high power LED with a light intensity of 0 to 10 Klux. The measured light intensity will affect the propagation of light inside the optical fiber sensor. The greater the intensity of the measured light, the greater the output voltage that is read on the computer. The results showed that the best optical fiber sensor characteristics were obtained in U configuration. Sensors with U-configuration without cladding had the best sensitivity and resolution values of 0.0307 volts/Klux and 0.0326 Klux. The advantages of this measuring light intensity based on the plastic optical fiber instrument are simple, easy-to-make operational systems, low cost, high sensitivity and resolution.

  14. Inhomogeneous and anisotropic particles in optical traps: Physical behaviour and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simpson, S. H.

    2014-10-01

    Beyond the ubiquitous colloidal sphere, optical tweezers are capable of trapping myriad exotic particles with wildly varying geometries and compositions. This simple fact opens up numerous opportunities for micro-manipulation, directed assembly and characterization of novel nanostructures. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of optical tweezers are transformed by their contents. For example, traps capable of measuring, or applying, femto-Newton scale forces with nanometric spatial resolution can be designed. Analogous, if not superior, angular sensitivity can be achieved, enabling the creation of exquisitely sensitive torque wrenches. These capacities, and others, lead to a multitude of novel applications in the meso- and nanosciences. In this article we review experimental and theoretical work on the relationship between particle geometry, composition and trap properties. A range of associated metrological techniques are discussed.

  15. Light fidelity (Li-Fi): towards all-optical networking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsonev, Dobroslav; Videv, Stefan; Haas, Harald

    2013-12-01

    Motivated by the looming radio frequency (RF) spectrum crisis, this paper aims at demonstrating that optical wireless communication (OWC) has now reached a state where it can demonstrate that it is a viable and matured solution to this fundamental problem. In particular, for indoor communications where most mobile data traffic is consumed, light fidelity (Li-Fi) which is related to visible light communication (VLC) offers many key advantages, and effective solutions to the issues that have been posed in the last decade. This paper discusses all key component technologies required to realize optical cellular communication systems referred to here as optical attocell networks. Optical attocells are the next step in the progression towards ever smaller cells, a progression which is known to be the most significant contributor to the improvements in network spectral efficiencies in RF wireless networks.

  16. Slow light enhanced optical nonlinearity in a silicon photonic crystal coupled-resonator optical waveguide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuda, Nobuyuki; Kato, Takumi; Harada, Ken-Ichi; Takesue, Hiroki; Kuramochi, Eiichi; Taniyama, Hideaki; Notomi, Masaya

    2011-10-10

    We demonstrate highly enhanced optical nonlinearity in a coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) in a four-wave mixing experiment. Using a CROW consisting of 200 coupled resonators based on width-modulated photonic crystal nanocavities in a line defect, we obtained an effective nonlinear constant exceeding 10,000 /W/m, thanks to slow light propagation combined with a strong spatial confinement of light achieved by the wavelength-sized cavities.

  17. Wave front engineering by means of diffractive optical elements for applications in microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cojoc, Dan; Ferrari, Enrico; Garbin, Valeria; Cabrini, Stefano; Carpentiero, Alessandro; Prasciolu, Mauro; Businaro, Luca; Kaulich, Burchard; Di Fabrizio, Enzo

    2006-05-01

    We present a unified view regarding the use of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) for microscopy applications a wide range of electromagnetic spectrum. The unified treatment is realized through the design and fabrication of DOE through which wave front beam shaping is obtained. In particular we show applications ranging from micromanipulation using optical tweezers to X-ray differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy. We report some details on the design and physical implementation of diffractive elements that beside focusing perform also other optical functions: beam splitting, beam intensity and phase redistribution or mode conversion. Laser beam splitting is used for multiple trapping and independent manipulation of spherical micro beads and for direct trapping and manipulation of biological cells with non-spherical shapes. Another application is the Gauss to Laguerre-Gaussian mode conversion, which allows to trap and transfer orbital angular momentum of light to micro particles with high refractive index and to trap and manipulate low index particles. These experiments are performed in an inverted optical microscope coupled with an infrared laser beam and a spatial light modulator for DOEs implementation. High resolution optics, fabricated by means of e-beam lithography, are demonstrated to control the intensity and the phase of the sheared beams in X-ray DIC microscopy. DIC experiments with phase objects reveal a dramatic increase in image contrast compared to bright-field X-ray microscopy.

  18. Centralized light-source optical access network based on polarization multiplexing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grassi, Fulvio; Mora, José; Ortega, Beatriz; Capmany, José

    2010-03-01

    This paper presents and demonstrates a centralized light source optical access network based on optical polarization multiplexing technique. By using two optical sources emitting light orthogonally polarized in the Central Node for downstream and upstream operations, the Remote Node is kept source-free. EVM values below telecommunication standard requirements have been measured experimentally when bidirectional digital signals have been transmitted over 10 km of SMF employing subcarrier multiplexing technique in the electrical domain.

  19. Experimental comparison of particle interaction measurement techniques using optical traps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koehler, Timothy P.; Grillet, Anne Mary; Brotherton, Christopher M.; Molecke, Ryan A.

    2008-01-01

    Optical tweezers has become a powerful and common tool for sensitive determination of electrostatic interactions between colloidal particles. Recently, two techniques, 'blinking' tweezers and direct force measurements, have become increasingly prevalent in investigations of inter-particle potentials. The 'blinking' tweezers method acquires physical statistics of particle trajectories to determine drift velocities, diffusion coefficients, and ultimately colloidal forces as a function of the center-center separation of two particles. Direct force measurements monitor the position of a particle relative to the center of an optical trap as the separation distance between two continuously trapped particles is gradually decreased. As the particles near each other, the displacement from the trap center for each particle increases proportional to the inter-particle force. Although commonly employed in the investigation of interactions of colloidal particles, there exists no direct comparison of these experimental methods in the literature. In this study, an experimental apparatus was developed capable of performing both methods and is used to quantify electrostatic potentials between particles in several particle/solvent systems. Comparisons are drawn between the experiments conducted using the two measurement techniques, theory, and existing literature. Forces are quantified on the femto-Newton scale and results agree well with literature values

  20. Improved contrast polymer light-emitting diode with optical interference layers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, H.Y.; Sun, R.G.; Yang, K.X.; Peng, J.B.; Cao, Y.; Joo, S.K.

    2007-01-01

    An improved contrast polymer light diode based on the destructive optical interference layers deposited between the glass substrate and ITO anode is fabricated. It is unnecessary to be considered that the additional optical interference structure will impede carrier injection from the electrode to the carrier-transporting layer. Due to the quarter-wavelength thickness of medial ITO layer, the reflected light from first Cr layer is inverted 180 o out of phase with the reflected light from second Cr layer, resulting in the destructive interference. It is evident that the contrast ratio of the device with the optical interference structure is about three times higher than that of the conventional device

  1. Use of diffusive optical fibers for plant lighting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kozai, T.; Kitaya, Y.; Fujiwara, K. [Chiba Univ., Matsudo (Japan); Kino, S.; Kinowaki, M. [Topy Green Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    1994-12-31

    Lighting is one of the most critical aspects in plant production and environmental research with plants. Much research has been repeated on the effect of light intensity, spectral distribution of light and lighting cycle, but comparatively little research done on the effect of lighting direction on the growth, development and morphology of plants. When plants are grown with lamps above, light is directed downward to the plants. Downward or overhead lighting is utilized in almost all cases. However, downward lighting does not always give the best result in terms of lighting efficiency, growth, development and morphology of plants. Kitaya et al. (1988) developed a lighting system in which two rooting beds were arranged; one above and the other under fluorescent lamps. Lettuce plants grew normally in the lower bed and suspended upside-down under the upper bed. The lettuce plants suspended upside-down were given the light in upward direction (upward lighting). No significant difference in growth, development and morphology was found between the lettuce plants grown by the downward and upward lighting. Combining upward and downward lighting, improved spacing efficiency and reduced electricity cost per plant compared with conventional, downward lighting. From the above example, when designing a lighting system for plants with lamps more lighting direction should be considered. In the present study, a sideward lighting system was developed using diffusive optical fiber belts. More higher quality tissue-cultured transplants could be produced in reduced space with sideward lighting system than with a downward lighting system. An application of the sideward lighting system using diffusive optical fiber belts is described and advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

  2. Structured light optical microscopy for three-dimensional reconstruction of technical surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kettel, Johannes; Reinecke, Holger; Müller, Claas

    2016-04-01

    In microsystems technology quality control of micro structured surfaces with different surface properties is playing an ever more important role. The process of quality control incorporates three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of specularand diffusive reflecting technical surfaces. Due to the demand on high measurement accuracy and data acquisition rates, structured light optical microscopy has become a valuable solution to solve this problem providing high vertical and lateral resolution. However, 3D reconstruction of specular reflecting technical surfaces still remains a challenge to optical measurement principles. In this paper we present a measurement principle based on structured light optical microscopy which enables 3D reconstruction of specular- and diffusive reflecting technical surfaces. It is realized using two light paths of a stereo microscope equipped with different magnification levels. The right optical path of the stereo microscope is used to project structured light onto the object surface. The left optical path is used to capture the structured illuminated object surface with a camera. Structured light patterns are generated by a Digital Light Processing (DLP) device in combination with a high power Light Emitting Diode (LED). Structured light patterns are realized as a matrix of discrete light spots to illuminate defined areas on the object surface. The introduced measurement principle is based on multiple and parallel processed point measurements. Analysis of the measured Point Spread Function (PSF) by pattern recognition and model fitting algorithms enables the precise calculation of 3D coordinates. Using exemplary technical surfaces we demonstrate the successful application of our measurement principle.

  3. Optical laser systems at the Linac Coherent Light Source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Minitti, Michael P.; Robinson, Joseph S.; Coffee, Ryan N.; Edstrom, Steve; Gilevich, Sasha; Glownia, James M.; Granados, Eduardo; Hering, Philippe; Hoffmann, Matthias C.; Miahnahri, Alan; Milathianaki, Despina; Polzin, Wayne; Ratner, Daniel; Tavella, Franz; Vetter, Sharon; Welch, Marc; White, William E.; Fry, Alan R., E-mail: alanfry@slac.stanford.edu [Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States)

    2015-04-22

    This manuscript serves as a reference to describe the optical laser sources and capabilities at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Ultrafast optical lasers play an essential role in exploiting the unique capabilities of recently commissioned X-ray free-electron laser facilities such as the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Pump–probe experimental techniques reveal ultrafast dynamics in atomic and molecular processes and reveal new insights in chemistry, biology, material science and high-energy-density physics. This manuscript describes the laser systems and experimental methods that enable cutting-edge optical laser/X-ray pump–probe experiments to be performed at LCLS.

  4. Optical feedback-induced light modulation for fiber-based laser ablation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Hyun Wook

    2014-11-01

    Optical fibers have been used as a minimally invasive tool in various medical fields. However, due to excessive heat accumulation, the distal end of a fiber often suffers from severe melting or devitrification, leading to the eventual fiber failure during laser treatment. In order to minimize thermal damage at the fiber tip, an optical feedback sensor was developed and tested ex vivo. Porcine kidney tissue was used to evaluate the feasibility of optical feedback in terms of signal activation, ablation performance, and light transmission. Testing various signal thresholds demonstrated that 3 V was relatively appropriate to trigger the feedback sensor and to prevent the fiber deterioration during kidney tissue ablation. Based upon the development of temporal signal signatures, full contact mode rapidly activated the optical feedback sensor possibly due to heat accumulation. Modulated light delivery induced by optical feedback diminished ablation efficiency by 30% in comparison with no feedback case. However, long-term transmission results validated that laser ablation assisted with optical feedback was able to almost consistently sustain light delivery to the tissue as well as ablation efficiency. Therefore, an optical feedback sensor can be a feasible tool to protect optical fiber tips by minimizing debris contamination and delaying thermal damage process and to ensure more efficient and safer laser-induced tissue ablation.

  5. Collimating lens for light-emitting-diode light source based on non-imaging optics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guangzhen; Wang, Lili; Li, Fuli; Zhang, Gongjian

    2012-04-10

    A collimating lens for a light-emitting-diode (LED) light source is an essential device widely used in lighting engineering. Lens surfaces are calculated by geometrical optics and nonimaging optics. This design progress does not rely on any software optimization and any complex iterative process. This method can be used for any type of light source not only Lambertian. The theoretical model is based on point source. But the practical LED source has a certain size. So in the simulation, an LED chip whose size is 1 mm*1 mm is used to verify the feasibility of the model. The mean results show that the lenses have a very compact structure and good collimating performance. Efficiency is defined as the ratio of the flux in the illuminated plane to the flux from LED source without considering the lens material transmission. Just investigating the loss in the designed lens surfaces, the two types of lenses have high efficiencies of more than 90% and 99%, respectively. Most lighting area (possessing 80% flux) radii are no more than 5 m when the illuminated plane is 200 m away from the light source.

  6. Studying effect of carrier fluid viscosity in magnetite based ferrofluids using optical tweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savitha, S.; Iyengar, Shruthi S.; Ananthamurthy, Sharath; Bhattacharya, Sarbari

    2018-02-01

    Ferrofluids with varying viscosities of carrier fluids have been prepared with magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation and characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). They were found to be nearly spherical in shape with an almost uniform size of 13nm. The superparamagnetic nature of the water based ferrofluids at room temperature was established by SQUID magnetometry. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was carried out to establish the size of the nanoparticle clusters in the ferrofluids synthesized. The results indicate an increase in cluster size with increase in carrier fluid viscosity. This is supported by results from Raman Spectroscopy. A further attempt to characterise these ferrofluids was made by studying the behaviour of well characterised non-magnetic micron sized probes that are optically trapped while suspended in the ferrofluid. An increase in carrier fluid viscosity results in a decrease in corner frequency when only the carrier fluid is used as the suspending medium. When the magnetic component is also present the corner frequency is higher than with just the carrier fluid. This relative increase happens at all laser powers at the trapping plane. This trend is also found to be independent of the size and material of the probe particle. Comparisons of various parameters that influence optical trapping lead us to believe that the enhancement could be due to a directed motion of the magnetic clusters in the presence of an optical trap.

  7. Use of an optical trap for study of host-pathogen interactions for dynamic live cell imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tam, Jenny M; Castro, Carlos E; Heath, Robert J W; Mansour, Michael K; Cardenas, Michael L; Xavier, Ramnik J; Lang, Matthew J; Vyas, Jatin M

    2011-07-28

    Dynamic live cell imaging allows direct visualization of real-time interactions between cells of the immune system(1, 2); however, the lack of spatial and temporal control between the phagocytic cell and microbe has rendered focused observations into the initial interactions of host response to pathogens difficult. Historically, intercellular contact events such as phagocytosis(3) have been imaged by mixing two cell types, and then continuously scanning the field-of-view to find serendipitous intercellular contacts at the appropriate stage of interaction. The stochastic nature of these events renders this process tedious, and it is difficult to observe early or fleeting events in cell-cell contact by this approach. This method requires finding cell pairs that are on the verge of contact, and observing them until they consummate their contact, or do not. To address these limitations, we use optical trapping as a non-invasive, non-destructive, but fast and effective method to position cells in culture. Optical traps, or optical tweezers, are increasingly utilized in biological research to capture and physically manipulate cells and other micron-sized particles in three dimensions(4). Radiation pressure was first observed and applied to optical tweezer systems in 1970(5, 6), and was first used to control biological specimens in 1987(7). Since then, optical tweezers have matured into a technology to probe a variety of biological phenomena(8-13). We describe a method(14) that advances live cell imaging by integrating an optical trap with spinning disk confocal microscopy with temperature and humidity control to provide exquisite spatial and temporal control of pathogenic organisms in a physiological environment to facilitate interactions with host cells, as determined by the operator. Live, pathogenic organisms like Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus, which can cause potentially lethal, invasive infections in immunocompromised individuals(15, 16) (e.g. AIDS

  8. Microrheology with optical tweezers: data analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tassieri, Manlio; Warren, Rebecca L; Cooper, Jonathan M; Evans, R M L; Bailey, Nicholas J

    2012-01-01

    We present a data analysis procedure that provides the solution to a long-standing issue in microrheology studies, i.e. the evaluation of the fluids' linear viscoelastic properties from the analysis of a finite set of experimental data, describing (for instance) the time-dependent mean-square displacement of suspended probe particles experiencing Brownian fluctuations. We report, for the first time in the literature, the linear viscoelastic response of an optically trapped bead suspended in a Newtonian fluid, over the entire range of experimentally accessible frequencies. The general validity of the proposed method makes it transferable to the majority of microrheology and rheology techniques. (paper)

  9. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON LIGHT TRANSMITTING CONCRETE BY USING OPTICAL FIBRE

    OpenAIRE

    S. Suganya; S. Minu Gopika

    2017-01-01

    Light transmitting concrete is one of the fibre reinforced concrete which is mainly used for aesthetic application by incorporating the optical fibres in concrete. Optical fibres help to transmit the light through the fibres and the end-light type of fibre is used to increase the aesthetic appearance of the concrete which is like a transparent concrete. Fibres are arranged in different layers, to increase the load carrying capacity and also the pattern can be created to make the concrete deco...

  10. Optical manipulation of aerosol droplets using a holographic dual and single beam trap

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brzobohatý, Oto; Šiler, Martin; Ježek, Jan; Jákl, Petr; Zemánek, Pavel

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 38, č. 22 (2013), s. 4601-4604 ISSN 0146-9592 R&D Projects: GA ČR GPP205/11/P294; GA ČR GPP205/12/P868; GA MŠk LH12018; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : optical tweezers * optical manipulation Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.179, year: 2013

  11. Conjugation of fiber-coupled wide-band light sources and acousto-optical spectral elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machikhin, Alexander; Batshev, Vladislav; Polschikova, Olga; Khokhlov, Demid; Pozhar, Vitold; Gorevoy, Alexey

    2017-12-01

    Endoscopic instrumentation is widely used for diagnostics and surgery. The imaging systems, which provide the hyperspectral information of the tissues accessible by endoscopes, are particularly interesting and promising for in vivo photoluminescence diagnostics and therapy of tumour and inflammatory diseases. To add the spectral imaging feature to standard video endoscopes, we propose to implement acousto-optical (AO) filtration of wide-band illumination of incandescent-lamp-based light sources. To collect maximum light and direct it to the fiber-optic light guide inside the endoscopic probe, we have developed and tested the optical system for coupling the light source, the acousto-optical tunable filter (AOTF) and the light guide. The system is compact and compatible with the standard endoscopic components.

  12. Production and detection of light bosons using optical resonators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoogeveen, F.; Ziegenhagen, T.

    1990-11-01

    Experiments looking for light spin zero particles using the 'shining light through walls' technique can be improved by enclosing the light in an optical resonator. In this paper we analyze this technique. The effect of using cavities factorizes into a gainfactor for both the emitting and the receiving cavity and a modecoupling constant. The gain factor only depends on the optical quality of the two cavities, whereas the modecoupling constant depends, but not sensitively, in a calculable way on the geometry, axion mass and magnetic fields used. An increase in sensitivity by a factor 10 in the axion photon coupling constant is within reach. (orig.)

  13. High-speed Light Peak optical link for high energy applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, F.X. [Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Chiang, F. [FOCI Fiber Optic Comm., Inc., Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Deng, B. [Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, Hubei (China); Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (United States); Hou, J. [FOCI Fiber Optic Comm., Inc., Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Hou, S., E-mail: suen@gate.sinica.edu.tw [Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Liu, C.; Liu, T. [Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (United States); Teng, P.K. [Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Wang, C.H. [National United University, Miaoli, Taiwan (China); Xu, T. [Shandong University, Ji' nan (China); Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (United States); Ye, J. [Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (United States)

    2014-11-21

    Optical links provide high speed data transmission with low mass fibers favorable for applications in high energy experiments. We report investigation of a compact Light Peak optical engine designed for data transmission at 4.8 Gbps. The module is assembled with bare die VCSEL, PIN diodes and a control IC aligned within a prism receptacle for light coupling to fiber ferrule. Radiation damage in the receptacle was examined with {sup 60}Co gamma ray. Radiation induced single event effects in the optical engine were studied with protons, neutrons and X-ray tests.

  14. Near-field Light Scattering Techniques for Measuring Nanoparticle-Surface Interaction Energies and Forces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schein, Perry; Ashcroft, Colby K; O'Dell, Dakota; Adam, Ian S; DiPaolo, Brian; Sabharwal, Manit; Shi, Ce; Hart, Robert; Earhart, Christopher; Erickson, David

    2015-08-15

    Nanoparticles are quickly becoming commonplace in many commercial and industrial products, ranging from cosmetics to pharmaceuticals to medical diagnostics. Predicting the stability of the engineered nanoparticles within these products a priori remains an important and difficult challenge. Here we describe our techniques for measuring the mechanical interactions between nanoparticles and surfaces using near-field light scattering. Particle-surface interfacial forces are measured by optically "pushing" a particle against a reference surface and observing its motion using scattered near-field light. Unlike atomic force microscopy, this technique is not limited by thermal noise, but instead takes advantage of it. The integrated waveguide and microfluidic architecture allow for high-throughput measurements of about 1000 particles per hour. We characterize the reproducibility of and experimental uncertainty in the measurements made using the NanoTweezer surface instrument. We report surface interaction studies on gold nanoparticles with 50 nm diameters, smaller than previously reported in the literature using similar techniques.

  15. Optical meta-atom for localization of light with quantized energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lannebère, Sylvain; Silveirinha, Mário G

    2015-10-30

    The capacity to confine light into a small region of space is of paramount importance in many areas of modern science. Here we suggest a mechanism to store a quantized 'bit' of light--with a very precise amount of energy--in an open core-shell plasmonic structure ('meta-atom') with a nonlinear optical response. Notwithstanding the trapped light state is embedded in the radiation continuum, its lifetime is not limited by the radiation loss. Interestingly, it is shown that the interplay between the nonlinear response and volume plasmons enables breaking fundamental reciprocity restrictions, and coupling very efficiently an external light source to the meta-atom. The collision of an incident optical pulse with the meta-atom may be used to release the trapped light 'bit'.

  16. Visible-light optical coherence tomography: a review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shu, Xiao; Beckmann, Lisa; Zhang, Hao F.

    2017-12-01

    Visible-light optical coherence tomography (vis-OCT) is an emerging imaging modality, providing new capabilities in both anatomical and functional imaging of biological tissue. It relies on visible light illumination, whereas most commercial and investigational OCTs use near-infrared light. As a result, vis-OCT requires different considerations in engineering design and implementation but brings unique potential benefits to both fundamental research and clinical care of several diseases. Here, we intend to provide a summary of the development of vis-OCT and its demonstrated applications. We also provide perspectives on future technology improvement and applications.

  17. Effect of infrared light on live blood cells: Role of β-carotene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkur, Surekha; Bankapur, Aseefhali; Chidangil, Santhosh; Mathur, Deepak

    2017-06-01

    We have utilized Raman tweezers to measure and assign micro-Raman spectra of optically trapped, live red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs) and platelets. Various types of WBCs- both granulocytes, lymphocytes, and their different types have been studied. The Raman bands are assigned to different biomolecules of blood cells. The Raman spectra thus obtained has been enabled detection of β-carotene in these blood cells, the spectral features of which act as a signature that facilitates experimental probing of the effect of 785nm laser light on different blood cells as a function of incident laser power in the mW range. The spectral changes that we obtain upon laser irradiation indicate that, both haemoglobin as well as the cell membrane sustains damage. In case of lymphocytes and platelets the peaks corresponding to β-carotene showed drastic changes. Thorough analysis of the spectral changes indicates possibility of free radical induced damage of β-carotene in lymphocytes and platelets. Among different blood cells, RBCs have a power threshold of only 10mW. The power threshold for other types of blood cells is somewhat higher, but always below about 30mW. These values are likely to serve as useful guides for Raman tweezers based experiments on live cells. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  18. Studies of viral DNA packaging motors with optical tweezers: a comparison of motor function in bacteriophages φ29, λ, and T4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Douglas E.; Fuller, Derek N.; Raymer, Dorian M.; Rickgauer, Peter; Grimes, Shelley; Jardine, Paul J.; Anderson, Dwight L.; Catalano, Carlos E.; Kottadiel, Vishal; Rao, Venigalla B.

    2007-09-01

    A key step in the assembly of many viruses is the packaging of double-stranded DNA into a viral procapsid (an empty protein shell) by the action of an ATP-powered portal motor complex. We have developed methods to measure the packaging of single DNA molecules into single viral proheads in real time using optical tweezers. We can measure DNA binding and initiation of translocation, the DNA translocation dynamics, and the filling of the capsid against resisting forces. In addition to studying bacteriophage φ29, we have recently extended these methods to study the E. coli bacteriophages λ and T4, two important model systems in molecular biology. The three systems have different capsid sizes/shapes, genome lengths, and biochemical and structural differences in their packaging motors. Here, we compare and contrast these three systems. We find that all three motors translocate DNA processively and generate very large forces, each exceeding 50 piconewtons, ~20x higher force than generated by the skeletal muscle myosin 2 motor. This high force generation is required to overcome the forces resisting the confinement of the stiff, highly charged DNA at high density within the viral capsids. However, there are also striking differences between the three motors: they exhibit different DNA translocation rates, degrees of static and dynamic disorder, responses to load, and pausing and slipping dynamics.

  19. Engineering light-matter interaction for emerging optical manipulation applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qiu, Cheng-Wei; Palima, Darwin; Novitsky, Andrey

    2014-01-01

    In this review, we explore recent trends in optical micromanipulation by engineering light-matter interaction and controlling the mechanical effects of optical fields. One central theme is exploring the rich phenomena beyond the now established precision measurements based on trapping micro beads...

  20. Efficient all-optical switching using slow light within a hollow fiber

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bajcsy, Michal; Hofferberth, S.; Balic, Vlatko

    2009-01-01

    We demonstrate a fiber-optical switch that is activated at tiny energies corresponding to a few hundred optical photons per pulse. This is achieved by simultaneously confining both photons and a small laser-cooled ensemble of atoms inside the microscopic hollow core of a single-mode photonic-crys......-crystal fiber and using quantum optical techniques for generating slow light propagation and large nonlinear interaction between light beams.......We demonstrate a fiber-optical switch that is activated at tiny energies corresponding to a few hundred optical photons per pulse. This is achieved by simultaneously confining both photons and a small laser-cooled ensemble of atoms inside the microscopic hollow core of a single-mode photonic...

  1. Light-induced cell separation in a tailored optical landscape

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paterson, L.; Milne, G.; Garcés-Chávez, V.; Tatarkova, S. A.; Sibbett, W.; Dholakia, K.; Papagiakoumou, E.; Gunn-Moore, F. J.; Bryant, P. E.; Riches, A. C.

    2005-01-01

    We demonstrate passive optical sorting of cell populations in the absence of any externally driven fluid flow. Specifically, we report the movement of erythrocytes and lymphocytes in an optical landscape, consisting of a circularly symmetric light pattern created by a Bessel light beam. These distinct cell populations move, spontaneously and differentially, across the underlying periodic optical landscape. Thus, we were able to separate lymphocytes from a mixed population of cells containing erythrocytes and then collect the lymphocytes in a microcapillary reservoir. We also demonstrate an enhanced form of this separation that exploits the polarizability of silica microspheres by attaching spheres coated with antibodies to cell surface markers to a subpopulation of lymphocytes. These techniques may be applied using standard laboratory apparatus.

  2. Invisibility Cloaking Based on Geometrical Optics for Visible Light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichikawa, H.; Oura, M.; Taoda, T.

    2013-06-01

    Optical cloaking has been one of unattainable dreams and just a subject in fiction until recently. Several different approaches to cloaking have been proposed and demonstrated: stealth technology, active camouflage and transformation optics. The last one would be the most formal approach modifying electromagnetic field around an object to be cloaked with metamaterials. While cloaking based on transformation optics, though valid only at single frequency, is experimentally demonstrated in microwave region, its operation in visible spectrum is still distant from realisation mainly owing to difficulty in fabricating metamaterial structure whose elements are much smaller than wavelength of light. Here we show that achromatic optical cloaking in visible spectrum is possible with the mere principle based on geometrical optics. In combining a pair of polarising beam splitters and right-angled prisms, rays of light to be obstructed by an object can make a detour to an observer, while unobstructed rays go straight through two polarising beam splitters. What is observed eventually through the device is simply background image as if nothing exists in between.

  3. Spatial light modulators for full cross-connections in optical networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juday, Richard D. (Inventor)

    2004-01-01

    A polarization-independent optical switch is disclosed for switching at least one incoming beam from at least one input source to at least one output drain. The switch includes a polarizing beam splitter to split each of the at least one incoming beam into a first input beam and a second input beam, wherein the first input beam and the second input beams are independently polarized; a wave plate optically coupled to the second input beam for converting the polarization of the second input beam to an appropriately polarized second input beam; a beam combiner optically coupled to the first input beam and the modified second input beam, wherein the beam combiner accepts the first input beam and the modified second input beam to produce a combined beam; the combined beam is invariant to the polarization state of the input source's polarization; and a controllable spatial light modulator optically coupled to the combined beam, wherein the combined beam is diffracted by the controllable spatial light modulator to place light at a plurality of output locations.

  4. Applying torque to the Escherichia coli flagellar motor using magnetic tweezers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oene, M.M.; Dickinson, L.E.; Cross, B.; Pedaci, F.; Lipfert, J.; Dekker, N.H.

    2017-01-01

    The bacterial flagellar motor of Escherichia coli is a nanoscale rotary engine essential for bacterial propulsion. Studies on the power output of single motors rely on the measurement of motor torque and rotation under external load. Here, we investigate the use of magnetic tweezers, which in

  5. Optical micromanipulation of active cells with minimal perturbations: direct and indirect pushing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chenlu; Chowdhury, Sagar; Gupta, Satyandra K; Losert, Wolfgang

    2013-04-01

    The challenge to wide application of optical tweezers in biological micromanipulation is the photodamage caused by high-intensity laser exposure to the manipulated living systems. While direct exposure to infrared lasers is less likely to kill cells, it can affect cell behavior and signaling. Pushing cells with optically trapped objects has been introduced as a less invasive alternative, but the technique includes some exposure of the biological object to parts of the optical tweezer beam. To keep the cells farther away from the laser, we introduce an indirect pushing-based technique for noninvasive manipulation of sensitive cells. We compare how cells respond to three manipulation approaches: direct manipulation, pushing, and indirect pushing. We find that indirect manipulation techniques lessen the impact of manipulation on cell behavior. Cell survival increases, as does the ability of cells to maintain shape and wiggle. Our experiments also demonstrate that indirect pushing allows cell-cell contacts to be formed in a controllable way, while retaining the ability of cells to change shape and move.

  6. Laser microbeams for DNA damage induction, optical tweezers for the search on blood pressure relaxing drugs: contributions to ageing research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grigaravicius, P.; Monajembashi, S.; Hoffmann, M.; Altenberg, B.; Greulich, K. O.

    2009-08-01

    One essential cause of human ageing is the accumulation of DNA damages during lifetime. Experimental studies require quantitative induction of damages and techniques to visualize the subsequent DNA repair. A new technique, the "immuno fluorescent comet assay", is used to directly visualize DNA damages in the microscope. Using DNA repair proteins fluorescently labeled with green fluorescent protein, it could be shown that the repair of the most dangerous DNA double strand breaks starts with the inaccurate "non homologous end joining" pathway and only after 1 - 1 ½ minutes may switch to the more accurate "homologous recombination repair". One might suggest investigating whether centenarians use "homologous recombination repair" differently from those ageing at earlier years and speculate whether it is possible, for example by nutrition, to shift DNA repair to a better use of the error free pathway and thus promote healthy ageing. As a complementary technique optical tweezers, and particularly its variant "erythrocyte mediated force application", is used to simulate the effects of blood pressure on HUVEC cells representing the inner lining of human blood vessels. Stimulating one cell induces in the whole neighbourhood waves of calcium and nitric oxide, known to relax blood vessels. NIFEDIPINE and AMLODIPINE, both used as drugs in the therapy of high blood pressure, primarily a disease of the elderly, prolong the availability of nitric oxide. This partially explains their mode of action. In contrast, VERAPAMILE, also a blood pressure reducing drug, does not show this effect, indicating that obviously an alternative mechanism must be responsible for vessel relaxation.

  7. Electronic-Optical Amplifier in the measurement of light polarization plane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miranda Diaz, Lazaro

    2009-01-01

    This paper analyzes the behavior of the output response of two electronic-optical amplifiers with constant amplitude and phase variable, in which photodiodes each them are arranged spatially 90th each other and both with their faces detection parallel to the axis of light transmission. Outward both amplifiers are going to a digital circuit that compares the fronts outputs to the front of the pulse signal that feeds the light source, to finally obtain the difference in time when fronts of light capture the photodiodes. This configuration permit to analyze the influence of the geometric arrangement of the system optical and understand the principle of why the diodes with their faces parallel to the axis of light transmission are capable of capturing variations of this, and even detect the rotation of the plane of light polarized. (Author)

  8. Propagation and storing of light in optically modified atomic media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaremba, Jaroslaw

    2010-01-01

    Coherent interactions of laser light with atomic ensembles allow one to modify dispersive properties of a medium and lead to new optical phenomena. Studies of the controlled light propagation and storing in such media have recently become a dynamically developing field of research motivated both by the fundamental character of the processes and by potential applications. This article briefly reviews basic theoretical approach to the dynamics of the propagation of laser pulses in optically modified media. The method and the physical processes are discussed that allow one to slow down the group velocity of laser pulse to zero (stopping of light), to transfer the state of a light pulse to atomic coherences and to restore the pulse. The interpretation of these phenomena in the formalism of dark-state polaritons is presented. Examples of possible coherent manipulations on a stored light are also discussed.

  9. Propagation and storing of light in optically modified atomic media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zaremba, Jaroslaw, E-mail: zaremba@fizyka.iomk.p [Institute of Physics Nicolaus Copernicus University ul. Grudziadzka 5/7 87 100 Torun (Poland)

    2010-03-01

    Coherent interactions of laser light with atomic ensembles allow one to modify dispersive properties of a medium and lead to new optical phenomena. Studies of the controlled light propagation and storing in such media have recently become a dynamically developing field of research motivated both by the fundamental character of the processes and by potential applications. This article briefly reviews basic theoretical approach to the dynamics of the propagation of laser pulses in optically modified media. The method and the physical processes are discussed that allow one to slow down the group velocity of laser pulse to zero (stopping of light), to transfer the state of a light pulse to atomic coherences and to restore the pulse. The interpretation of these phenomena in the formalism of dark-state polaritons is presented. Examples of possible coherent manipulations on a stored light are also discussed.

  10. Tunable Optical Tweezers for Wavelength-dependent Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-23

    have been studied in an optical levitation scheme over short laser wavelength ranges20 and for dye-loaded di- electric particles.21 In the first case...M. Block, IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 2, 1066 (1996). 7K. Dholakia, W. M. Lee, L. Paterson, M. P. MacDonald, I. Andreev, P. Mthunzi, C. T. A...Brown, R. F. Marchington, and A. C. Riches, IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 13, 1646 (2007). 8K. Dholakia, M. P. MacDonald, P. Zemanek, and T

  11. Light Scattering by Optically Soft Particles Theory and Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Sharma, Subodh K

    2006-01-01

    The present monograph deals with a particular class of approximation methods in the context of light scattering by small particles. This class of approximations has been termed as eikonal or soft particle approximations. The eikonal approximation was studied extensively in the potential scattering and then adopted in optical scattering problems. In this context, the eikonal and other soft particle approximations pertain to scatterers whose relative refractive index compared to surrounding medium is close to unity. The study of these approximations is very important because soft particles occur abundantly in nature. For example, the particles that occur in ocean optics, biomedical optics, atmospheric optics and in many industrial applications can be classified as soft particles. This book was written in recognition of the long-standing and current interest in the field of scattering approximations for soft particles. It should prove to be a useful addition for researchers in the field of light scattering.

  12. Simulation of optical soliton control in micro- and nanoring resonator systems

    CERN Document Server

    Daud, Suzairi; Ali, Jalil

    2015-01-01

    This book introduces optical soliton control in micro- and nanoring resonator systems. It describes how the ring resonator systems can be optimized as optical tweezers for photodetection by controlling the input power, ring radii and coupling coefficients of the systems. Numerous arrangements and configurations of micro and nanoring resonator systems are explained. The analytical formulation and optical transfer function for each model and the interaction of the optical signals in the systems are discussed. This book shows that the models designed are able to control the dynamical behaviour of generated signals.

  13. Electrical, spectral and optical performance of yellow-green and amber micro-pixelated InGaN light-emitting diodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Z.; Liu, N. Y.; Tao, Y. B.; Massoubre, D.; Xie, E. Y.; Hu, X. D.; Chen, Z. Z.; Zhang, G. Y.; Pan, Y. B.; Hao, M. S.; Watson, I. M.; Gu, E.; Dawson, M. D.

    2012-01-01

    Micro-pixelated InGaN LED arrays operating at 560 and 600 nm, respectively, are demonstrated for what the authors believe to be the first time. Such devices offer applications in areas including bioinstrumentation, visible light communications and optoelectronic tweezers. The devices reported are based on new epitaxial structures, retaining conventional (0 0 0 1) orientation, but incorporating electron reservoir layers which enhance the efficiency of radiative combination in the active regions. A measured output optical power density up to 8 W cm-2 (4.4 W cm-2) has been achieved from a representative pixel of the yellow-green (amber) LED array, substantially higher than that from conventional broad-area reference LEDs fabricated from the same wafer material. Furthermore, these micro-LEDs can sustain a high current density, up to 4.5 kA cm-2, before thermal rollover. A significant blueshift of the emission wavelength with increasing injection current is observed, however. This blueshift saturates at 45 nm (50 nm) for the yellow-green (amber) LED array, and numerical simulations have been used to gain insight into the responsible mechanisms in this microstructured format of device. In the relatively low-current-density regime (screening of the piezoelectric field by the injected carriers and the band-filling effect, whereas in the high-current regime, it is mainly due to band-filling. Further development of the epitaxial wafer material is expected to improve the current-dependent spectral stability.

  14. Replicative manufacturing of complex lighting optics by non-isothermal glass molding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreilkamp, Holger; Vu, Anh Tuan; Dambon, Olaf; Klocke, Fritz

    2016-09-01

    The advantages of LED lighting, especially its energy efficiency and the long service life have led to a wide distribution of LED technology in the world. However, in order to make fully use of the great potential that LED lighting offers, complex optics are required to distribute the emitted light from the LED efficiently. Nowadays, many applications use polymer optics which can be manufactured at low costs. However, due to ever increasing luminous power, polymer optics reach their technological limits. Due to its outstanding properties, especially its temperature resistance, resistance against UV radiation and its long term stability, glass is the alternative material of choice for the use in LED optics. This research is introducing a new replicative glass manufacturing approach, namely non-isothermal glass molding (NGM) which is able to manufacture complex lighting optics in high volumes at competitive prices. The integration of FEM simulation at the early stage of the process development is presented and helps to guarantee a fast development cycle. A coupled thermo-mechanical model is used to define the geometry of the glass preform as well as to define the mold surface geometry. Furthermore, simulation is used to predict main process outcomes, especially in terms of resulting form accuracy of the molded optics. Experiments conducted on a commercially available molding machine are presented to validate the developed simulation model. Finally, the influence of distinct parameters on important process outcomes like form accuracy, surface roughness, birefringence, etc. is discussed.

  15. Fiberoptic microneedles: novel optical diffusers for interstitial delivery of therapeutic light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosoglu, Mehmet A; Hood, Robert L; Rossmeisl, John H; Grant, David C; Xu, Yong; Robertson, John L; Rylander, Marissa Nichole; Rylander, Christopher G

    2011-11-01

    Photothermal therapies have limited efficacy and application due to the poor penetration depth of light inside tissue. In earlier work, we described the development of novel fiberoptic microneedles to provide a means to mechanically penetrate dermal tissue and deliver light directly into a localized target area.This paper presents an alternate fiberoptic microneedle design with the capability of delivering more diffuse, but therapeutically useful photothermal energy. Laser lipolysis is envisioned as a future clinical application for this design. A novel fiberoptic microneedle was developed using hydrofluoric acid etching of optical fiber to permit diffuse optical delivery. Microneedles etched for 10, 30, and 50 minutes, and an optical fiber control were compared with three techniques. First, red light delivery from the microneedles was evaluated by imaging the reflectance of the light from a white paper.Second, spatial temperature distribution of the paper in response to near-IR light (1,064 nm, 1 W CW) was recorded using infrared thermography. Third, ex vivo adipose tissue response during 1,064 nm, (5 W CW)irradiation was recorded with bright field microscopy. Acid etching exposed a 3 mm length of the fiber core, allowing circumferential delivery of light along this length. Increasing etching time decreased microneedle diameter, resulting in increased uniformity of red and 1,064 nm light delivery along the microneedle axis. For equivalent total energy delivery, thinner microneedles reduced carbonization in the adipose tissue experiments. We developed novel microscale optical diffusers that provided a more homogeneous light distribution from their surfaces, and compared performance to a flat-cleaved fiber, a device currently utilized in clinical practice. These fiberoptic microneedles can potentially enhance clinical laser procedures by providing direct delivery of diffuse light to target chromophores, while minimizing undesirable photothermal damage in adjacent

  16. An optically stabilized fast-switching light emitting diode as a light source for functional neuroimaging.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel A Wagenaar

    Full Text Available Neuroscience research increasingly relies on optical methods for evoking neuronal activity as well as for measuring it, making bright and stable light sources critical building blocks of modern experimental setups. This paper presents a method to control the brightness of a high-power light emitting diode (LED light source to an unprecedented level of stability. By continuously monitoring the actual light output of the LED with a photodiode and feeding the result back to the LED's driver by way of a proportional-integral controller, drift was reduced to as little as 0.007% per hour over a 12-h period, and short-term fluctuations to 0.005% root-mean-square over 10 seconds. The LED can be switched on and off completely within 100 μs, a feature that is crucial when visual stimuli and light for optical recording need to be interleaved to obtain artifact-free recordings. The utility of the system is demonstrated by recording visual responses in the central nervous system of the medicinal leech Hirudo verbana using voltage-sensitive dyes.

  17. Fast and accurate modeling of stray light in optical systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perrin, Jean-Claude

    2017-11-01

    The first problem to be solved in most optical designs with respect to stray light is that of internal reflections on the several surfaces of individual lenses and mirrors, and on the detector itself. The level of stray light ratio can be considerably reduced by taking into account the stray light during the optimization to determine solutions in which the irradiance due to these ghosts is kept to the minimum possible value. Unhappily, the routines available in most optical design software's, for example CODE V, do not permit all alone to make exact quantitative calculations of the stray light due to these ghosts. Therefore, the engineer in charge of the optical design is confronted to the problem of using two different software's, one for the design and optimization, for example CODE V, one for stray light analysis, for example ASAP. This makes a complete optimization very complex . Nevertheless, using special techniques and combinations of the routines available in CODE V, it is possible to have at its disposal a software macro tool to do such an analysis quickly and accurately, including Monte-Carlo ray tracing, or taking into account diffraction effects. This analysis can be done in a few minutes, to be compared to hours with other software's.

  18. Blue light emitting diodes for optical stimulation of quartz in retrospective dosimetry and dating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bøtter-Jensen, L.; Duller, G.A.T.; Murray, A.S.

    1999-01-01

    Recently developed blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) for the optical stimulation of quartz for use in routine optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and retrospective dosimetry have been tested. For similar power densities, it was found that the higher energy light provided by the blue LE......, preliminary results from ramping the blue light power output with time are demonstrated. It is shown that this technique enables the separation of OSL components with differing stimulation rates.......Recently developed blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) for the optical stimulation of quartz for use in routine optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and retrospective dosimetry have been tested. For similar power densities, it was found that the higher energy light provided by the blue LEDs...... (470 nm) gives order of magnitude greater rate of stimulation in quartz than that from conventional blue-green light filtered from a halogen lamp. A practical blue LED OSL configuration is described. From comparisons of OSL decay curves produced by green and blue light sources, and by examination...

  19. OPTICS. Quantum spin Hall effect of light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bliokh, Konstantin Y; Smirnova, Daria; Nori, Franco

    2015-06-26

    Maxwell's equations, formulated 150 years ago, ultimately describe properties of light, from classical electromagnetism to quantum and relativistic aspects. The latter ones result in remarkable geometric and topological phenomena related to the spin-1 massless nature of photons. By analyzing fundamental spin properties of Maxwell waves, we show that free-space light exhibits an intrinsic quantum spin Hall effect—surface modes with strong spin-momentum locking. These modes are evanescent waves that form, for example, surface plasmon-polaritons at vacuum-metal interfaces. Our findings illuminate the unusual transverse spin in evanescent waves and explain recent experiments that have demonstrated the transverse spin-direction locking in the excitation of surface optical modes. This deepens our understanding of Maxwell's theory, reveals analogies with topological insulators for electrons, and offers applications for robust spin-directional optical interfaces. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  20. Benefits of glass fibers in solar fiber optic lighting systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volotinen, Tarja T; Lingfors, David H S

    2013-09-20

    The transmission properties and coupling of solar light have been studied for glass core multimode fibers in order to verify their benefits for a solar fiber optic lighting system. The light transportation distance can be extended from 20 m with plastic fibers to over 100 m with the kind of glass fibers studied here. A high luminous flux, full visible spectrum, as well as an outstanding color rendering index (98) and correlated color temperature similar to the direct sun light outside have been obtained. Thus the outstanding quality of solar light transmitted through these fibers would improve the visibility of all kinds of objects compared to fluorescent and other artificial lighting. Annual relative lighting energy savings of 36% in Uppsala, Sweden, and 76% in Dubai were estimated in an office environment. The absolute savings can be doubled by using glass optical fibers, and are estimated to be in the order of 550 kWh/year in Sweden and 1160 kWh/year in Dubai for one system of only 0.159 m(2) total light collecting area. The savings are dependent on the fiber length, the daily usage time of the interior, the type of artificial lighting substituted, the system light output flux, and the available time of sunny weather at the geographic location.

  1. Electrical and Optical Enhancement in Internally Nanopatterned Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fina, Michael Dane

    Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have made tremendous technological progress in the past two decades and have emerged as a top competitor for next generation light-emitting displays and lighting. State-of-the-art OLEDs have been reported in literature to approach, and even surpass, white fluorescent tube efficiency. However, despite rapid technological progress, efficiency metrics must be improved to compete with traditional inorganic light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Organic materials possess specialized traits that permit manipulations to the light-emitting cavity. Overall, as demonstrated within, these modifications can be used to improve electrical and optical device efficiencies. This work is focused at analyzing the effects that nanopatterned geometric modifications to the organic active layers play on device efficiency. In general, OLED efficiency is complicated by the complex, coupled processes which contribute to spontaneous dipole emission. A composite of three sub-systems (electrical, exciton and optical) ultimately dictate the OLED device efficiency. OLED electrical operation is believed to take place via a low-mobility-modified Schottky injection process. In the injection-limited regime, geometric effects are expected to modify the local electric field leading to device current enhancement. It is shown that the patterning effect can be used to enhance charge carrier parity, thereby enhancing overall recombination. Current density and luminance characteristics are shown to be improved by OLED nanopatterning from both the model developed within and experimental techniques. Next, the optical enhancement effects produced by the nanopatterned array are considered. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations are used to determine positional, spectral optical enhancement for the nanopatterned device. The results show beneficial effects to the device performance. The optical enhancements are related to the reduction in internal radiative

  2. Magnetic tweezers with high permeability electromagnets for fast actuation of magnetic beads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, La; Offenhäusser, Andreas; Krause, Hans-Joachim [Institute of Bioelectronics (ICS-8/PGI-8), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich (Germany)

    2015-04-15

    As a powerful and versatile scientific instrument, magnetic tweezers have been widely used in biophysical research areas, such as mechanical cell properties and single molecule manipulation. If one wants to steer bead position, the nonlinearity of magnetic properties and the strong position dependence of the magnetic field in most magnetic tweezers lead to quite a challenge in their control. In this article, we report multi-pole electromagnetic tweezers with high permeability cores yielding high force output, good maneuverability, and flexible design. For modeling, we adopted a piece-wise linear dependence of magnetization on field to characterize the magnetic beads. We implemented a bi-linear interpolation of magnetic field in the work space, based on a lookup table obtained from finite element simulation. The electronics and software were custom-made to achieve high performance. In addition, the effects of dimension and defect on structure of magnetic tips also were inspected. In a workspace with size of 0.1 × 0.1 mm{sup 2}, a force of up to 400 pN can be applied on a 2.8 μm superparamagnetic bead in any direction within the plane. Because the magnetic particle is always pulled towards a tip, the pulling forces from the pole tips have to be well balanced in order to achieve control of the particle’s position. Active video tracking based feedback control is implemented, which is able to work at a speed of up to 1 kHz, yielding good maneuverability of the magnetic beads.

  3. Light based techniques for improving health care: studies at RRCAT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, P.K.; Patel, H.S.; Ahlawat, S.

    2015-01-01

    The invention of Lasers in 1960, the phenomenal advances in photonics as well as the information processing capability of the computers has given a major boost to the R and D activity on the use of light for high resolution biomedical imaging, sensitive, non-invasive diagnosis and precision therapy. The effort has resulted in remarkable progress and it is widely believed that light based techniques hold great potential to offer simpler, portable systems which can help provide diagnostics and therapy in a low resource setting. At Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT) extensive studies have been carried out on fluorescence spectroscopy of native tissue. This work led to two important outcomes. First, a better understanding of tissue fluorescence and insights on the possible use of fluorescence spectroscopy for screening of cancer and second development of diagnostic systems that can serve as standalone tool for non-invasive screening of the cancer of oral cavity. The optical coherence tomography setups and their functional extensions (polarization sensitive, Doppler) have also been developed and used for high resolution (∼10 µm) biomedical imaging applications, in particular for non-invasive monitoring of the healing of wounds. Chlorophyll based photo-sensitisers and their derivatives have been synthesized in house and used for photodynamic therapy of tumors in animal models and for antimicrobial applications. Various variants of optical tweezers (holographic, Raman etc.) have also been developed and utilised for different applications notably Raman spectroscopy of optically trapped red blood cells. An overview of these activities carried out at RRCAT is presented in this article. (author)

  4. Slow-light enhanced optical detection in liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Martin Erland Vestergaard; Rishøj, Lars Søgaard; Steffensen, Henrik

    2007-01-01

    Slow-light enhanced optical detection in liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals is theoretically studied. Using a scattering-matrix approach and the Wigner–Smith delay time concept, we show that optical absorbance benefits both from slow-light phenomena as well as a high filling factor of the energy...... residing in the liquid. Utilizing strongly dispersive photonic crystal structures, we numerically demonstrate how liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals facilitate enhanced light–matter interactions, by potentially up to an order of magnitude. The proposed concept provides strong opportunities for improving...

  5. Direct measurement of the temperature profile close to an optically trapped absorbing particle

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šiler, Martin; Ježek, Jan; Jákl, Petr; Pilát, Zdeněk; Zemánek, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 41, č. 5 (2016), s. 870-873 ISSN 0146-9592 R&D Projects: GA ČR GPP205/12/P868 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : gold nanoparticles * fluorescence * spectroscopy * tweezers Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.416, year: 2016

  6. The physical-optics approximation and its application to light backscattering by hexagonal ice crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borovoi, A.; Konoshonkin, A.; Kustova, N.

    2014-01-01

    The physical-optics approximation in the problem of light scattering by large particles is so defined that it includes the classical physical optics concerning the problem of light penetration through a large aperture in an opaque screen. In the second part of the paper, the problem of light backscattering by quasi-horizontally oriented atmospheric ice crystals is considered where conformity between the physical-optics and geometric-optics approximations is discussed. The differential scattering cross section as well as the polarization elements of the Mueller matrix for quasi-horizontally oriented hexagonal ice plates has been calculated in the physical-optics approximation for the case of vertically pointing lidars. - Highlights: • The physical-optics Mueller matrix is a smoothed geometric-optics counterpart. • Backscatter by partially oriented hexagonal ice plates has been calculated. • Depolarization ratio for partially oriented hexagonal ice plates is negligible

  7. Slow-light solitons in atomic media and doped optical fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korolkova, N.; Sinclair, G.F.; Leonhardt, U.

    2005-01-01

    Full text: We show how to generate optical solitons in atomic media that can be slowed down or accelerated at will. Such slow-light soliton is a polarization structure propagating with a speed that is proportional to the total intensity of the incident light. Ultimately, this method will allow the storage, retrieval and possibly the manipulation of the quantum information in atomic media. Solitons with controllable speed are constructed generalizing the theory of slow-light propagation to an integrable regime of nonlinear dynamics. For the first time, the inverse scattering method for slow-light solitons is developed. In contrast to the pioneering experimental demonstrations of slow light, we consider strong spin modulations where the non-linear dynamics of light and atoms creates polarization solitons. We also analyze how this scheme can be implemented in optical fibers doped with Lambda-atoms. In quantum-information applications, such slow-light solitons could complement the use of quantum solitons in fibres with the advantage of storing quantum information in media and complement methods for quantum memory with the advantages of non-linear dynamics, in particular the intrinsic stability of solitons. (author)

  8. X-ray heating and the optical light curve of HZ Herculis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perrenod, S.C.; Shields, G.A.

    1975-01-01

    We discuss theoretically the optical light curve of HZ Her, the binary companion of the pulsed X-ray source Her X-1. Using model stellar atmospheres, we construct light curves that are in agreement with UBV photometry of HZ Her except for the sharpness of the minimum. Unlike previous authors, we find that heating of the photosphere of HZ Her by the observed X-ray flux is sufficient to explain the amplitude of the light variations in each color, if the X-ray emission persists at HZ Her throughout the 35-day ON-OFF CYCLE. We rule out a corona surrounding HZ Her as the source of the extra light near minimum, and we also rule out a model wherein the extra light is caused by a stellar wind that electron-scatters optical light emitted by the photosphere of the hot side of the star

  9. Harnessing light: optical science and engineering for the 21st century

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Committee on Optical Science and Engineering, National Research Council

    .... Harnessing Light surveys this multitude of applications, as well as the status of the optics industry and of research and education in optics, and identifies actions that could enhance the field's...

  10. Optical vault: a reconfigurable bottle beam based on conical refraction of light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turpin, A; Shvedov, V; Hnatovsky, C; Loiko, Yu V; Mompart, J; Krolikowski, W

    2013-11-04

    We employ conical refraction of light in a biaxial crystal to create an optical bottle for photophoretic trapping and manipulation of particles in gaseous media. We show that by only varying the polarization state of the input light beam the optical bottle can be opened and closed in order to load and unload particles in a highly controllable manner.

  11. New approaches in the design of magnetic tweezers–current magnetic tweezers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bessalova, Valentina [Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-2, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Perov, Nikolai [Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-2, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Nevskogo 14, 236004 Kaliningrad (Russian Federation); Rodionova, Valeria [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Nevskogo 14, 236004 Kaliningrad (Russian Federation); National University of Science and Technology ' MISiS' , Leninsky Prospect 4, 119049 Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2016-10-01

    The main advantages of the magnetic tweezers are the low price and simplicity of use. However the range of their application is reduced due to shortcomings like, for example, the remanent induction of the core and interaction between ferromagnetic cores. We present the new design of magnetic tweezers–Current Magnetic Tweezers (CMT) that allow particle manipulation by means of the magnetic field generated by the electric currents flowing through the non-magnetic wires. Arranging wires in different geometric shapes allows the particle movement either in two or three dimensions. Forces acting on the magnetic particles with the magnetic moment of 2·10{sup −11} A m{sup 2} at distances up to 1 mm had been experimentally measured. It is established that a current of about 1 A at a 1 mm distance generates force of (approximately) 3 pN which is consistent with theoretical estimates. - Highlights: • We suggest the idea and the results of the test the prototype based on 3 wire's system that allows manipulation of nanoparticles on XY plane.

  12. New approaches in the design of magnetic tweezers–current magnetic tweezers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bessalova, Valentina; Perov, Nikolai; Rodionova, Valeria

    2016-01-01

    The main advantages of the magnetic tweezers are the low price and simplicity of use. However the range of their application is reduced due to shortcomings like, for example, the remanent induction of the core and interaction between ferromagnetic cores. We present the new design of magnetic tweezers–Current Magnetic Tweezers (CMT) that allow particle manipulation by means of the magnetic field generated by the electric currents flowing through the non-magnetic wires. Arranging wires in different geometric shapes allows the particle movement either in two or three dimensions. Forces acting on the magnetic particles with the magnetic moment of 2·10 −11 A m 2 at distances up to 1 mm had been experimentally measured. It is established that a current of about 1 A at a 1 mm distance generates force of (approximately) 3 pN which is consistent with theoretical estimates. - Highlights: • We suggest the idea and the results of the test the prototype based on 3 wire's system that allows manipulation of nanoparticles on XY plane.

  13. Optically polarized atoms understanding light-atom interactions

    CERN Document Server

    Auzinsh, Marcis; Rochester, Simon M

    2010-01-01

    This book is addressed at upper-level undergraduate and graduate students involved in research in atomic, molecular, and optical Physics. It will also be useful to researchers practising in this field. It gives an intuitive, yet sufficiently detailed and rigorous introduction to light-atom interactions with a particular emphasis on the symmetry aspects of the interaction, especially those associated with the angular momentum of atoms and light. The book will enable readers to carryout practical calculations on their own, and is richly illustrated with examples drawn from current research topic

  14. Development of a dual joystick-controlled laser trapping and cutting system for optical micromanipulation of chromosomes inside living cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harsono, Marcellinus S; Zhu, Qingyuan; Shi, Linda Z; Duquette, Michelle; Berns, Michael W

    2013-02-01

    A multi-joystick robotic laser microscope system used to control two optical traps (tweezers) and one laser scissors has been developed for subcellular organelle manipulation. The use of joysticks has provided a "user-friendly" method for both trapping and cutting of organelles such as chromosomes in live cells. This innovative design has enabled the clean severing of chromosome arms using the laser scissors as well as the ability to easily hold and pull the severed arm using the laser tweezers. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Ambient light-based optical biosensing platform with smartphone-embedded illumination sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Yoo Min; Han, Yong Duk; Chun, Hyeong Jin; Yoon, Hyun C

    2017-07-15

    We present a hand-held optical biosensing system utilizing a smartphone-embedded illumination sensor that is integrated with immunoblotting assay method. The smartphone-embedded illumination sensor is regarded as an alternative optical receiver that can replaces the conventional optical analysis apparatus because the illumination sensor can respond to the ambient light in a wide range of wavelengths, including visible and infrared. To demonstrate the biosensing applicability of our system employing the enzyme-mediated immunoblotting and accompanying light interference, various types of ambient light conditions including outdoor sunlight and indoor fluorescent were tested. For the immunoblotting assay, the biosensing channel generating insoluble precipitates as an end product of the enzymatic reaction is fabricated and mounted on the illumination sensor of the smartphone. The intensity of penetrating light arrives on the illumination sensor is inversely proportional to the amount of precipitates produced in the channel, and these changes are immediately analyzed and quantified via smartphone software. In this study, urinary C-terminal telopeptide fragment of type II collagen (uCTX-II), a biomarker of osteoarthritis diagnosis, was tested as a model analyte. The developed smartphone-based sensing system efficiently measured uCTX-II in the 0-5ng/mL concentration range with a high sensitivity and accuracy under various light conditions. These assay results show that the illumination sensor-based optical biosensor is suitable for point-of-care testing (POCT). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Raman spectroscopy of individual monocytes reveals that single-beam optical trapping of mononuclear cells occurs by their nucleus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fore, Samantha; Chan, James; Taylor, Douglas; Huser, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    We show that laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy of eukaryotic cells with a significantly larger diameter than the tight focus of a single-beam laser trap leads to optical trapping of the cell by its optically densest part, i.e. typically the cell's nucleus. Raman spectra of individual optically trapped monocytes are compared with location-specific Raman spectra of monocytes adhered to a substrate. When the cell's nucleus is stained with a fluorescent live cell stain, the Raman spectrum of the DNA-specific stain is observed only in the nucleus of individual monocytes. Optically trapped monocytes display the same behavior. We also show that the Raman spectra of individual monocytes exhibit the characteristic Raman signature of cells that have not yet fully differentiated and that individual primary monocytes can be distinguished from transformed monocytes based on their Raman spectra. This work provides further evidence that laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy of individual cells provides meaningful biochemical information in an entirely non-destructive fashion that permits discerning differences between cell types and cellular activity

  17. Light-controlled microwave whispering-gallery-mode quasi-optical resonators at 50W LED array illumination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. B. Yurchenko

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available We present experimental observations of light-controlled resonance effects in microwave whispering-gallery-mode quasi-optical dielectric-semiconductor disk resonators in the frequency band of 5 GHz to 20 GHz arising due to illumination from a light emitting diode (LED of 50W power range. We obtain huge enhancement of photo-sensitivity (growing with the resonator Q-factor that makes light-microwave interaction observable with an ordinary light (no laser at conventional brightness (like an office lighting in quasi-optical microwave structures at rather long (centimeter-scale wavelength. We also demonstrate non-conventional photo-response of Fano resonances when the light suppresses one group of resonances and enhances another group. The effects could be used for the optical control and quasi-optical switching of microwave propagation through either one or another frequency channel.

  18. Magnetic tweezers optimized to exert high forces over extended distances from the magnet in multicellular systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selvaggi, L.; Pasakarnis, L.; Brunner, D.; Aegerter, C. M.

    2018-04-01

    Magnetic tweezers are mainly divided into two classes depending on the ability of applying torque or forces to the magnetic probe. We focused on the second category and designed a device composed by a single electromagnet equipped with a core having a special asymmetric profile to exert forces as large as 230 pN-2.8 μm Dynabeads at distances in excess of 100 μm from the magnetic tip. Compared to existing solutions our magnetic tweezers overcome important limitations, opening new experimental paths for the study of a wide range of materials in a variety of biophysical research settings. We discuss the benefits and drawbacks of different magnet core characteristics, which led us to design the current core profile. To demonstrate the usefulness of our magnetic tweezers, we determined the microrheological properties inside embryos of Drosophila melanogaster during the syncytial stage. Measurements in different locations along the dorsal-ventral axis of the embryos showed little variation, with a slight increase in cytoplasm viscosity at the periphery of the embryos. The mean cytoplasm viscosity we obtain by active force exertion inside the embryos is comparable to that determined passively using high-speed video microrheology.

  19. Low-frequency acousto-optic backscattering of Bessel light beams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khilo, Nikolai A.; Belyi, Vladimir N.; Khilo, Petr A.; Kazak, Nikolai S.

    2018-05-01

    The use of Bessel light beams, as well as Bessel acoustic beams, substantially enhances the capabilities of acousto-optic methods for control of optical field. We present a theoretical study of the process of optical Bessel beams conversion by means of backward acousto-optic scattering on a Bessel acoustic field in a transversely isotropic crystal. It is shown that, with an appropriate choice of Bessel beams parameters, the backscattering in visible spectral range can be realized at relatively low acoustic frequencies less than one gigahertz. Under conditions of phase matching and transverse spatial synchronism, the efficiency of backscattering is sufficiently high, which is interesting, for example, for construction of acousto-optic spectral analyzers.

  20. Microfluidic devices for analysis and active optical sorting of individual cells

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ježek, Jan; Pilát, Zdeněk; Šerý, Mojmír; Kaňka, Jan; Samek, Ota; Bernatová, Silvie; Zemánek, Pavel

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 58, č. 2 (2013), s. 55-59 ISSN 0447-6441 R&D Projects: GA MPO FR-TI1/433; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01; GA ČR GAP205/11/1687 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : microfluidic * cell sorting * optical tweezers * Raman spectroscopy Subject RIV: EI - Biotechnology ; Bionics

  1. Electro-optic study of PZT ferroelectric ceramics using modulation of reflected light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kniazkov, A. V.

    2016-04-01

    Electro-optic coefficients of variations in the refractive index of PZT and PLZT ceramic materials induced by ac electric field are estimated using modulation of reflected light. The electro-optic coefficients of PLZT ceramics measured with the aid of conventional birefringence using the phase shift of transmitted radiation and the proposed method of birefringence using the modulation of reflected light are compared.

  2. Broadband light source for fiber-optic measurement system in spaceborne applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rößner, Max R.; Müller, Mathias S.; Buck, Thorbjörn C.; Koch, Alexander W.

    2012-01-01

    Measuring temperatures, mechanical loads and derived quantities precisely and reliably play an important role in spaceflight. With spacecraft becoming increasingly complex, upscaling of present telemetry techniques can become cumbersome. Additionally, there are entirely new sensory requirements, resulting from emerging technologies such as smart structures, active vibration damping and composite material health monitoring. It has been demonstrated in preceding studies that these measurements can be advantageously and efficiently carried out by means of fiber-optic systems. The most prominent fiber-optic strain and temperature sensor is the fiber Bragg grating. Typically, multiple fiber Bragg gratings are used to translate entire temperature and strain fields into an optical wavelength information. For the interrogation of these sensors, a broadband or scanning light source is required. Additional requirements with respect to the light source are high intensity and unpolarized illumination of the gratings. These constraints can be met by a light source that is based on amplified spontaneous emission in a rare-earth-doped fiber. In the presented work, a compact light source, adapted for measurement applications and targeted towards space applications, has been developed. The design of this light source is presented, as well as its implementation. The light source has been designed and tested for selected core aspects of space robustness and the results of these tests are summarized.

  3. Influence of excitation light rejection on forward model mismatch in optical tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, K; Pan, T; Joshi, A; Rasmussen, J C; Bangerth, W; Sevick-Muraca, E M

    2006-01-01

    Fluorescence enhanced tomography for molecular imaging requires low background for detection and accurate image reconstruction. In this contribution, we show that excitation light leakage is responsible for elevated background and can be minimized with the use of gradient index (GRIN) lenses when using fibre optics to collect propagated fluorescence light from tissue or other biological media. We show that the model mismatch between frequency-domain photon migration (FDPM) measurements and the diffusion approximation prediction is decreased when GRIN lenses are placed prior to the interference filters to provide efficient excitation light rejection. Furthermore, model mismatch is correlated to the degree of excitation light leakage. This work demonstrates the importance of proper light filtering when designing fluorescence optical imaging and tomography

  4. Light fidelity (Li-Fi): towards all-optical networking

    OpenAIRE

    Tsonev, Dobroslav; Videv, Stefan; Haas, Harald

    2013-01-01

    Motivated by the looming radio frequency (RF) spectrum crisis, this paper aims at demonstrating that optical wireless communication (OWC) has now reached a state where it can demonstrate that it is a viable and matured solution to this fundamental problem. In particular, for indoor communications where most mobile data traffic is consumed, light fidelity (Li-Fi) which is related to visible light communication (VLC) offers many key advantages, and effective solutions to the issues that have be...

  5. Optical Angular Momentum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arimondo, Ennio

    2004-01-01

    particles and atoms, the rotational frequency shift, the angular momentum in nonlinear optics, and the entanglement of angular momentum. An introductory part contains the historic paper by Poynting mentioned above, and another one by Beth in 1936 where the angular momentum of light was measured through a mechanical detection. It also includes a paper by Allen written in 2002 as a long foreword to a Special Issue of Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics where more recent major developments within this field were illustrated. Both experimental and theoretical aspects of orbital angular momentum are covered, the editors themselves having, in fact, contributed to developments in both aspects. A newcomer to the field will immediately realize the most important issues connected to the generation, propagation and application of laser beams with orbital angular momentum. A reader already acquainted with the main features of the topic may skip the first papers of all the sections listed above, and focus his or her attention to those papers devoted to the more recent developments. This is therefore a book to be considered with great attention by a large community. My only, minor, remark on the choice of the papers reproduced within this book is that applications to solid state physics, such as liquid crystals, are not mentioned. The field keeps expanding. For instance, very recently optical beams bearing optical angular momentum have been recognized as potential systems for doing quantum computation. Optical tweezers have defined a revolution in optical manipulation for research in the fields of biology, physical chemistry and soft condensed matter physics. The angular momentum of light also has applications in atom optics. Good textbooks are essential in establishing and expanding any field; they help broaden the interest in the field and ensure that the next generation of physicists can learn it. The present book satisfies those requirements because it provides to

  6. Eternal triangle: the interaction of light source, electrical control gear, and optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    S'heeren, Griet

    1998-04-01

    In this particular 'affair' the participants are less than human but have individual personalities they bring to their relationship with each other. High pressure metal halide lamps such as BriteArc lamps have the highest luminance and radiance of all continuously operating practical light source. Since these lamps have short arcs and are available in power ratings from about 30W to 30kW they have found applications with various optical systems. Besides the lamps, such systems include an electrical control device and an optical system. To fulfil the user's requirements for a specific application, it is not only important to choose the right lamp, but crucial to achieve a harmonious marriage between the light source, electrical control device and the optics. To run a high pressure discharge lamp an ignitor/ballast system is essential This stabilizes the lamp parameters. The chemical components inside the lamp determine the lamp voltage and the gear determines, via the current, the lamp power. These are directly related in the luminance and color temperature of the emitted light. Therefore lamp performance and effective life are dependent on the ignitor, control gear and lamp combination. Since the lamp emits radiation in all directions, collection of the light from a lamp can be improved by using reflectors to deliver the light into a lens system. Since lamps with short arc gaps approach a point source they appear ideal for optical system applications. The shape of the reflector and the focusing of the lamp determine which part of the light is collected out of the light-arc. In the case of an LCD projector, the final light output also depends on the transmission characteristics of the LCD panels. Their nonlinearity causes the color of the emitted light to be different from the lamp color. All these parameters have to be optimized to obtain the highest performance. This leads to the conclusion that a carefully matched combination of lamp, ignitor/ballast and optics

  7. Absolute calibration method for fast-streaked, fiber optic light collection, spectroscopy systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnston, Mark D.; Frogget, Brent; Oliver, Bryan Velten; Maron, Yitzhak; Droemer, Darryl W.; Crain, Marlon D.

    2010-01-01

    This report outlines a convenient method to calibrate fast (<1ns resolution) streaked, fiber optic light collection, spectroscopy systems. Such a system is used to collect spectral data on plasmas generated in the A-K gap of electron beam diodes fielded on the RITS-6 accelerator (8-12MV, 140-200kA). On RITS, light is collected through a small diameter (200 micron) optical fiber and recorded on a fast streak camera at the output of 1 meter Czerny-Turner monochromator (F/7 optics). To calibrate such a system, it is necessary to efficiently couple light from a spectral lamp into a 200 micron diameter fiber, split it into its spectral components, with 10 Angstroms or less resolution, and record it on a streak camera with 1ns or less temporal resolution.

  8. Fast Light Optical Gyroscopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, David D.

    2015-01-01

    Next-generation space missions are currently constrained by existing spacecraft navigation systems which are not fully autonomous. These systems suffer from accumulated dead-reckoning errors and must therefore rely on periodic corrections provided by supplementary technologies that depend on line-of-sight signals from Earth, satellites, or other celestial bodies for absolute attitude and position determination, which can be spoofed, incorrectly identified, occluded, obscured, attenuated, or insufficiently available. These dead-reckoning errors originate in the ring laser gyros themselves, which constitute inertial measurement units. Increasing the time for standalone spacecraft navigation therefore requires fundamental improvements in gyroscope technologies. One promising solution to enhance gyro sensitivity is to place an anomalous dispersion or fast light material inside the gyro cavity. The fast light essentially provides a positive feedback to the gyro response, resulting in a larger measured beat frequency for a given rotation rate as shown in figure 1. Game Changing Development has been investing in this idea through the Fast Light Optical Gyros (FLOG) project, a collaborative effort which began in FY 2013 between NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), and Northwestern University. MSFC and AMRDEC are working on the development of a passive FLOG (PFLOG), while Northwestern is developing an active FLOG (AFLOG). The project has demonstrated new benchmarks in the state of the art for scale factor sensitivity enhancement. Recent results show cavity scale factor enhancements of approx.100 for passive cavities.

  9. Analysis of single-cell differences by use of an on-chip microculture system and optical trapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wakamoto, Y; Inoue, I; Moriguchi, H; Yasuda, K

    2001-09-01

    A method is described for continuous observation of isolated single cells that enables genetically identical cells to be compared; it uses an on-chip microculture system and optical tweezers. Photolithography is used to construct microchambers with 5-microm-high walls made of thick photoresist (SU-8) on the surface of a glass slide. These microchambers are connected by a channel through which cells are transported, by means of optical tweezers, from a cultivation microchamber to an analysis microchamber, or from the analysis microchamber to a waste microchamber. The microchambers are covered with a semi-permeable membrane to separate them from nutrient medium circulating through a "cover chamber" above. Differential analysis of isolated direct descendants of single cells showed that this system could be used to compare genetically identical cells under contamination-free conditions. It should thus help in the clarification of heterogeneous phenomena, for example unequal cell division and cell differentiation.

  10. Circularly polarized light to study linear magneto-optics for ferrofluids: θ-scan technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xiangshen; Huang, Yan; He, Zhenghong; Lin, Yueqiang; Liu, Xiaodong; Li, Decai; Li, Jian; Qiu, Xiaoyan

    2018-06-01

    Circularly polarized light can be divided into two vertically linearly polarized light beams with  ±π/2 phase differences. In the presence of an external magnetic field, when circularly polarized light travels through a ferrofluid film, whose thickness is no more than that of λ/4 plate, magneto-optical, magnetic birefringence and dichroism effects cause the transmitted light to behave as elliptically polarized light. Using angular scan by a continuously rotating polarizer as analyzer, the angular (θ) distribution curve of relative intensity (T) corresponding to elliptically polarized light can be measured. From the T  ‑  θ curve having ellipsometry, the parameters such as the ratio of short to long axis, and angular orientation of the long axis to the vertical field direction can be obtained. Thus, magnetic birefringence and dichroism can be probed simultaneously by measuring magneto-optical, positive or negative birefringence and dichroism features from the transmission mode. The proposed method is called θ-scan technique, and can accurately determine sample stability, magnetic field direction, and cancel intrinsic light source ellipticity. This study may be helpful to further research done to ferrofluids and other similar colloidal samples with anisotropic optics.

  11. Third-order optical intensity correlation measurements of pseudo-thermal light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Xi-Hao; Wu Wei; Meng Shao-Ying; Li Ming-Fei

    2014-01-01

    Third-order Hanbrury Brown—Twiss and double-slit interference experiments with a pseudo-thermal light are performed by recording intensities in single, double and triple optical paths, respectively. The experimental results verifies the theoretical prediction that the indispensable condition for achieving a interference pattern or ghost image in Nth-order intensity correlation measurements is the synchronous detection of the same light field by each reference detector, no matter the intensities recorded in one, or two, or N optical paths. It is shown that, when the reference detectors are scanned in the opposite directions, the visibility and resolution of the third-order spatial correlation function of thermal light is much better than that scanned in the same direction, but it is no use for obtaining the Nth-order interference pattern or ghost image in the thermal Nth-order interference or ghost imaging. (general)

  12. Hierarchical Models for Type Ia Supernova Light Curves in the Optical and Near Infrared

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandel, Kaisey; Narayan, G.; Kirshner, R. P.

    2011-01-01

    I have constructed a comprehensive statistical model for Type Ia supernova optical and near infrared light curves. Since the near infrared light curves are excellent standard candles and are less sensitive to dust extinction and reddening, the combination of near infrared and optical data better constrains the host galaxy extinction and improves the precision of distance predictions to SN Ia. A hierarchical probabilistic model coherently accounts for multiple random and uncertain effects, including photometric error, intrinsic supernova light curve variations and correlations across phase and wavelength, dust extinction and reddening, peculiar velocity dispersion and distances. An improved BayeSN MCMC code is implemented for computing probabilistic inferences for individual supernovae and the SN Ia and host galaxy dust populations. I use this hierarchical model to analyze nearby Type Ia supernovae with optical and near infared data from the PAIRITEL, CfA3, and CSP samples and the literature. Using cross-validation to test the robustness of the model predictions, I find that the rms Hubble diagram scatter of predicted distance moduli is 0.11 mag for SN with optical and near infrared data versus 0.15 mag for SN with only optical data. Accounting for the dispersion expected from random peculiar velocities, the rms intrinsic prediction error is 0.08-0.10 mag for SN with both optical and near infrared light curves. I discuss results for the inferred intrinsic correlation structures of the optical-NIR SN Ia light curves and the host galaxy dust distribution captured by the hierarchical model. The continued observation and analysis of Type Ia SN in the optical and near infrared is important for improving their utility as precise and accurate cosmological distance indicators.

  13. Simulated nuclear optical signatures using explosive light sources (ELS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glaser, R.F.

    1979-05-01

    Four Explosive Light Source (aluminium powder and oxygen) tests were conducted on the test range at Sandia Laboratories in Albuquerque (SLA) from 28 February through 7 March 1978. Although several types of measuring devices were used, the report documents only the optical time histories measured by the bhangmeters and the NBDS, and explains the conclusions reached. In general, the four shots made it possible to gather clear-air optical transmission data, determine the suitability of ELS to simulate the optical effects of a nuclear burst, and provide experience for the larger scale ELS tests to be conducted at Fort Ord, CA in April

  14. Simulated nuclear optical signatures using explosive light sources (ELS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Glaser, R.F.

    1979-05-01

    Four Explosive Light Source (aluminium powder and oxygen) tests were conducted on the test range at Sandia Laboratories in Albuquerque (SLA) from 28 February through 7 March 1978. Although several types of measuring devices were used, the report documents only the optical time histories measured by the bhangmeters and the NBDS, and explains the conclusions reached. In general, the four shots made it possible to gather clear-air optical transmission data, determine the suitability of ELS to simulate the optical effects of a nuclear burst, and provide experience for the larger scale ELS tests to be conducted at Fort Ord, CA in April.

  15. Optical asymmetric cryptography based on amplitude reconstruction of elliptically polarized light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Jianjun; Shen, Xueju; Lei, Ming

    2017-11-01

    We propose a novel optical asymmetric image encryption method based on amplitude reconstruction of elliptically polarized light, which is free from silhouette problem. The original image is analytically separated into two phase-only masks firstly, and then the two masks are encoded into amplitudes of the orthogonal polarization components of an elliptically polarized light. Finally, the elliptically polarized light propagates through a linear polarizer, and the output intensity distribution is recorded by a CCD camera to obtain the ciphertext. The whole encryption procedure could be implemented by using commonly used optical elements, and it combines diffusion process and confusion process. As a result, the proposed method achieves high robustness against iterative-algorithm-based attacks. Simulation results are presented to prove the validity of the proposed cryptography.

  16. Coupled light transport-heat diffusion model for laser dosimetry with dynamic optical properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    London, R.A.; Glinsky, M.E.; Zimmerman, G.B.; Eder, D.C.; Jacques, S.L.

    1995-01-01

    The effect of dynamic optical properties on the spatial distribution of light in laser therapy is studied via numerical simulations. A two-dimensional, time dependent computer program called LATIS is used. Laser light transport is simulated with a Monte Carlo technique including anisotropic scattering and absorption. Thermal heat transport is calculated with a finite difference algorithm. Material properties are specified on a 2-D mesh and can be arbitrary functions of space and time. Arrhenius rate equations are solved for tissue damage caused by elevated temperatures. Optical properties are functions of tissue damage, as determined by previous measurements. Results are presented for the time variation of the light distribution and damage within the tissue as the optical properties of the tissue are altered

  17. Light scattering in porous materials: Geometrical optics and stereological approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinka, Aleksey V.

    2014-01-01

    Porous material has been considered from the point of view of stereology (geometrical statistics), as a two-phase random mixture of solid material and air. Considered are the materials having the refractive index with the real part that differs notably from unit and the imaginary part much less than unit. Light scattering in such materials has been described using geometrical optics. These two – the geometrical optics laws and the stereological approach – allow one to obtain the inherent optical properties of such a porous material, which are basic in the radiative transfer theory: the photon survival probability, the scattering phase function, and the polarization properties (Mueller matrix). In this work these characteristics are expressed through the refractive index of the material and the random chord length distribution. The obtained results are compared with the traditional approach, modeling the porous material as a pack of particles of different shapes. - Highlights: • Porous material has been considered from the point of view of stereology. • Properties of a two-phase random mixture of solid material and air are considered. • Light scattering in such materials has been described using geometrical optics. • The inherent optical properties of such a porous material have been obtained

  18. Simulation of multicomponent light source for optical-electronic system of color analysis objects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peretiagin, Vladimir S.; Alekhin, Artem A.; Korotaev, Valery V.

    2016-04-01

    Development of lighting technology has led to possibility of using LEDs in the specialized devices for outdoor, industrial (decorative and accent) and domestic lighting. In addition, LEDs and devices based on them are widely used for solving particular problems. For example, the LED devices are widely used for lighting of vegetables and fruit (for their sorting or growing), textile products (for the control of its quality), minerals (for their sorting), etc. Causes of active introduction LED technology in different systems, including optical-electronic devices and systems, are a large choice of emission color and LED structure, that defines the spatial, power, thermal and other parameters. Furthermore, multi-element and color devices of lighting with adjustable illumination properties can be designed and implemented by using LEDs. However, devices based on LEDs require more attention if you want to provide a certain nature of the energy or color distribution at all the work area (area of analysis or observation) or surface of the object. This paper is proposed a method of theoretical modeling of the lighting devices. The authors present the models of RGB multicomponent light source applied to optical-electronic system for the color analysis of mineral objects. The possibility of formation the uniform and homogeneous on energy and color illumination of the work area for this system is presented. Also authors showed how parameters and characteristics of optical radiation receiver (by optical-electronic system) affect on the energy, spatial, spectral and colorimetric properties of a multicomponent light source.

  19. Comparing Different Approaches to Visualizing Light Waves: An Experimental Study on Teaching Wave Optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mešic, Vanes; Hajder, Erna; Neumann, Knut; Erceg, Nataša

    2016-01-01

    Research has shown that students have tremendous difficulties developing a qualitative understanding of wave optics, at all educational levels. In this study, we investigate how three different approaches to visualizing light waves affect students' understanding of wave optics. In the first, the conventional, approach light waves are represented…

  20. Light intensity dependent optical rotation in azobenzene polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, M.; Ilieva, D.; Petrova, T.; Dragostinova, V.; Todorov, T.; Nikolova, L.

    2006-05-01

    We investigate the self-induced rotation of the azimuth of light polarization ellipse in azobenzene polymers. It is initiated by the photoreorientation and ordering of the azobenzenes on illumination with elliptically polarized light resulting in the appearance of an optical axis whose direction is gradually rotated along the depth of the film. A macroscopic chiral structure is created with a pitch depending on light ellipticity and the photobirefringence ▵n in the successive layers of the film. In this work we make use of the fact that at elevated temperatures ▵n is very sensitive to light intensity. In our acrylic amorphous azobenzene polymer at temperatures 50-65°C the saturated values of ▵n are much higher for low intensity of the exciting light than for higher intensity. In this temperature range the polarization azimuth of monochromatic blue light with different intensity is rotated to a different angle after passing through the polymer film. This effect can be used for passive elements rotating the polarization azimuth depending on light intensity and for the formation of light beams with a space-variant polarization state.

  1. Quantum Dot Laser for a Light Source of an Athermal Silicon Optical Interposer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nobuaki Hatori

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports a hybrid integrated light source fabricated on a silicon platform using a 1.3 μm wavelength quantum dot array laser. Temperature insensitive characteristics up to 120 °C were achieved by the optimum quantum dot structure and laser structure. Light output power was obtained that was high enough to achieve an optical error-free link of a silicon optical interposer. Furthermore, we investigated a novel spot size convertor in a silicon waveguide suitable for a quantum dot laser for lower energy cost operation of the optical interposer.

  2. Dynamic light scattering optical coherence tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jonghwan; Wu, Weicheng; Jiang, James Y; Zhu, Bo; Boas, David A

    2012-09-24

    We introduce an integration of dynamic light scattering (DLS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for high-resolution 3D imaging of heterogeneous diffusion and flow. DLS analyzes fluctuations in light scattered by particles to measure diffusion or flow of the particles, and OCT uses coherence gating to collect light only scattered from a small volume for high-resolution structural imaging. Therefore, the integration of DLS and OCT enables high-resolution 3D imaging of diffusion and flow. We derived a theory under the assumption that static and moving particles are mixed within the OCT resolution volume and the moving particles can exhibit either diffusive or translational motion. Based on this theory, we developed a fitting algorithm to estimate dynamic parameters including the axial and transverse velocities and the diffusion coefficient. We validated DLS-OCT measurements of diffusion and flow through numerical simulations and phantom experiments. As an example application, we performed DLS-OCT imaging of the living animal brain, resulting in 3D maps of the absolute and axial velocities, the diffusion coefficient, and the coefficient of determination.

  3. Near-Field, On-Chip Optical Brownian Ratchets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shao-Hua; Huang, Ningfeng; Jaquay, Eric; Povinelli, Michelle L

    2016-08-10

    Nanoparticles in aqueous solution are subject to collisions with solvent molecules, resulting in random, Brownian motion. By breaking the spatiotemporal symmetry of the system, the motion can be rectified. In nature, Brownian ratchets leverage thermal fluctuations to provide directional motion of proteins and enzymes. In man-made systems, Brownian ratchets have been used for nanoparticle sorting and manipulation. Implementations based on optical traps provide a high degree of tunability along with precise spatiotemporal control. Here, we demonstrate an optical Brownian ratchet based on the near-field traps of an asymmetrically patterned photonic crystal. The system yields over 25 times greater trap stiffness than conventional optical tweezers. Our technique opens up new possibilities for particle manipulation in a microfluidic, lab-on-chip environment.

  4. Characterization of tunable light source by optical parametric oscillator for high resolution spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, J. W. [Ewha Womens Univ., Seoul (Korea); Rhee, B. G. [Sejong Univ., Seoul (Korea); Park, S. W. [Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea); Noh, J. W. [Inha Univ., Incheon (Korea)

    1998-04-01

    A tunable light source is developed by the optical parametric oscillator, which is very useful for a high resolution spectroscopy. The electronic structure of molecules and atoms can be examined by a proper coherent light source. Optical parametric oscillator provides light sources stable and widely tunable. In this work, the characteristics of the parametric optical generation are examined in the LiNbO{sub 3}. The theoretical analysis as well as the experimental measurement is performed. The pump laser is a second harmonic of Nd:YAG laser, and the parametric gain is measured. The characteristics of singly resonant oscillator and doubly resonant oscillator is studied as a function of temperature. It is found that 1mole% MgO:LiNbO{sub 3} crystal provides the tunability from 0.6{mu}m to 3.0{mu}m wavelength. Both the critical and noncritical phase matching are studied. The optical damage occurring in a congruent LiNbO{sub 3} crystal was not observed in 1mole% MgO:LiNbO{sub 3} crystal, opening a possibility for a high power optical parametric oscillation generation. The current work can be extended to an experiment employing the fundamental Nd:YAG as pump to provide a coherent light source for the study of molecular vibrations. 28 refs., 14 figs., 3 tabs. (Author)

  5. Invariable optical properties of phosphor-free white light-emitting diode under electrical stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hao, Long; Hao, Fang; Sheng-Li, Qi; Li-Wen, Sang; Wen-Yu, Cao; Jian, Yan; Jun-Jing, Deng; Zhi-Jian, Yang; Guo-Yi, Zhang

    2010-01-01

    This paper reports that a dual-wavelength white light-emitting diode is fabricated by using a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition method. Through a 200-hours' current stress, the reverse leakage current of this light-emitting diode increases with the aging time, but the optical properties remained unchanged despite the enhanced reverse leakage current. Transmission electron microscopy and cathodeluminescence images show that indium atoms were assembled in and around V-shape pits with various compositions, which can be ascribed to the emitted white light. Evolution of cathodeluminescence intensities under electron irradiation is also performed. Combining cathodeluminescence intensities under electron irradiation and above results, the increase of leakage channels and crystalline quality degradation are realized. Although leakage channels increase with aging, potential fluctuation caused by indium aggregation can effectively avoid the impact of leakage channels. Indium aggregation can be attributed to the mechanism of preventing optical degradation in phosphor-free white light-emitting diode. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  6. Optical fiber design with orbital angular momentum light purity higher than 99.9.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhishen; Gan, Jiulin; Heng, Xiaobo; Wu, Yuqing; Li, Qingyu; Qian, Qi; Chen, Dongdan; Yang, Zhongmin

    2015-11-16

    The purity of the synthesized orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) light in the fiber is inversely proportional to channel crosstalk level in the OAM optical fiber communication system. Here the relationship between the fiber structure and the purity is firstly demonstrated in theory. The graded-index optical fiber is proposed and designed for the OAM light propagation with the purity higher than 99.9%. 16 fiber modes (10 OAM modes) have been supported by a specific designed graded-index optical fiber with dispersion less than 35 ps/(km∙nm). Such fiber design has suppressed the intrinsic crosstalk to be lower than -30 dB, and can be potentially used for the long distance OAM optical communication system.

  7. Optical Asymmetry and Nonlinear Light Scattering from Colloidal Gold Nanorods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lien, Miao-Bin; Kim, Ji-Young; Han, Myung-Geun; Chang, You-Chia; Chang, Yu-Chung; Ferguson, Heather J; Zhu, Yimei; Herzing, Andrew A; Schotland, John C; Kotov, Nicholas A; Norris, Theodore B

    2017-06-27

    A systematic study is presented of the intensity-dependent nonlinear light scattering spectra of gold nanorods under resonant excitation of the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The spectra exhibit features due to coherent second and third harmonic generation as well as a broadband feature that has been previously attributed to multiphoton photoluminescence arising primarily from interband optical transitions in the gold. A detailed study of the spectral dependence of the scaling of the scattered light with excitation intensity shows unexpected scaling behavior of the coherent signals, which is quantitatively accounted for by optically induced damping of the SPR mode through a Fermi liquid model of the electronic scattering. The broadband feature is shown to arise not from luminescence, but from scattering of the second-order longitudinal SPR mode with the electron gas, where efficient excitation of the second order mode arises from an optical asymmetry of the nanorod. The electronic-temperature-dependent plasmon damping and the Fermi-Dirac distribution together determine the intensity dependence of the broadband emission, and the structure-dependent absorption spectrum determines the spectral shape through the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Hence a complete self-consistent picture of both coherent and incoherent light scattering is obtained with a single set of physical parameters.

  8. Active Learning Strategies for Introductory Light and Optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokoloff, David R.

    2016-01-01

    There is considerable evidence that traditional approaches are ineffective in teaching physics concepts, including light and optics concepts. A major focus of the work of the Activity Based Physics Group has been on the development of active learning curricula like RealTime Physics (RTP) labs and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs). Among…

  9. Optical sorting of nonspherical and living microobjects in moving interference structures

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jákl, Petr; Arzola, A. V.; Šiler, Martin; Chvátal, Lukáš; Volke-Sepulveda, K.; Zemánek, Pavel

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 22, č. 24 (2014), s. 29746-29760 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LD14069; GA MŠk LH12018; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : standing-wave * forces * microparticles * tweezers * chromatography Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.488, year: 2014

  10. Infrared and optical light curves of EX Hydrae and VW Hydri

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sherrington, M.R.; Lawson, P.A.; King, A.R.; Jameson, R.F.

    1980-01-01

    Optical and infrared light curves of EX Hya (V and K) and VW Hyi (J and K) are presented. The infrared colours imply very large discs for these systems. It is also found for EX Hya that the structure of the light curves is non-repeatable. (author)

  11. Design and Analysis of an Optical Coupler for Concentrated Solar Light Using Optical Fibers in Residential Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Afshin Aslian

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Concentrated sunlight that is transmitted by fiber optics has been used for generating electricity, heat, and daylight. On the other hand, multijunction photovoltaic cells provide high efficiency for generating electricity from highly concentrated sunlight. This study deals with designing and simulating a high-efficiency coupler, employing a mathematical model to connect sunlight with fiber optics for multiple applications. The coupler concentrates and distributes irradiated light from a primary concentrator. In this study, a parabolic dish was used as the primary concentrator, a coupler that contains nine components called a compound truncated pyramid and a cone (CTPC, all of which were mounted on a plate. The material of both the CTPC and the plate was BK7 optical glass. Fiber optics cables and multijunction photovoltaic cells were connected to the cylindrical part of the CTPC. The fibers would transmit the light to the building to provide heat and daylight, whereas multijunction photovoltaic cells generate electricity. Theoretical and simulation results showed high performance of the designed coupler. The efficiency of the coupler was as high as 92%, whereas the rim angle of the dish increased to an optimum angle. Distributed sunlight in the coupler increased the flexibility and simplicity of the design, resulting in a system that provided concentrated electricity, heat, and lighting for residential buildings.

  12. Neptunium detector using fiber-optic light guides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spencer, W.A.; Killeen, T.E.; Herold, T.R.

    1981-01-01

    A colorimeter has been constructed and installed to detect neptunium (IV) on-line as it elutes from an ion exchange column in a plant process stream. Because of the high radiation and corrosive atmosphere at the monitoring location, the instrument was designed using remote electronics and glass fiber optic cables. The five-foot cables transmit pulsed white light into a glass monitoring window in a containment box and return the transmitted portion to a photosensor. A simple spring clamp was designed to couple the cables to the monitoring window without modifying existing processes. Details of the design, installation, and operational problems are discussed. Other applications and modifications of the present colorimeter for other actinides, as well as preliminary results on a fiber optic spectrophotometer, are presented

  13. Optical trapping using cascade conical refraction of light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Dwyer, D P; Ballantine, K E; Phelan, C F; Lunney, J G; Donegan, J F

    2012-09-10

    Cascade conical refraction occurs when a beam of light travels through two or more biaxial crystals arranged in series. The output beam can be altered by varying the relative azimuthal orientation of the two biaxial crystals. For two identical crystals, in general the output beam comprises a ring beam with a spot at its centre. The relative intensities of the spot and ring can be controlled by varying the azimuthal angle between the refracted cones formed in each crystal. We have used this beam arrangement to trap one microsphere within the central spot and a second microsphere on the ring. Using linearly polarized light, we can rotate the microsphere on the ring with respect to the central sphere. Finally, using a half wave-plate between the two crystals, we can create a unique beam profile that has two intensity peaks on the ring, and thereby trap two microspheres on diametrically opposite points on the ring and rotate them around the central sphere. Such a versatile optical trap should find application in optical trapping setups.

  14. Planar Silicon Optical Waveguide Light Modulators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leistiko, Otto; Bak, H.

    1994-01-01

    that values in the nanosecond region should be possible, however, the measured values are high, 20 microseconds, due to the large area of the injector junctions, 1× 10¿2 cm2, and the limitations imposed by the detection circuit. The modulating properties of these devices are impressive, measurements......The results of an experimental investigation of a new type of optical waveguide based on planar technology in which the liglht guiding and modulation are achieved by exploiting free carrier effects in silicon are presented. Light is guided between the n+ substrate and two p+ regions, which also...... serve as carrier injectors for controling absorption. Light confinement of single mode devices is good, giving spot sizes of 9 ¿m FWHM. Insertion loss measurements indicate that the absorption losses for these waveguides are extremely low, less 1 dB/cm. Estimates of the switching speed indicate...

  15. Geometrically unrestricted, topologically constrained control of liquid crystal defects using simultaneous holonomic magnetic and holographic optical manipulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varney, Michael C. M.; Jenness, Nathan J.; Smalyukh, Ivan I.

    2014-02-01

    Despite the recent progress in physical control and manipulation of various condensed matter, atomic, and particle systems, including individual atoms and photons, our ability to control topological defects remains limited. Recently, controlled generation, spatial translation, and stretching of topological point and line defects have been achieved using laser tweezers and liquid crystals as model defect-hosting systems. However, many modes of manipulation remain hindered by limitations inherent to optical trapping. To overcome some of these limitations, we integrate holographic optical tweezers with a magnetic manipulation system, which enables fully holonomic manipulation of defects by means of optically and magnetically controllable colloids used as "handles" to transfer forces and torques to various liquid crystal defects. These colloidal handles are magnetically rotated around determined axes and are optically translated along three-dimensional pathways while mechanically attached to defects, which, combined with inducing spatially localized nematic-isotropic phase transitions, allow for geometrically unrestricted control of defects, including previously unrealized modes of noncontact manipulation, such as the twisting of disclination clusters. These manipulation capabilities may allow for probing topological constraints and the nature of defects in unprecedented ways, providing the foundation for a tabletop laboratory to expand our understanding of the role defects play in fields ranging from subatomic particle physics to early-universe cosmology.

  16. Cone and Rod Loss in Stargardt Disease Revealed by Adaptive Optics Scanning Light Ophthalmoscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Hongxin; Rossi, Ethan A.; Latchney, Lisa; Bessette, Angela; Stone, Edwin; Hunter, Jennifer J.; Williams, David R.; Chung, Mina

    2015-01-01

    Importance Stargardt disease (STGD1) is characterized by macular atrophy and flecks in the retinal pigment epithelium. The causative ABCA4 gene encodes a protein localizing to photoreceptor outer segments. The pathologic steps by which ABCA4 mutations lead to clinically detectable retinal pigment epithelium changes remain unclear. We investigated early STGD1 using adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy. Observations Adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy imaging of 2 brothers with early STGD1 and their unaffected parents was compared with conventional imaging. Cone and rod spacing were increased in both patients (P optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy reveals increased cone and rod spacing in areas that appear normal in conventional images, suggesting that photoreceptor loss precedes clinically detectable retinal pigment epithelial disease in STGD1. PMID:26247787

  17. Light radiation pressure upon a wrinkled membrane – parametrization of an optically orthotropic model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nerovny, N. A.; Zimin, V. N.

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, the problem of representing the light pressure force upon the surface of a thin wrinkled film is discussed. The common source of wrinkles is the shear deformation of the membrane sample. The optical model of such a membrane is assumed to be optically orthotropic and an analytic equation for infinitesimal light pressure force is written. A linear regression model in the case of wrinkle geometry, where a surface element can have different optical parameters, is constructed and the Bayesian approach is used to calculate the parameters of this model.

  18. Interference of Light in a Michelson-Morley Interferometer: A Quantum Optical Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ø. Langangen

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The temporal coherence interference properties of light as revealed by single detector intensity measurements in a Michelson-Morley interferometer (MMI is often described in terms of classical optics. We show, in a pedagogical manner, how such features of light also can be understood in terms of a more general quantum-optics framework. If a thermal reference source is used in the MMI local oscillator port in combination with a thermal source in the signal port, the interference pattern revealed by single detector intensity measurements shows a distinctive dependence on the differences in the temperature of the two sources. A related method has actually been used to perform high-precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The general quantum-optics framework allows us to consider any initial quantum state. As an example, we consider the interference of single photons as a tool to determine the peak angular-frequency of a single-photon pulse interfering with a single-photon reference pulse. A similar consideration for laser pulses, in terms of coherent states, leads to a different response in the detector. The MMI experimental setup is therefore an example of an optical device where one, in terms of intensity measurements, can exhibit the difference between classical and quantum-mechanical light.

  19. Optical properties of ultraviolet-light soaked states in polyfluorene thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Asada, Kohei [Department of Physics and Electronics, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan); Takahashi, Hideaki [Department of Physics and Electronics, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan); Naito, Hiroyoshi [Department of Physics and Electronics, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan)]. E-mail: naito@pe.osakafu-u.ac.jp

    2006-06-19

    Optical properties of ultraviolet (UV)-light soaked states in poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (F8) have been studied. F8 thin films, synthesized by Suzuki and Yamamoto coupling reactions, were irradiated by a He-Cd laser ({lambda} = 325 nm) and the UV-light-soaked states were characterized by photoluminescence (PL), optical absorption, Fourier transform infrared absorption and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis measurements. A photo-induced decrease in PL intensity and PL color change were found in UV-light-soaked F8 thin films. It is shown that the decrease in PL intensity is due to the increase in oxygen-related PL quenching centers and that the PL color change is due to the appearance of 2.2-eV emission bands whose origin is identified to be an exciplex formed between an oxygen-related defect and its nearest F8 polymer chain. The oxygen-related defect, which forms the exciplex, can result from a keto defect (fluorenone) because of the similarity in PL spectra between UV-light-soaked F8 and fluorene-fluorenone copolymers.

  20. Optical properties of ultraviolet-light soaked states in polyfluorene thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asada, Kohei; Takahashi, Hideaki; Naito, Hiroyoshi

    2006-01-01

    Optical properties of ultraviolet (UV)-light soaked states in poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (F8) have been studied. F8 thin films, synthesized by Suzuki and Yamamoto coupling reactions, were irradiated by a He-Cd laser (λ = 325 nm) and the UV-light-soaked states were characterized by photoluminescence (PL), optical absorption, Fourier transform infrared absorption and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis measurements. A photo-induced decrease in PL intensity and PL color change were found in UV-light-soaked F8 thin films. It is shown that the decrease in PL intensity is due to the increase in oxygen-related PL quenching centers and that the PL color change is due to the appearance of 2.2-eV emission bands whose origin is identified to be an exciplex formed between an oxygen-related defect and its nearest F8 polymer chain. The oxygen-related defect, which forms the exciplex, can result from a keto defect (fluorenone) because of the similarity in PL spectra between UV-light-soaked F8 and fluorene-fluorenone copolymers

  1. WOW: light print, light propel, light point

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glückstad, Jesper; Bañas, Andrew; Aabo, Thomas; Palima, Darwin

    2012-10-01

    We are presenting so-called Wave-guided Optical Waveguides (WOWs) fabricated by two-photon polymerization and capable of being optically manipulated into any arbitrary orientation. By integrating optical waveguides into the structures we have created freestanding waveguides which can be positioned anywhere in a sample at any orientation using real-time 3D optical micromanipulation with six degrees of freedom. One of the key aspects of our demonstrated WOWs is the change in direction of in-coupled light and the marked increase in numerical aperture of the out-coupled light. Hence, each light propelled WOW can tap from a relatively broad incident beam and generate a much more tightly confined light at its tip. The presentation contains both numerical simulations related to the propagation of light through a WOW and preliminary experimental demonstrations on our BioPhotonics Workstation. In a broader context, this research shows that optically trapped micro-fabricated structures can potentially help bridge the diffraction barrier. This structure-mediated paradigm may be carried forward to open new possibilities for exploiting beams from far-field optics down to the sub-wavelength domain.

  2. Local probing and stimulation of neuronal cells by optical manipulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cojoc, Dan

    2014-09-01

    During development and in the adult brain, neurons continuously explore the environment searching for guidance cues, leading to the appropriate connections. Elucidating these mechanisms represents a gold goal in neurobiology. Here, I discuss our recent achievements developing new approaches to locally probe the growth cones and stimulate neuronal cell compartments with high spatial and temporal resolution. Optical tweezers force spectroscopy applied in conjunction with metabolic inhibitors reveals new properties of the cytoskeleton dynamics. On the other hand, using optically manipulated microvectors as functionalized beads or filled liposomes, we demonstrate focal stimulation of neurons by small number of signaling molecules.

  3. Accurate measurement of microscopic forces and torques using optical tweezers

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    McLaren, M

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available and tweezing systems have found widespread application across diverse fields in science, from applied biology to fundamental physics. In this article the authors outline the design and construction of an optical trapping and tweezing system, and show how...

  4. Light scattering techniques for the characterization of optical components

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauptvogel, M.; Schröder, S.; Herffurth, T.; Trost, M.; von Finck, A.; Duparré, A.; Weigel, T.

    2017-11-01

    The rapid developments in optical technologies generate increasingly higher and sometimes completely new demands on the quality of materials, surfaces, components, and systems. Examples for such driving applications are the steadily shrinking feature sizes in semiconductor lithography, nanostructured functional surfaces for consumer optics, and advanced optical systems for astronomy and space applications. The reduction of surface defects as well as the minimization of roughness and other scatter-relevant irregularities are essential factors in all these areas of application. Quality-monitoring for analysing and improving those properties must ensure that even minimal defects and roughness values can be detected reliably. Light scattering methods have a high potential for a non-contact, rapid, efficient, and sensitive determination of roughness, surface structures, and defects.

  5. Effects of layer nanodefects on the light transmission by optical elements with multilayer interference coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fekeshgazyi, Yi.V.; Syidenko, T.S.; Mitsa, O.V.; Barna, P.; Kyikyineshyi, O.Ye.

    2011-01-01

    The light transmission properties of optical elements with multilayer interference coatings have been studied. The reduction of transmittance maxima for optical elements with coating containing defects is found to be stronger for larger refractive indices of the substances that the defects are made of. The shape of transmittance curves is found to substantially depend on the defect dimensions along the direction of light propagation and the defect arrangement in the layer bulk. The results obtained are necessary for the developing of a technology aimed at manufacturing the optical elements with multilayer interference coatings for laser facilities and optical lenses.

  6. Optical Properties and Aging of Light Absorbing Secondary Organic Aerosol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Jiumeng; Lin, Peng; Laskin, Alexander; Laskin, Julia; Kathmann, Shawn M.; Wise, Matthew E.; Caylor, Ryan; Imholt, Felisha; Selimovic, Vanessa; Shilling, John E.

    2016-10-14

    The light-absorbing organic aerosol (OA), commonly referred to as “brown carbon (BrC)”, has attracted considerable attention in recent years because of its potential to affect atmospheric radiation balance, especially in the ultraviolet region and thus impact photochemical processes. A growing amount of data has indicated that BrC is prevalent in the atmosphere, which has motivated numerous laboratory and field studies; however, our understanding of the relationship between the chemical composition and optical properties of BrC remains limited. We conducted chamber experiments to investigate the effect of various VOC precursors, NOx concentrations, photolysis time and relative humidity (RH) on the light absorption of selected secondary organic aerosols (SOA). Light absorption of chamber generated SOA samples, especially aromatic SOA, was found to increase with NOx concentration, at moderate RH, and for the shortest photolysis aging times. The highest mass absorption coefficients (MAC) value is observed from toluene SOA products formed under high NOx conditions at moderate RH, in which nitro-aromatics were previously identified as the major light absorbing compounds. BrC light absorption is observed to decrease with photolysis time, correlated with a decline of the organonitrate fraction of SOA. SOA formed from mixtures of aromatics and isoprene absorb less visible and UV light than SOA formed from aromatic precursors alone on a mass basis. However, the mixed-SOA absorption was underestimated when optical properties were predicted using a two-product SOA formation model, as done in many current climate models. Further investigation, including analysis on detailed mechanisms, are required to explain the discrepancy.

  7. Accuracy of Alcon WaveLight® EX500 optical pachymetry during LASIK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mifflin MD

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Mark D Mifflin,1 Xavier M Mortensen,1 Brent S Betts,1 Cole Gross,2 Brian Zaugg1 1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, John A Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 2University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA Purpose: To study the accuracy and reliability of optical pachymetry using the Alcon WaveLight EX500 during laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective chart review of 90 eyes from 45 patients who had undergone LASIK (mean age 35.2±8.2 years; 19 males, 26 females. The WaveLight FS200 femtosecond laser was programmed to cut LASIK flaps at a desired depth of 120 µm. Optical low-coherence reflectometry (WaveLight EX500 was used to measure central corneal thickness prior to lifting the flap, and the residual stromal bed immediately after excimer ablation. Flap thickness (FT was calculated using simple subtraction. Optical coherence tomography (OCT was used to measure central corneal thickness, flap thickness, and residual stromal bed in the postoperative period and the results compared to intraoperative measurements. Results: Mean programmed FS200 FT was 119 µm. Mean FT using EX500 optical pachymetry was 109 µm. The difference between FS200- programmed and EX500-measured FT was 9 µm (P<0.001. There was also a significant difference between the EX500 and OCT FT (109 µm vs 119 µm, respectively; P<0.001. Conclusion: FT values calculated using intraoperative EX500 optical pachymetry were significantly lower than programmed FS200 values or OCT measurements. Keywords: flap thickness, optical coherence tomography, femtosecond laser

  8. Thermo-optically induced reorganizations in the main light harvesting antenna of plants. II

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Jens Kai; Varkonyi, Zsuzsanna; Kovacs, Laszlo

    2005-01-01

    We have investigated the circular dichroism spectral transients associated with the light-induced reversible reorganizations in chirally organized macrodomains of pea thylakoid membranes and loosely stacked lamellar aggregates of the main chlorophyll a/b light harvesting complexes (LHCII) isolated...... from the same membranes. These reorganizations have earlier been assigned to originate from a thermo-optic effect. According to the thermo-optic mechanism, fast local thermal transients due to dissipation of the excess excitation energy induce elementary structural changes in the close vicinity...

  9. X-ray Optics for BES Light Source Facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mills, Dennis [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Padmore, Howard [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lessner, Eliane [Dept. of Energy (DOE), Washington DC (United States). Office of Science

    2013-03-27

    potentially revolutionary science involves soft excitations such as magnons and phonons; in general, these are well below the resolution that can be probed by today’s optical systems. The study of these low-energy excitations will only move forward if advances are made in high-resolution gratings for the soft X-ray energy region, and higher-resolution crystal analyzers for the hard X-ray region. In almost all the forefront areas of X-ray science today, the main limitation is our ability to focus, monochromate, and manipulate X-rays at the level required for these advanced measurements. To address these issues, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) sponsored a workshop, X-ray Optics for BES Light Source Facilities, which was held March 27–29, 2013, near Washington, D.C. The workshop addressed a wide range of technical and organizational issues. Eleven working groups were formed in advance of the meeting and sought over several months to define the most pressing problems and emerging opportunities and to propose the best routes forward for a focused R&D program to solve these problems. The workshop participants identified eight principal research directions (PRDs), as follows: Development of advanced grating lithography and manufacturing for high-energy resolution techniques such as soft X-ray inelastic scattering. Development of higher-precision mirrors for brightness preservation through the use of advanced metrology in manufacturing, improvements in manufacturing techniques, and in mechanical mounting and cooling. Development of higher-accuracy optical metrology that can be used in manufacturing, verification, and testing of optomechanical systems, as well as at wavelength metrology that can be used for quantification of individual optics and alignment and testing of beamlines. Development of an integrated optical modeling and design framework that is designed and maintained specifically for X-ray optics. Development of

  10. X-ray Optics for BES Light Source Facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mills, Dennis; Padmore, Howard; Lessner, Eliane

    2013-01-01

    and potentially revolutionary science involves soft excitations such as magnons and phonons; in general, these are well below the resolution that can be probed by today's optical systems. The study of these low-energy excitations will only move forward if advances are made in high-resolution gratings for the soft X-ray energy region, and higher-resolution crystal analyzers for the hard X-ray region. In almost all the forefront areas of X-ray science today, the main limitation is our ability to focus, monochromate, and manipulate X-rays at the level required for these advanced measurements. To address these issues, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) sponsored a workshop, X-ray Optics for BES Light Source Facilities, which was held March 27-29, 2013, near Washington, D.C. The workshop addressed a wide range of technical and organizational issues. Eleven working groups were formed in advance of the meeting and sought over several months to define the most pressing problems and emerging opportunities and to propose the best routes forward for a focused R&D program to solve these problems. The workshop participants identified eight principal research directions (PRDs), as follows: Development of advanced grating lithography and manufacturing for high-energy resolution techniques such as soft X-ray inelastic scattering. Development of higher-precision mirrors for brightness preservation through the use of advanced metrology in manufacturing, improvements in manufacturing techniques, and in mechanical mounting and cooling. Development of higher-accuracy optical metrology that can be used in manufacturing, verification, and testing of optomechanical systems, as well as at wavelength metrology that can be used for quantification of individual optics and alignment and testing of beamlines. Development of an integrated optical modeling and design framework that is designed and maintained specifically for X-ray optics. Development of

  11. Photoflash unit having optical system including aspheric lens to enhance light output

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    English, G.J.

    1984-01-01

    A photoflash unit employing an optical system or apparatus with improved center beam candle power seconds and zonal lumen seconds from the flash lamp therein, said unit also employing a minimized utilization ratio of lamp-to-package cross-sectional area. Each individual lamp capsule comprises a reflective element, a refractive element (lens), and at least one photoflash lamp (light source). The lens provides for lamp shred magnification so as to fill the cell (capsule) width to thus provide maximum transfer of light to the subject on axis. One embodiment has the light source fused (glued) to the reflector and lens while a second embodiment has an air interface between the source and the optical elements. In both embodiments, the lens is aspheric and substantially covers both the reflector and source

  12. Chiral Rayleigh particles discrimination in dynamic dual optical traps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carretero, Luis; Acebal, Pablo; Blaya, Salvador

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A chiral optical conveyor belt for enantiomeric separation of nanopar-ticles is numerically demonstrated. • Chiral resolution has been theoretically analyzed for chiral spheres immersed in water. • Electromagnetic fields have been designed for obtaining Chiral selective optical tweezers to separate enantiomers in different spatial regions. - Abstract: A chiral optical conveyor belt for enantiomeric separation of nanoparticles is numerically demonstrated by using different types of counter propagating elliptical Laguerre Gaussian beams with different beam waist and topological charge. The analysis of chiral resolution has been made for particles immersed in water demonstrating that in the analyzed conditions one type of enantiomer is trapped in a deep potential and the others are transported by the chiral conveyor toward another trap located in a different geometrical region.

  13. Spectral Filtering Criteria for U-Band Test Light for In-Service Line Monitoring in Optical Fiber Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honda, Nazuki; Izumita, Hisashi; Nakamura, Minoru

    2006-06-01

    In the fiber-to-the-home era, thousands of optical fibers will have to be accommodated in the central offices of optical access networks. To reduce maintenance costs and improve the service reliability of optical fiber networks, the authors must develop an optical fiber line testing system with a function for in-service line monitoring that uses a test light with a wavelength different from the communication light wavelength. To monitor an in-service line in an optical network, the effective rejection ratio of the test light must be taken into account. This ratio depends on the spectrum of the test light from the optical time-domain reflectometer and the rejection band of the filter in front of the optical network unit. The dependence of the effective rejection ratio as a function of the sideband suppression ratio (SBSR) and of the ratio of the rejection band to the bandwidth of the sideband noise d/D is clarified. When d/D =0.1 and the target effective rejection ratio of the filter is -40 dB, the SBSR and the filter loss of the termination cable must be -70 and -43 dB, respectively, or the SBSR must be -80 dB. When d/D service line monitoring for a 10-Gb/s transmission using a 1650-nm test light with an SBSR of -80 dB is also demonstrated.

  14. Compact light-emitting diode optical fiber immobilized TiO2 reactor for photocatalytic water treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neal Tugaoen, Heather; Garcia-Segura, Sergi; Hristovski, Kiril; Westerhoff, Paul

    2018-02-01

    A key barrier to implementing photocatalysis is delivering light to photocatalysts that are in contact with aqueous pollutants. Slurry photocatalyst systems suffer from poor light penetration and require post-treatment to separate the catalyst. The alternative is to deposit photocatalysts on fixed films and deliver light onto the surface or the backside of the attached catalysts. In this study, TiO 2 -coated quartz optical fibers were coupled to light emitting diodes (OF/LED) to improve in situ light delivery. Design factors and mechanisms studied for OF/LEDs in a flow-through reactor included: (i) the influence of number of LED sources coupled to fibers and (ii) the use of multiple optical fibers bundled to a single LED. The light delivery mechanism from the optical fibers into the TiO 2 coatings is thoroughly discussed. To demonstrate influence of design variables, experiments were conducted in the reactor using the chlorinated pollutant para-chlorobenzoic acid (pCBA). From the degradation kinetics of pCBA, the quantum efficiencies (Φ) of oxidation and electrical energies per order (E EO ) were determined. The use of TiO 2 coated optical fiber bundles reduced the energy requirements to deliver photons and increased available surface area, which improved Φ and enhanced oxidative pollutant removal performance (E EO ). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Excitation of random intense single-cycle light-pulse chains in optical fiber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, Y C; Zhang, F L; Gao, J B; Chen, Z Y; Lin, C Y; Yu, M Y

    2014-01-01

    Excitation of intense periodic single-cycle light pulses in a stochastic background arising from continuous wave stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a long optical fiber with weak optical feedback is found experimentally and modeled theoretically. Such intense light-pulse chains occur randomly and the optical feedback is a requirement for their excitation. The probability of these forms, among the large number of experimental output signals with identifiable waveforms, appearing is only about 3%, with the remainder exhibiting regular SBS characteristics. It is also found that pulses with low period numbers appear more frequently and the probability distribution for their occurrence in terms of the pulse power is roughly L-shaped, like that for rogue waves. The results from a three-wave-coupling model for SBS including feedback phase control agree well qualitatively with the observed phenomena. (paper)

  16. Light Optics for Optical Stochastic Cooling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andorf, Matthew [NICADD, DeKalb; Lebedev, Valeri [Fermilab; Piot, Philippe [NICADD, DeKalb; Ruan, Jinhao [Fermilab

    2016-06-01

    In Optical Stochastic Cooling (OSC) radiation generated by a particle in a "pickup" undulator is amplified and transported to a downstream "kicker" undulator where it interacts with the same particle which radiated it. Fermilab plans to carry out both passive (no optical amplifier) and active (optical amplifier) tests of OSC at the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) currently in construction*. The performace of the optical system is analyzed with simulations in Synchrotron Radiation Workshop (SRW) accounting for the specific temporal and spectral properties of undulator radiation and being augmented to include dispersion of lens material.

  17. Light-effect transistor (LET with multiple independent gating controls for optical logic gates and optical amplification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jason eMarmon

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Modern electronics are developing electronic-optical integrated circuits, while their electronic backbone, e.g. field-effect transistors (FETs, remains the same. However, further FET down scaling is facing physical and technical challenges. A light-effect transistor (LET offers electronic-optical hybridization at the component level, which can continue Moore’s law to quantum region without requiring a FET’s fabrication complexity, e.g. physical gate and doping, by employing optical gating and photoconductivity. Multiple independent gates are therefore readily realized to achieve unique functionalities without increasing chip space. Here we report LET device characteristics and novel digital and analog applications, such as optical logic gates and optical amplification. Prototype CdSe-nanowire-based LETs show output and transfer characteristics resembling advanced FETs, e.g. on/off ratios up to ~1.0x106 with a source-drain voltage of ~1.43 V, gate-power of ~260 nW, and subthreshold swing of ~0.3 nW/decade (excluding losses. Our work offers new electronic-optical integration strategies and electronic and optical computing approaches.

  18. Amplification without inversion, fast light and optical bistability in a duplicated two-level system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebrahimi Zohravi, Lida; Vafafard, Azar; Mahmoudi, Mohammad

    2014-01-01

    The optical properties of a weak probe field in a duplicated two-level system are investigated in multi-photon resonance (MPR) condition and beyond it. It is shown that by changing the relative phase of applied fields, the absorption switches to the amplification without inversion in MPR condition. By applying the Floquet decomposition to the equations of motion beyond MPR condition, it is shown that the phase-dependent behavior is valid only in MPR condition. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the group velocity of light pulse can be controlled by the intensity of the applied fields and the gain-assisted superluminal light propagation (fast light) is obtained in this system. In addition, the optical bistability (OB) behavior of the system is studied beyond MPR condition. We apply an indirect incoherent pumping field to the system and it is found that the group velocity and OB behavior of the system can be controlled by the incoherent pumping rate. - Highlights: • We studied the optical properties of DTL system under MPR condition and beyond it. • By changing the relative phase, the absorption switches to the amplification without inversion in MPR condition. • The gain-assisted superluminal light propagation (fast light) is obtained in this system. • The optical bistability (OB) behavior of the system is studied beyond MPR condition. • The incoherent pumping rate has a major role in controlling the group velocity and OB behavior of the system

  19. Quantum optics with ultracold quantum gases: towards the full quantum regime of the light-matter interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mekhov, Igor B; Ritsch, Helmut

    2012-01-01

    Although the study of ultracold quantum gases trapped by light is a prominent direction of modern research, the quantum properties of light were widely neglected in this field. Quantum optics with quantum gases closes this gap and addresses phenomena where the quantum statistical natures of both light and ultracold matter play equally important roles. First, light can serve as a quantum nondemolition probe of the quantum dynamics of various ultracold particles from ultracold atomic and molecular gases to nanoparticles and nanomechanical systems. Second, due to the dynamic light-matter entanglement, projective measurement-based preparation of the many-body states is possible, where the class of emerging atomic states can be designed via optical geometry. Light scattering constitutes such a quantum measurement with controllable measurement back-action. As in cavity-based spin squeezing, the atom number squeezed and Schrödinger cat states can be prepared. Third, trapping atoms inside an optical cavity, one creates optical potentials and forces, which are not prescribed but quantized and dynamical variables themselves. Ultimately, cavity quantum electrodynamics with quantum gases requires a self-consistent solution for light and particles, which enriches the picture of quantum many-body states of atoms trapped in quantum potentials. This will allow quantum simulations of phenomena related to the physics of phonons, polarons, polaritons and other quantum quasiparticles. (topical review)

  20. EDITORIAL Light-induced material organization Light-induced material organization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vainos, Nikos; Rode, Andrei V.

    2010-12-01

    would like to attract the reader's attention to a curious way in which the laser beam architecture allows light modes to deviate from linear propagation (Morris et al). Laser speckle fields act as an array of potential wells that simultaneously trap thousands of particles in air (Shvedov et al). A new study of spatial light modulators (SLMs) offers a viable and flexible holographic tweezers tool (Bowman et al), demonstrating a dual role of wavefront sensing and corrective performance in a closed-loop adaptive optics system. A new concept for reordering birefringent liquid crystal media has been introduced and discussed (Brasselet). This new approach is based on the spatially modulated optical dielectric torque density arising from the inherent longitudinal component of the electric field of any laser beam. The dynamics of the optical response of a liquid crystal infiltrated photonic structure has been considered by Miroshnichenko et al, concluding that the mechanical effect of light on the orientational ordering of the crystalline axis can be used to control the dynamics of the optical response of such photonic structures. An intriguing result on structural changes in fused silica induced by powerful femtosecond laser pulses in confined geometry is presented in a paper by Juodkazis et al. The results of x-ray diffraction from the laser-modified material indicate a possibility for phase separation, but the physical mechanism is still unclear. At low power, electric-field-assisted hologram recording in chalcogenide thin films yields improved diffraction efficiency, even in ultrathin films (Vlaeva et al). A comprehensive review of recent advances in multiphoton polymerization in hybrid materials with femtosecond laser pulses (Farsari et al) is supplemented by a number of new results in multiphoton polymerization for photonic band gap structures and micro-engineering applications. Microreplication methods are complementing such approaches with produced objects extending the

  1. The role of low light intensity: A step towards understanding the connection between light, optic/lens and photovoltaic behavior for Sb2S3 thin-film solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lojpur, Vesna; Mitrić, Miodrag; Validžić, Ivana Lj

    2018-05-01

    We report here an optic/lens system that we used so far, for cooling the surface of solar cells, the reduction of light intensity and the change of light distribution that reaches the surface of the solar cell. The objective was to improve photovoltaic characteristics under very low light illumination, as well as to understand the connection between light, optic/lens and photovoltaic behavior for Sb2S3 thin-film solar cells. It was found that for all so far designed thin-film solar cells made and based on the synthesized Sb2S3, optics/lens system causes an increase in open circuit voltage (VOC) and short circuit current (ISC) and thus the efficiencies of made solar devices. Values of energy gaps for the thin-films made devices were in the range from 1.4 to 2 eV. Improvements of the photovoltaic response of the designed devices are found to be better at the lower light intensity (5% sun), than at higher intensities of light. For the same intensity of light used optic/lens improves the efficiency of the devices, by changing the light distribution. Other processes that are related to the optics/lens system, leading to an increase in ISC and VOC and consequently to an increase in efficiencies of the designed devices, are investigated.

  2. Optical properties and aging of light-absorbing secondary organic aerosol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Liu

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The light-absorbing organic aerosol (OA commonly referred to as “brown carbon” (BrC has attracted considerable attention in recent years because of its potential to affect atmospheric radiation balance, especially in the ultraviolet region and thus impact photochemical processes. A growing amount of data has indicated that BrC is prevalent in the atmosphere, which has motivated numerous laboratory and field studies; however, our understanding of the relationship between the chemical composition and optical properties of BrC remains limited. We conducted chamber experiments to investigate the effect of various volatile organic carbon (VOC precursors, NOx concentrations, photolysis time, and relative humidity (RH on the light absorption of selected secondary organic aerosols (SOA. Light absorption of chamber-generated SOA samples, especially aromatic SOA, was found to increase with NOx concentration, at moderate RH, and for the shortest photolysis aging times. The highest mass absorption coefficient (MAC value is observed from toluene SOA products formed under high-NOx conditions at moderate RH, in which nitro-aromatics were previously identified as the major light-absorbing compounds. BrC light absorption is observed to decrease with photolysis time, correlated with a decline of the organic nitrate fraction of SOA. SOA formed from mixtures of aromatics and isoprene absorb less visible (Vis and ultraviolet (UV light than SOA formed from aromatic precursors alone on a mass basis. However, the mixed SOA absorption was underestimated when optical properties were predicted using a two-product SOA formation model, as done in many current climate models. Further investigation, including analysis on detailed mechanisms, are required to explain the discrepancy.

  3. Three-Dimensional Optical Trapping of a Plasmonic Nanoparticle using Low Numerical Aperture Optical Tweezers

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brzobohatý, Oto; Šiler, Martin; Trojek, Jan; Chvátal, Lukáš; Karásek, Vítězslav; Paták, Aleš; Pokorná, Zuzana; Mika, Filip; Zemánek, Pavel

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 5, JAN 29 (2015), 08106:1-9 ISSN 2045-2322 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36681G Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : discrete-dipole approximation * gold nanoparticles * radiation forces * spectroscopy Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 5.228, year: 2015

  4. An optical tweezer-based study of antimicrobial activity of silver ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    This is achieved by monitoring the fluctuations of an optically trapped polystyrene bead immersed in it. Examining the changes in the fluctuation pattern of the bead with time provides an accurate characterization of the reduction in the microbial activity. Here, we report on the effect of addition of silver nanoparticles on ...

  5. A rapid excitation-emission matrix fluorometer utilizing supercontinuum white light and acousto-optic tunable filters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Wenbo [Imaging Unit, Integrative Oncology Department, BC Cancer Agency Research Center, 675 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3 (Canada); Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, 835 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4E8 (Canada); Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, KAIS 5500, 2332 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4 (Canada); Wu, Zhenguo; Zhao, Jianhua; Lui, Harvey; Zeng, Haishan, E-mail: hzeng@bccrc.ca [Imaging Unit, Integrative Oncology Department, BC Cancer Agency Research Center, 675 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3 (Canada); Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, 835 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4E8 (Canada)

    2016-06-15

    Scanning speed and coupling efficiency of excitation light to optic fibres are two major technical challenges that limit the potential of fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectrometer for on-line applications and in vivo studies. In this paper, a novel EEM system, utilizing a supercontinuum white light source and acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs), was introduced and evaluated. The supercontinuum white light, generated by pumping a nonlinear photonic crystal fiber with an 800 nm femtosecond laser, was efficiently coupled into a bifurcated optic fiber bundle. High speed EEM spectral scanning was achieved using AOTFs both for selecting excitation wavelength and scanning emission spectra. Using calibration lamps (neon and mercury argon), wavelength deviations were determined to vary from 0.18 nm to −0.70 nm within the spectral range of 500–850 nm. Spectral bandwidth for filtered excitation light broadened by twofold compared to that measured with monochromatic light between 650 nm and 750 nm. The EEM spectra for methanol solutions of laser dyes were successfully acquired with this rapid fluorometer using an integration time of 5 s.

  6. A rapid excitation-emission matrix fluorometer utilizing supercontinuum white light and acousto-optic tunable filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Wenbo; Wu, Zhenguo; Zhao, Jianhua; Lui, Harvey; Zeng, Haishan

    2016-01-01

    Scanning speed and coupling efficiency of excitation light to optic fibres are two major technical challenges that limit the potential of fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectrometer for on-line applications and in vivo studies. In this paper, a novel EEM system, utilizing a supercontinuum white light source and acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs), was introduced and evaluated. The supercontinuum white light, generated by pumping a nonlinear photonic crystal fiber with an 800 nm femtosecond laser, was efficiently coupled into a bifurcated optic fiber bundle. High speed EEM spectral scanning was achieved using AOTFs both for selecting excitation wavelength and scanning emission spectra. Using calibration lamps (neon and mercury argon), wavelength deviations were determined to vary from 0.18 nm to −0.70 nm within the spectral range of 500–850 nm. Spectral bandwidth for filtered excitation light broadened by twofold compared to that measured with monochromatic light between 650 nm and 750 nm. The EEM spectra for methanol solutions of laser dyes were successfully acquired with this rapid fluorometer using an integration time of 5 s.

  7. Optical pumping in a microfabricated Rb vapor cell using a microfabricated Rb discharge light source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venkatraman, V.; Kang, S.; Affolderbach, C.; Mileti, G.; Shea, H.

    2014-01-01

    Miniature ( 3 ) vapor-cell based devices using optical pumping of alkali atoms, such as atomic clocks and magnetometers, today mostly employ vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers as pump light sources. Here, we report on the demonstration of optical pumping in a microfabricated alkali vapor resonance cell using (1) a microfabricated Rb discharge lamp light source, as well as (2) a conventional glass-blown Rb discharge lamp. The microfabricated Rb lamp cell is a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) light source, having the same inner cell volume of around 40 mm 3 as that of the resonance cell, both filled with suitable buffer gases. A miniature (∼2 cm 3 volume) test setup based on the M z magnetometer interrogation technique was used for observation of optical-radiofrequency double-resonance signals, proving the suitability of the microfabricated discharge lamp to introduce efficient optical pumping. The pumping ability of this light source was found to be comparable to or even better than that of a conventional glass-blown lamp. The reported results indicate that the micro-fabricated DBD discharge lamp has a high potential for the development of a new class of miniature atomic clocks, magnetometers, and quantum sensors

  8. Light propagation in a magneto-optical hyperbolic biaxial crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuznetsov, Evgeniy V.; Merzlikin, Alexander M.

    2017-12-01

    The light propagation through a magneto-optical hyperbolic biaxial crystal is investigated. Magnetization of the structure results in splitting and reconnection of an isofrequency near the self-intersection point and thus it leads to the disappearance of conical refraction in a crystal. In its turn the isofrequency splitting leads to band gap opening and makes it possible to steer the beam. These effects allow to control the light propagation by means of an external magnetostatic field. The Poynting's vector distribution in the crystal is calculated by means of a Fourier transform in order to demonstrate the aforementioned effects.

  9. Calculating with light using a chip-scale all-optical abacus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldmann, J; Stegmaier, M; Gruhler, N; Ríos, C; Bhaskaran, H; Wright, C D; Pernice, W H P

    2017-11-02

    Machines that simultaneously process and store multistate data at one and the same location can provide a new class of fast, powerful and efficient general-purpose computers. We demonstrate the central element of an all-optical calculator, a photonic abacus, which provides multistate compute-and-store operation by integrating functional phase-change materials with nanophotonic chips. With picosecond optical pulses we perform the fundamental arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, including a carryover into multiple cells. This basic processing unit is embedded into a scalable phase-change photonic network and addressed optically through a two-pulse random access scheme. Our framework provides first steps towards light-based non-von Neumann arithmetic.

  10. Optically nonlinear energy transfer in light-harvesting dendrimers

    OpenAIRE

    Andrews, David; Bradshaw, DS

    2004-01-01

    Dendrimeric polymers are the subject of intense research activity geared towards their implementation in nanodevice applications such as energy harvesting systems,organic light-emitting diodes, photosensitizers, low-threshold lasers, and quantum logic elements, etc. A recent development in this area has been the construction of dendrimers specifically designed to exhibit novel forms of optical nonlinearity, exploiting the unique properties of these materials at high levels of photon flux. Sta...

  11. Bottom-up production of meta-atoms for optical magnetism in visible and NIR light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barois, Philippe; Ponsinet, Virginie; Baron, Alexandre; Richetti, Philippe

    2018-02-01

    Many unusual optical properties of metamaterials arise from the magnetic response of engineered structures of sub-wavelength size (meta-atoms) exposed to light. The top-down approach whereby engineered nanostructure of well-defined morphology are engraved on a surface proved to be successful for the generation of strong optical magnetism. It faces however the limitations of high cost and small active area in visible light where nanometre resolution is needed. The bottom-up approach whereby the fabrication metamaterials of large volume or large area results from the combination of nanochemitry and self-assembly techniques may constitute a cost-effective alternative. This approach nevertheless requires the large-scale production of functional building-blocks (meta-atoms) bearing a strong magnetic optical response. We propose in this paper a few tracks that lead to the large scale synthesis of magnetic metamaterials operating in visible or near IR light.

  12. Evaluation of dental enamel caries assessment using Quantitative Light Induced Fluorescence and Optical Coherence Tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maia, Ana Marly Araújo; de Freitas, Anderson Zanardi; de L Campello, Sergio; Gomes, Anderson Stevens Leônidas; Karlsson, Lena

    2016-06-01

    An in vitro study of morphological alterations between sound dental structure and artificially induced white spot lesions in human teeth, was performed through the loss of fluorescence by Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence (QLF) and the alterations of the light attenuation coefficient by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). To analyze the OCT images using a commercially available system, a special algorithm was applied, whereas the QLF images were analyzed using the software available in the commercial system employed. When analyzing the sound region against white spot lesions region by QLF, a reduction in the fluorescence intensity was observed, whilst an increase of light attenuation by the OCT system occurred. Comparison of the percentage of alteration between optical properties of sound and artificial enamel caries regions showed that OCT processed images through the attenuation of light enhanced the tooth optical alterations more than fluorescence detected by QLF System. QLF versus OCT imaging of enamel caries: a photonics assessment. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. An optical tweezer in asymmetrical vortex Bessel-Gaussian beams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kotlyar, V. V.; Kovalev, A. A., E-mail: alexeysmr@mail.ru; Porfirev, A. P. [Image Processing Systems Institute, 151 Molodogvardeiskaya St., 443001 Samara (Russian Federation); Department of Technical cybernetics, Samara State Aerospace University, Samara 443086 (Russian Federation)

    2016-07-14

    We study an optical micromanipulation that comprises trapping, rotating, and transporting 5-μm polystyrene microbeads in asymmetric Bessel-Gaussian (BG) laser beams. The beams that carry orbital angular momentum are generated by means of a liquid crystal microdisplay and focused by a microobjective with a numerical aperture of NA = 0.85. We experimentally show that given a constant topological charge, the rate of microparticle motion increases near linearly with increasing asymmetry of the BG beam. Asymmetric BG beams can be used instead of conventional Gaussian beam for trapping and transferring live cells without thermal damage.

  14. Broadcast of four HD videos with LED ceiling lighting: optical-wireless MAC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouchet, Olivier; Porcon, Pascal; Gueutier, Eric

    2011-09-01

    The European project "hOME Gigabit Access Network" (OMEGA) targeted various wireless and wired solutions for 1 Gbit/s connectivity in Home Area Networks (HANs). One objective was to evaluate the suitability of optical wireless technologies in two spectral regions: visible light (visible-light communications - VLC) and near infrared (infrared communications - IRC). Several demonstrators have been built, all of them largely relying on overthe- shelf components. The demonstrators included a "wide-area" VLC broadcast link based on LED ceiling lighting and a laser-based high-data-rate "wide-area" IRC prototype. In this paper we discuss an adapted optical-wireless media-access-control (OWMAC) sublayer, which was developed and implemented during the project. It is suitable for both IRC and VLC. The VLC prototype is based on DMT signal processing and provides broadcasting at { 100 Mbit/s over an area of approximately 5 m2. The IRC prototype provides {300 Mbit/s half-duplex communication over an area of approximately 30 m2. The IRC mesh network, composed of one base station and two terminals, is based on OOK modulation, multi-sector transceivers, and an ultra-fast sector switch. After a brief discussion about the design of the optical-wireless data link layer and the optical-wireless switch (OWS) card, we address the card development and implementation. We also present applications for the VLC and IRC prototypes and measurement results regarding the MAC layer.

  15. Optical silencing of C. elegans cells with light-driven proton pumps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okazaki, Ayako; Takahashi, Megumi; Toyoda, Naoya; Takagi, Shin

    2014-08-01

    Recent development of optogenetic techniques, which utilize light-driven ion channels or ion pumps for controlling the activity of excitable cells, has greatly facilitated the investigation of nervous systems in vivo. A new generation of optical silencers includes outward-directed proton pumps, such as Arch, which have several advantages over currently widely used halorhodopsin (NpHR). These advantages include the resistance to inactivation during prolonged illumination and the ability to generate a larger optical current from low intensity light. C. elegans, with its small transparent body and well-characterized neural circuits, is especially suitable for optogenetic analyses. In this article, we will outline the practical aspects of using of Arch and other proton pumps as optogenetic tools in C. elegans. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Trinary optical logic processors using shadow casting with polarized light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Amal K.; Basuray, A.

    1990-10-01

    An optical implementation is proposed of the modified trinary number (MTN) system (Datta et al., 1989) in which any binary number can have arithmetic operations performed on it in parallel without the need for carry and borrow steps. The present method extends the lensless shadow-casting technique of Tanida and Ichioka (1983, 1985). Three kinds of spatial coding are used for encoding the trinary input states, whereas in the decoding plane three states are identified by no light and light with two orthogonal states of polarization.

  17. Optical design and development of a snapshot light-field laryngoscope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Shuaishuai; Jin, Peng; Liang, Rongguang; Gao, Liang

    2018-02-01

    The convergence of recent advances in optical fabrication and digital processing yields a generation of imaging technology-light-field (LF) cameras which bridge the realms of applied mathematics, optics, and high-performance computing. Herein for the first time, we introduce the paradigm of LF imaging into laryngoscopy. The resultant probe can image the three-dimensional shape of vocal folds within a single camera exposure. Furthermore, to improve the spatial resolution, we developed an image fusion algorithm, providing a simple solution to a long-standing problem in LF imaging.

  18. Non-image-forming light driven functions are preserved in a mouse model of autosomal dominant optic atrophy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgia Perganta

    Full Text Available Autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA is a slowly progressive optic neuropathy that has been associated with mutations of the OPA1 gene. In patients, the disease primarily affects the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs and causes optic nerve atrophy and visual loss. A subset of RGCs are intrinsically photosensitive, express the photopigment melanopsin and drive non-image-forming (NIF visual functions including light driven circadian and sleep behaviours and the pupil light reflex. Given the RGC pathology in ADOA, disruption of NIF functions might be predicted. Interestingly in ADOA patients the pupil light reflex was preserved, although NIF behavioural outputs were not examined. The B6; C3-Opa1(Q285STOP mouse model of ADOA displays optic nerve abnormalities, RGC dendropathy and functional visual disruption. We performed a comprehensive assessment of light driven NIF functions in this mouse model using wheel running activity monitoring, videotracking and pupillometry. Opa1 mutant mice entrained their activity rhythm to the external light/dark cycle, suppressed their activity in response to acute light exposure at night, generated circadian phase shift responses to 480 nm and 525 nm pulses, demonstrated immobility-defined sleep induction following exposure to a brief light pulse at night and exhibited an intensity dependent pupil light reflex. There were no significant differences in any parameter tested relative to wildtype littermate controls. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the number of melanopsin-expressing RGCs, cell morphology or melanopsin transcript levels between genotypes. Taken together, these findings suggest the preservation of NIF functions in Opa1 mutants. The results provide support to growing evidence that the melanopsin-expressing RGCs are protected in mitochondrial optic neuropathies.

  19. High-dimensional structured light coding/decoding for free-space optical communications free of obstructions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Jing; Wang, Jian

    2015-11-01

    Bessel beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) with helical phase fronts exp(ilφ)(l=0;±1;±2;…), where φ is the azimuthal angle and l corresponds to the topological number, are orthogonal with each other. This feature of Bessel beams provides a new dimension to code/decode data information on the OAM state of light, and the theoretical infinity of topological number enables possible high-dimensional structured light coding/decoding for free-space optical communications. Moreover, Bessel beams are nondiffracting beams having the ability to recover by themselves in the face of obstructions, which is important for free-space optical communications relying on line-of-sight operation. By utilizing the OAM and nondiffracting characteristics of Bessel beams, we experimentally demonstrate 12 m distance obstruction-free optical m-ary coding/decoding using visible Bessel beams in a free-space optical communication system. We also study the bit error rate (BER) performance of hexadecimal and 32-ary coding/decoding based on Bessel beams with different topological numbers. After receiving 500 symbols at the receiver side, a zero BER of hexadecimal coding/decoding is observed when the obstruction is placed along the propagation path of light.

  20. Water cooled metal optics for the Advanced Light Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKinney, W.R.; Irick, S.C.; Lunt, D.L.J.

    1991-01-01

    The program for providing water cooled metal optics for the Advanced Light Source at Berkeley is reviewed with respect to fabrication and metrology of the surfaces. Materials choices, surface figure and smoothness specifications, and metrology systems for measuring the plated metal surfaces are discussed. Results from prototype mirrors and grating blanks will be presented, which show exceptionally low microroughness and mid-period error. We will briefly describe out improved version of the Long Trace Profiler, and its importance to out metrology program. We have completely redesigned the mechanical, optical and computational parts of the profiler system with the cooperation of Peter Takacs of Brookhaven, Continental Optical, and Baker Manufacturing. Most important is that one of our profilers is in use at the vendor to allow testing during fabrication. Metrology from the first water cooled mirror for an ALS beamline is presented as an example. The preplating processing and grinding and polishing were done by Tucson Optical. We will show significantly better surface microroughness on electroless nickel, over large areas, than has been reported previously

  1. Experimental demonstration of optical transport, sorting and self-arrangement using a “tractor beam"

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brzobohatý, Oto; Karásek, Vítězslav; Šiler, Martin; Chvátal, Lukáš; Čižmár, T.; Zemánek, Pavel

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 7, č. 2 (2013), s. 123-127 ISSN 1749-4885 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/09/0348; GA ČR GPP205/11/P294; GA MŠk LH12018; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : theoretical determination * radiation force * tweezers * binding Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 29.958, year: 2013

  2. [Correction of light refraction and reflection in medical transmission optical tomography].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tereshchenko, S A; Potapov, D A

    2002-01-01

    The effects of light refraction and reflection on the quality of image reconstruction in medical transmission optical tomography of high-scattering media are considered. It has been first noted that light refraction not only distorts the geometric scheme of measurements, but may lead to the appearance of object areas that cannot be scanned. Some ways of decreasing the effect of refraction on the reconstruction of spatial distribution of the extinction coefficient are stated.

  3. Optical pumping in a microfabricated Rb vapor cell using a microfabricated Rb discharge light source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Venkatraman, V.; Kang, S.; Affolderbach, C.; Mileti, G., E-mail: gaetano.mileti@unine.ch [Laboratoire Temps-Fréquence, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel 2000 (Switzerland); Shea, H. [Microsystems for Space Technologies Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel 2002 (Switzerland)

    2014-02-03

    Miniature (optical pumping of alkali atoms, such as atomic clocks and magnetometers, today mostly employ vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers as pump light sources. Here, we report on the demonstration of optical pumping in a microfabricated alkali vapor resonance cell using (1) a microfabricated Rb discharge lamp light source, as well as (2) a conventional glass-blown Rb discharge lamp. The microfabricated Rb lamp cell is a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) light source, having the same inner cell volume of around 40 mm{sup 3} as that of the resonance cell, both filled with suitable buffer gases. A miniature (∼2 cm{sup 3} volume) test setup based on the M{sub z} magnetometer interrogation technique was used for observation of optical-radiofrequency double-resonance signals, proving the suitability of the microfabricated discharge lamp to introduce efficient optical pumping. The pumping ability of this light source was found to be comparable to or even better than that of a conventional glass-blown lamp. The reported results indicate that the micro-fabricated DBD discharge lamp has a high potential for the development of a new class of miniature atomic clocks, magnetometers, and quantum sensors.

  4. Optical parametric amplification of arbitrarily polarized light in periodically poled LiNbO3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Guang-hao; Song, Xiao-shi; Xu, Fei; Lu, Yan-qing

    2012-08-13

    Optical parametric amplification (OPA) of arbitrarily polarized light is proposed in a multi-section periodically poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN). External electric field is applied on selected sections to induce the polarization rotation of involved lights, thus the quasi-phase matched optical parametric processes exhibit polarization insensitivity under suitable voltage. In addition to the amplified signal wave, an idler wave with the same polarization is generated simultaneously. As an example, a ~10 times OPA showing polarization independency is simulated. Applications of this technology are also discussed.

  5. Light-induced nonthermal population of optical phonons in nanocrystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falcão, Bruno P.; Leitão, Joaquim P.; Correia, Maria R.; Soares, Maria R.; Wiggers, Hartmut; Cantarero, Andrés; Pereira, Rui N.

    2017-03-01

    Raman spectroscopy is widely used to study bulk and nanomaterials, where information is frequently obtained from spectral line positions and intensities. In this study, we monitored the Raman spectrum of ensembles of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) as a function of optical excitation intensity (optical excitation experiments). We observe that in NCs the red-shift of the Raman peak position with increasing light power density is much steeper than that recorded for the corresponding bulk material. The increase in optical excitation intensity results also in an increasingly higher temperature of the NCs as obtained with Raman thermometry through the commonly used Stokes/anti-Stokes intensity ratio. More significantly, the obtained dependence of the Raman peak position on temperature in optical excitation experiments is markedly different from that observed when the same NCs are excited only thermally (thermal excitation experiments). This difference is not observed for the control bulk material. The inefficient diffusion of photogenerated charges in nanoparticulate systems, due to their inherently low electrical conductivity, results in a higher steady-state density of photoexcited charges and, consequently, also in a stronger excitation of optical phonons that cannot decay quickly enough into acoustic phonons. This results in a nonthermal population of optical phonons and thus the Raman spectrum deviates from that expected for the temperature of the system. Our study has major consequences to the general application of Raman spectroscopy to nanomaterials.

  6. Non-spherical gold nanoparticles trapped in optical tweezers: Shape matters

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brzobohatý, Oto; Šiler, Martin; Trojek, Jan; Chvátal, Lukáš; Karásek, Vítězslav; Zemánek, Pavel

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 23, č. 7 (2015), s. 8179-8189 ISSN 1094-4087 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-16195S; GA TA ČR TE01020233; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : discrete-dipole approximation * anisotropic particles * plasmon-resonance * gaussian beams * microparticles * spectroscopy Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.148, year: 2015

  7. Light rays at optical black holes in moving media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brevik, I.; Halnes, G.

    2002-01-01

    Light experiences a nonuniformly moving medium as an effective gravitational field, endowed with an effective metric tensor g(tilde sign) μν =η μν +(n 2 -1)u μ u ν , n being the refractive index and u μ the four-velocity of the medium. Leonhardt and Piwnicki [Phys. Rev. A 60, 4301 (1999)] argued that a flowing dielectric fluid of this kind can be used to generate an ''optical black hole.'' In the Leonhardt-Piwnicki model, only a vortex flow was considered. It was later pointed out by Visser [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5252 (2000)] that in order to form a proper optical black hole containing an event horizon, it becomes necessary to add an inward radial velocity component to the vortex flow. In the present paper we undertake this task: we consider a full spiral flow, consisting of a vortex component plus a radially infalling component. Light propagates in such a dielectric medium in a way similar to that occurring around a rotating black hole. We calculate, and show graphically, the effective potential versus the radial distance from the vortex singularity, and show that the spiral flow can always capture light in both a positive, and a negative, inverse impact parameter interval. The existence of a genuine event horizon is found to depend on the strength of the radial flow, relative to the strength of the azimuthal flow. A limitation of our fluid model is that it is nondispersive

  8. Stechiometric neodymium compounds as new materials for light sources in integrated optics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinowski, M.

    1981-01-01

    Short review of physico-chemical properties of stechiometric neodymium compounds has been presented. Several constructions of minilasers as promising light sources for integrated optics devices have been described. (author)

  9. Beam-optics study of the gantry beam delivery system for light-ion cancer therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavlovic, M.

    1995-12-01

    Ion optics considerations on the granty-like beam delivery system for light-ion cancer therapy are presented. A low-angle active beam scanning in two directions is included in the preliminary gantry design. The optical properties of several gantry modifications are discussed. (orig.)

  10. Light propagation in Liquid-infiltrated Microstructured Optical Fibres”

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Per Dalgaard

    2008-01-01

    The work presented in this thesis is focussed on studying the possibilities of tuning and optimizing the performance of infiltrated waveguides in systems where nonlinear optical effects are exploited. Infiltrated systems where either nonlinear temporal or spatial effects come into play have been...... considered. First a general introduction to the basic principles used throughout the work is given. It is then shown how infiltrated waveguides can be used for manipulating dispersive and diffractive properties of light propagartion....

  11. Optical imaging of human cone photoreceptors directly following the capture of light.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillip Bedggood

    Full Text Available Capture of light in the photoreceptor outer segment initiates a cascade of chemical events that inhibit neurotransmitter release, ultimately resulting in vision. The massed response of the photoreceptor population can be measured non-invasively by electrical recordings, but responses from individual cells cannot be measured without dissecting the retina. Here we used optical imaging to observe individual human cones in the living eye as they underwent bleaching of photopigment and associated phototransduction. The retina was simultaneously stimulated and observed with high intensity visible light at 1 kHz, using adaptive optics. There was marked variability between individual cones in both photosensitivity and pigment optical density, challenging the conventional assumption that photoreceptors act as identical subunits (coefficient of variation in rate of photoisomerization = 23%. There was also a pronounced inverse correlation between these two parameters (p<10(-7; the temporal evolution of image statistics revealed this to be a dynamic relationship, with cone waveguiding efficiency beginning a dramatic increase within 3 ms of light onset. Beginning as early as 2 ms after light onset and including half of cells by ∼7 ms, cone intensity showed reversals characteristic of interference phenomena, with greater delays in reversal corresponding to cones with more photopigment (p<10(-3. The timing of these changes is argued to best correspond with either the cessation of dark current, or to related events such as changes in intracellular cGMP. Cone intensity also showed fluctuations of high frequency (332±25 Hz and low amplitude (3.0±0.85%. Other groups have shown similar fluctuations that were directly evoked by light; if this corresponds to the same phenomenon, we propose that the amplitude of fluctuation may be increased by the use of a bright flash followed by a brief pause, to allow recovery of cone circulating current.

  12. On geometric optics and surface waves for light scattering by spheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liou, K.N.; Takano, Y.; Yang, P.

    2010-01-01

    A geometric optics approach including surface wave contributions has been developed for homogeneous and concentrically coated spheres. In this approach, a ray-by-ray tracing program was used for efficient computation of the extinction and absorption cross sections. The present geometric-optics surface-wave (GOS) theory for light scattering by spheres considers the surface wave contribution along the edge of a particle as a perturbation term to the geometric-optics core that includes Fresnel reflection-refraction and Fraunhofer diffraction. Accuracies of the GOS approach for spheres have been assessed through comparison with the results determined from the exact Lorenz-Mie (LM) theory in terms of the extinction efficiency, single-scattering albedo, and asymmetry factor in the size-wavelength ratio domain. In this quest, we have selected a range of real and imaginary refractive indices representative of water/ice and aerosol species and demonstrated close agreement between the results computed by GOS and LM. This provides the foundation to conduct physically reliable light absorption and scattering computations based on the GOS approach for aerosol aggregates associated with internal and external mixing states employing spheres as building blocks.

  13. Pump-probe nonlinear magneto-optical rotation with frequency-modulated light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pustelny, S.; Gawlik, W.; Jackson Kimball, D. F.; Rochester, S. M.; Yashchuk, V. V.; Budker, D.

    2006-01-01

    Specific types of atomic coherences between Zeeman sublevels can be generated and detected using a method based on nonlinear magneto-optical rotation with frequency-modulated light. Linearly polarized, frequency-modulated light is employed to selectively generate ground-state coherences between Zeeman sublevels for which Δm=2 and Δm=4 in 85 Rb and 87 Rb atoms, and additionally Δm=6 in 85 Rb. The atomic coherences are detected with a separate, unmodulated probe light beam. Separation of the pump and probe beams enables independent investigation of the processes of creation and detection of the atomic coherences. With the present technique the transfer of the Zeeman coherences, including high-order coherences, from excited to ground state by spontaneous emission has been observed

  14. Physical optics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim Il Gon; Lee, Seong Su; Jang, Gi Wan

    2012-07-01

    This book indicates physical optics with properties and transmission of light, mathematical expression of wave like harmonic wave and cylindrical wave, electromagnetic theory and light, transmission of light with Fermat principle and Fresnel equation, geometrical optics I, geometrical optics II, optical instrument such as stops, glasses and camera, polarized light like double refraction by polarized light, interference, interference by multiple reflections, diffraction, solid optics, crystal optics such as Faraday rotation and Kerr effect and measurement of light. Each chapter has an exercise.

  15. Physical optics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim Il Gon; Lee, Seong Su; Jang, Gi Wan

    2012-07-15

    This book indicates physical optics with properties and transmission of light, mathematical expression of wave like harmonic wave and cylindrical wave, electromagnetic theory and light, transmission of light with Fermat principle and Fresnel equation, geometrical optics I, geometrical optics II, optical instrument such as stops, glasses and camera, polarized light like double refraction by polarized light, interference, interference by multiple reflections, diffraction, solid optics, crystal optics such as Faraday rotation and Kerr effect and measurement of light. Each chapter has an exercise.

  16. Experiment study and FEM simulation on erythrocytes under linear stretching of optical micromanipulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ying; Song, Huadong; Zhu, Panpan; Lu, Hao; Tang, Qi

    2017-08-01

    The elasticity of erythrocytes is an important criterion to evaluate the quality of blood. This paper presents a novel research on erythrocytes' elasticity with the application of optical tweezers and the finite element method (FEM) during blood storage. In this work, the erythrocytes with different in vitro times were linearly stretched by trapping force using optical tweezers and the time dependent elasticity of erythrocytes was investigated. The experimental results indicate that the membrane shear moduli of erythrocytes increased with the increasing in vitro time, namely the elasticity was decreasing. Simultaneously, an erythrocyte shell model with two parameters (membrane thickness h and membrane shear modulus H) was built to simulate the linear stretching states of erythrocytes by the FEM, and the simulations conform to the results obtained in the experiment. The evolution process was found that the erythrocytes membrane thicknesses were decreasing. The analysis assumes that the partial proteins and lipid bilayer of erythrocyte membrane were decomposed during the in vitro preservation of blood, which results in thin thickness, weak bending resistance, and losing elasticity of erythrocyte membrane. This study implies that the FEM can be employed to investigate the inward mechanical property changes of erythrocyte in different environments, which also can be a guideline for studying the erythrocyte mechanical state suffered from different diseases.

  17. On-chip manipulation of single microparticles, cells, and organisms using surface acoustic waves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Xiaoyun; Lin, Sz-Chin Steven; Kiraly, Brian; Yue, Hongjun; Li, Sixing; Chiang, I-Kao; Shi, Jinjie; Benkovic, Stephen J; Huang, Tony Jun

    2012-07-10

    Techniques that can dexterously manipulate single particles, cells, and organisms are invaluable for many applications in biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics. Here, we demonstrate standing surface acoustic wave based "acoustic tweezers" that can trap and manipulate single microparticles, cells, and entire organisms (i.e., Caenorhabditis elegans) in a single-layer microfluidic chip. Our acoustic tweezers utilize the wide resonance band of chirped interdigital transducers to achieve real-time control of a standing surface acoustic wave field, which enables flexible manipulation of most known microparticles. The power density required by our acoustic device is significantly lower than its optical counterparts (10,000,000 times less than optical tweezers and 100 times less than optoelectronic tweezers), which renders the technique more biocompatible and amenable to miniaturization. Cell-viability tests were conducted to verify the tweezers' compatibility with biological objects. With its advantages in biocompatibility, miniaturization, and versatility, the acoustic tweezers presented here will become a powerful tool for many disciplines of science and engineering.

  18. Single molecule measurements of DNA helicase activity with magnetic tweezers and t-test based step-finding analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seol, Yeonee; Strub, Marie-Paule; Neuman, Keir C.

    2016-01-01

    Magnetic tweezers is a versatile and easy to implement single-molecule technique that has become increasingly prevalent in the study of nucleic acid based molecular motors. Here, we provide a description of the magnetic tweezers instrument and guidelines for measuring and analyzing DNA helicase activity. Along with experimental methods, we describe a robust method of single-molecule trajectory analysis based on the Student’s t-test that accommodates continuous transitions in addition to the discrete transitions assumed in most widely employed analysis routines. To illustrate the single-molecule unwinding assay and the analysis routine, we provide DNA unwinding measurements of Escherichia coli RecQ helicase under a variety of conditions (Na+, ATP, temperature, and DNA substrate geometry). These examples reveal that DNA unwinding measurements under various conditions can aid in elucidating the unwinding mechanism of DNA helicase but also emphasize that environmental effects on DNA helicase activity must be considered in relation to in vivo activity and mechanism. PMID:27131595

  19. Vector assembly of colloids on monolayer substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Lingxiang; Yang, Shenyu; Tsang, Boyce; Tu, Mei; Granick, Steve

    2017-06-01

    The key to spontaneous and directed assembly is to encode the desired assembly information to building blocks in a programmable and efficient way. In computer graphics, raster graphics encodes images on a single-pixel level, conferring fine details at the expense of large file sizes, whereas vector graphics encrypts shape information into vectors that allow small file sizes and operational transformations. Here, we adapt this raster/vector concept to a 2D colloidal system and realize `vector assembly' by manipulating particles on a colloidal monolayer substrate with optical tweezers. In contrast to raster assembly that assigns optical tweezers to each particle, vector assembly requires a minimal number of optical tweezers that allow operations like chain elongation and shortening. This vector approach enables simple uniform particles to form a vast collection of colloidal arenes and colloidenes, the spontaneous dissociation of which is achieved with precision and stage-by-stage complexity by simply removing the optical tweezers.

  20. Structure-based optics of centric diatom frustules: modulation of the in vivo light field for efficient diatom photosynthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goessling, Johannes W; Su, Yanyan; Cartaxana, Paulo; Maibohm, Christian; Rickelt, Lars F; Trampe, Erik C L; Walby, Sandra L; Wangpraseurt, Daniel; Wu, Xia; Ellegaard, Marianne; Kühl, Michael

    2018-07-01

    The optical properties of diatom silicate frustules inspire photonics and nanotechnology research. Whether light interaction with the nano-structure of the frustule also affects diatom photosynthesis has remained unclear due to lack of information on frustule optical properties under more natural conditions. Here we demonstrate that the optical properties of the frustule valves in water affect light harvesting and photosynthesis in live cells of centric diatoms (Coscinodiscus granii). Microscale cellular mapping of photosynthesis around localized spot illumination demonstrated optical coupling of chloroplasts to the valve wall. Photonic structures of the three-layered C. granii valve facilitated light redistribution and efficient photosynthesis in cell regions distant from the directly illuminated area. The different porous structure of the two sides of the valve exhibited photon trapping and forward scattering of blue light enhancing photosynthetic active radiation inside the cell. Photonic structures of diatom frustules thus alter the cellular light field with implications on diatom photobiology. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

  1. Phase shifting white light interferometry using colour CCD for optical metrology and bio-imaging applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Upputuri, Paul Kumar; Pramanik, Manojit

    2018-02-01

    Phase shifting white light interferometry (PSWLI) has been widely used for optical metrology applications because of their precision, reliability, and versatility. White light interferometry using monochrome CCD makes the measurement process slow for metrology applications. WLI integrated with Red-Green-Blue (RGB) CCD camera is finding imaging applications in the fields optical metrology and bio-imaging. Wavelength dependent refractive index profiles of biological samples were computed from colour white light interferograms. In recent years, whole-filed refractive index profiles of red blood cells (RBCs), onion skin, fish cornea, etc. were measured from RGB interferograms. In this paper, we discuss the bio-imaging applications of colour CCD based white light interferometry. The approach makes the measurement faster, easier, cost-effective, and even dynamic by using single fringe analysis methods, for industrial applications.

  2. Development of a visible light transmission (VLT) measurement system using an open-path optical method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurulain, S.; Manap, H.

    2017-09-01

    This paper describes about a visible light transmission (VLT) measurement system using an optical method. VLT rate plays an important role in order to determine the visibility of a medium. Current instrument to measure visibility has a gigantic set up, costly and mostly fails to function at low light condition environment. This research focuses on the development of a VLT measurement system using a simple experimental set-up and at a low cost. An open path optical technique is used to measure a few series of known-VLT thin film that act as sample of different visibilities. This measurement system is able to measure the light intensity of these thin films within the visible light region (535-540 nm) and the response time is less than 1s.

  3. Particle levitation and laboratory scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reid, Jonathan P.

    2009-01-01

    Measurements of light scattering from aerosol particles can provide a non-intrusive in situ method for characterising particle size distributions, composition, refractive index, phase and morphology. When coupled with techniques for isolating single particles, considerable information on the evolution of the properties of a single particle can be gained during changes in environmental conditions or chemical processing. Electrostatic, acoustic and optical techniques have been developed over many decades for capturing and levitating single particles. In this review, we will focus on studies of particles in the Mie size regime and consider the complimentarity of electrostatic and optical techniques for levitating particles and elastic and inelastic light scattering methods for characterising particles. In particular, we will review the specific advantages of establishing a single-beam gradient force optical trap (optical tweezers) for manipulating single particles or arrays of particles. Recent developments in characterising the nature of the optical trap, in applying elastic and inelastic light scattering measurements for characterising trapped particles, and in manipulating particles will be considered.

  4. Understanding the Physical Optics Phenomena by Using a Digital Application for Light Propagation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sierra-Sosa, Daniel-Esteban; Angel-Toro, Luciano

    2011-01-01

    Understanding the light propagation on the basis of the Huygens-Fresnel principle stands for a fundamental factor for deeper comprehension of different physical optics related phenomena like diffraction, self-imaging, image formation, Fourier analysis and spatial filtering. This constitutes the physical approach of the Fourier optics whose principles and applications have been developed since the 1950's. Both for analytical and digital applications purposes, light propagation can be formulated in terms of the Fresnel Integral Transform. In this work, a digital optics application based on the implementation of the Discrete Fresnel Transform (DFT), and addressed to serve as a tool for applications in didactics of optics is presented. This tool allows, at a basic and intermediate learning level, exercising with the identification of basic phenomena, and observing changes associated with modifications of physical parameters. This is achieved by using a friendly graphic user interface (GUI). It also assists the user in the development of his capacity for abstracting and predicting the characteristics of more complicated phenomena. At an upper level of learning, the application could be used to favor a deeper comprehension of involved physics and models, and experimenting with new models and configurations. To achieve this, two characteristics of the didactic tool were taken into account when designing it. First, all physical operations, ranging from simple diffraction experiments to digital holography and interferometry, were developed on the basis of the more fundamental concept of light propagation. Second, the algorithm was conceived to be easily upgradable due its modular architecture based in MATLAB (registered) software environment. Typical results are presented and briefly discussed in connection with didactics of optics.

  5. Understanding the Physical Optics Phenomena by Using a Digital Application for Light Propagation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sierra-Sosa, Daniel-Esteban; Angel-Toro, Luciano, E-mail: dsierras@eafit.edu.co, E-mail: langel@eafit.edu.co [Grupo de Optica Aplicada, Universidad EAFIT, 1 Medellin (Colombia)

    2011-01-01

    Understanding the light propagation on the basis of the Huygens-Fresnel principle stands for a fundamental factor for deeper comprehension of different physical optics related phenomena like diffraction, self-imaging, image formation, Fourier analysis and spatial filtering. This constitutes the physical approach of the Fourier optics whose principles and applications have been developed since the 1950's. Both for analytical and digital applications purposes, light propagation can be formulated in terms of the Fresnel Integral Transform. In this work, a digital optics application based on the implementation of the Discrete Fresnel Transform (DFT), and addressed to serve as a tool for applications in didactics of optics is presented. This tool allows, at a basic and intermediate learning level, exercising with the identification of basic phenomena, and observing changes associated with modifications of physical parameters. This is achieved by using a friendly graphic user interface (GUI). It also assists the user in the development of his capacity for abstracting and predicting the characteristics of more complicated phenomena. At an upper level of learning, the application could be used to favor a deeper comprehension of involved physics and models, and experimenting with new models and configurations. To achieve this, two characteristics of the didactic tool were taken into account when designing it. First, all physical operations, ranging from simple diffraction experiments to digital holography and interferometry, were developed on the basis of the more fundamental concept of light propagation. Second, the algorithm was conceived to be easily upgradable due its modular architecture based in MATLAB (registered) software environment. Typical results are presented and briefly discussed in connection with didactics of optics.

  6. Understanding the Physical Optics Phenomena by Using a Digital Application for Light Propagation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sierra-Sosa, Daniel-Esteban; Ángel-Toro, Luciano

    2011-01-01

    Understanding the light propagation on the basis of the Huygens-Fresnel principle stands for a fundamental factor for deeper comprehension of different physical optics related phenomena like diffraction, self-imaging, image formation, Fourier analysis and spatial filtering. This constitutes the physical approach of the Fourier optics whose principles and applications have been developed since the 1950's. Both for analytical and digital applications purposes, light propagation can be formulated in terms of the Fresnel Integral Transform. In this work, a digital optics application based on the implementation of the Discrete Fresnel Transform (DFT), and addressed to serve as a tool for applications in didactics of optics is presented. This tool allows, at a basic and intermediate learning level, exercising with the identification of basic phenomena, and observing changes associated with modifications of physical parameters. This is achieved by using a friendly graphic user interface (GUI). It also assists the user in the development of his capacity for abstracting and predicting the characteristics of more complicated phenomena. At an upper level of learning, the application could be used to favor a deeper comprehension of involved physics and models, and experimenting with new models and configurations. To achieve this, two characteristics of the didactic tool were taken into account when designing it. First, all physical operations, ranging from simple diffraction experiments to digital holography and interferometry, were developed on the basis of the more fundamental concept of light propagation. Second, the algorithm was conceived to be easily upgradable due its modular architecture based in MATLAB® software environment. Typical results are presented and briefly discussed in connection with didactics of optics.

  7. Electrically and magnetically controlled optical spanner based on the transfer of spin angular momentum of light in an optically active medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Lixiang; Zheng Guoliang; She Weilong

    2007-01-01

    An optical spanner is a light beam that can exert a torque on an object. It is demonstrated in this Rapid Communication that, with the aid of applied electric and magnetic fields, a light beam with initially linear polarization and initially zero total spin angular momentum can interact with an optically active medium, resulting in a change of the ratio of left-handed circularly polarized photons to right-handed ones. Thus the total spin angular momentum of the light is changed, which leads to a torque, creating an electrically and magnetically controlled optical spanner on the medium. For a linearly polarized 632.8 nm laser beam incident on a 100-μm-long Ce:Bi 12 TiO 20 whisker crystal with 5 μm radius, if the magnetic field is fixed at -1.8 T, both the left- (right-)handed circularly polarized photon number and the total spin angular momentum vary with the applied electric field in a sinusoidal way, which means the torque exerted by the optical spanner on the crystal also varies sinusoidally with the electric field. It is found that at 50 (or-50) kV/cm, 56% right- (left-)handed circularly polarized photons are translated into left- (right-)handed ones, which corresponds to a transfer of 0.56(ℎ/2π) spin angular momentum contributed by each photon

  8. Reducing uncertainties associated with filter-based optical measurements of light absorbing carbon particles with chemical information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engström, J. E.; Leck, C.

    2011-08-01

    The presented filter-based optical method for determination of soot (light absorbing carbon or Black Carbon, BC) can be implemented in the field under primitive conditions and at low cost. This enables researchers with small economical means to perform monitoring at remote locations, especially in the Asia where it is much needed. One concern when applying filter-based optical measurements of BC is that they suffer from systematic errors due to the light scattering of non-absorbing particles co-deposited on the filter, such as inorganic salts and mineral dust. In addition to an optical correction of the non-absorbing material this study provides a protocol for correction of light scattering based on the chemical quantification of the material, which is a novelty. A newly designed photometer was implemented to measure light transmission on particle accumulating filters, which includes an additional sensor recording backscattered light. The choice of polycarbonate membrane filters avoided high chemical blank values and reduced errors associated with length of the light path through the filter. Two protocols for corrections were applied to aerosol samples collected at the Maldives Climate Observatory Hanimaadhoo during episodes with either continentally influenced air from the Indian/Arabian subcontinents (winter season) or pristine air from the Southern Indian Ocean (summer monsoon). The two ways of correction (optical and chemical) lowered the particle light absorption of BC by 63 to 61 %, respectively, for data from the Arabian Sea sourced group, resulting in median BC absorption coefficients of 4.2 and 3.5 Mm-1. Corresponding values for the South Indian Ocean data were 69 and 97 % (0.38 and 0.02 Mm-1). A comparison with other studies in the area indicated an overestimation of their BC levels, by up to two orders of magnitude. This raises the necessity for chemical correction protocols on optical filter-based determinations of BC, before even the sign on the

  9. Reducing uncertainties associated with filter-based optical measurements of light absorbing carbon particles with chemical information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. E. Engström

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The presented filter-based optical method for determination of soot (light absorbing carbon or Black Carbon, BC can be implemented in the field under primitive conditions and at low cost. This enables researchers with small economical means to perform monitoring at remote locations, especially in the Asia where it is much needed.

    One concern when applying filter-based optical measurements of BC is that they suffer from systematic errors due to the light scattering of non-absorbing particles co-deposited on the filter, such as inorganic salts and mineral dust. In addition to an optical correction of the non-absorbing material this study provides a protocol for correction of light scattering based on the chemical quantification of the material, which is a novelty. A newly designed photometer was implemented to measure light transmission on particle accumulating filters, which includes an additional sensor recording backscattered light. The choice of polycarbonate membrane filters avoided high chemical blank values and reduced errors associated with length of the light path through the filter.

    Two protocols for corrections were applied to aerosol samples collected at the Maldives Climate Observatory Hanimaadhoo during episodes with either continentally influenced air from the Indian/Arabian subcontinents (winter season or pristine air from the Southern Indian Ocean (summer monsoon. The two ways of correction (optical and chemical lowered the particle light absorption of BC by 63 to 61 %, respectively, for data from the Arabian Sea sourced group, resulting in median BC absorption coefficients of 4.2 and 3.5 Mm−1. Corresponding values for the South Indian Ocean data were 69 and 97 % (0.38 and 0.02 Mm−1. A comparison with other studies in the area indicated an overestimation of their BC levels, by up to two orders of magnitude. This raises the necessity for chemical correction protocols on optical filter

  10. Anion-π aromatic neutral tweezers complexes: are they stable in polar solvents?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Lozano, Marta; Otero, Nicolás; Hermida-Ramón, Jose M; Estévez, Carlos M; Mandado, Marcos

    2011-03-17

    The impact of the solvent environment on the stabilization of the complexes formed by fluorine (T-F) and cyanide (T-CN) substituted tweezers with halide anions has been investigated theoretically. The study was carried out using computational methodologies based on density functional theory (DFT) and symmetry adapted perturbation theory (SAPT). Interaction energies were obtained at the M05-2X/6-31+G* level. The obtained results show a large stability of the complexes in solvents with large dielectric constant and prove the suitability of these molecular tweezers as potential hosts for anion recognition in solution. A detailed analysis of the effects of the solvent on the electron withdrawing ability of the substituents and its influence on the complex stability has been performed. In particular, the interaction energy in solution was split up into intermonomer and solvent-complex terms. In turn, the intermonomer interaction energy was partitioned into electrostatic, exchange, and polarization terms. Polar resonance structures in T-CN complexes are favored by polar solvents, giving rise to a stabilization of the intermonomer interaction, the opposite is found for T-F complexes. The solvent-complex energy increases with the polarity of the solvent in T-CN complexes, nonetheless the energy reaches a maximum and then decreases slowly in T-F complexes. An electron density analysis was also performed before and after complexation, providing an explanation to the trends followed by the interaction energies and their different components in solution.

  11. Linac Coherent Light Source soft x-ray materials science instrument optical design and monochromator commissioning

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Heimann, P.; Krupin, O.; Schlotter, W.F.; Turner, J.; Krzywinski, J.; Sorgenfrei, F.; Messerschmidt, M.; Bernstein, D.; Chalupský, Jaromír; Hájková, Věra; Hau-Riege, S.; Holmes, M.; Juha, Libor; Kelez, N.; Lüning, J.; Nordlund, D.; Perea, M.F.; Scherz, A.; Soufli, R.; Wurth, W.; Rowen, M.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 82, č. 9 (2011), 093104/1-093104/8 ISSN 0034-6748 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ME10046 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : diffraction gratings * light sources * linear accelerators * optical materials * x-ray monochromators * x-ray optics Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.367, year: 2011

  12. Note: Automated optical focusing on encapsulated devices for scanning light stimulation systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bitzer, L. A.; Benson, N.; Schmechel, R.

    2014-01-01

    Recently, a scanning light stimulation system with an automated, adaptive focus correction during the measurement was introduced. Here, its application on encapsulated devices is discussed. This includes the changes an encapsulating optical medium introduces to the focusing process as well as to the subsequent light stimulation measurement. Further, the focusing method is modified to compensate for the influence of refraction and to maintain a minimum beam diameter on the sample surface

  13. In vivo Microscale Measurements of Light and Photosynthesis during Coral Bleaching: Evidence for the Optical Feedback Loop?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wangpraseurt, Daniel; Holm, Jacob B; Larkum, Anthony W D; Pernice, Mathieu; Ralph, Peter J; Suggett, David J; Kühl, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Climate change-related coral bleaching, i.e., the visible loss of zooxanthellae from the coral host, is increasing in frequency and extent and presents a major threat to coral reefs globally. Coral bleaching has been proposed to involve accelerating light stress of their microalgal endosymbionts via a positive feedback loop of photodamage, symbiont expulsion and excess in vivo light exposure. To test this hypothesis, we used light and O 2 microsensors to characterize in vivo light exposure and photosynthesis of Symbiodinium during a thermal stress experiment. We created tissue areas with different densities of Symbiodinium cells in order to understand the optical properties and light microenvironment of corals during bleaching. Our results showed that in bleached Pocillopora damicornis corals, Symbiodinium light exposure was up to fivefold enhanced relative to healthy corals, and the relationship between symbiont loss and light enhancement was well-described by a power-law function. Cell-specific rates of Symbiodinium gross photosynthesis and light respiration were enhanced in bleached P. damicornis compared to healthy corals, while areal rates of net photosynthesis decreased. Symbiodinium light exposure in Favites sp. revealed the presence of low light microniches in bleached coral tissues, suggesting that light scattering in thick coral tissues can enable photoprotection of cryptic symbionts. Our study provides evidence for the acceleration of in vivo light exposure during coral bleaching but this optical feedback mechanism differs between coral hosts. Enhanced photosynthesis in relation to accelerating light exposure shows that coral microscale optics exerts a key role on coral photophysiology and the subsequent degree of radiative stress during coral bleaching.

  14. Protein folding and translocation : single-molecule investigations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leeuwen, Rudolphus Gerardus Henricus van

    2006-01-01

    This thesis describes experiments, in which we used an optical-tweezers setup to study a number of biological systems. We studied the interaction between the E. coli molecular chaperone SecB and a protein that was being unfolded and refolded using our optical tweezers setup. Our measurements clearly

  15. Propagation of light in the lithium niobate crystal along directions close to an optical axis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volkov, V.V.; Egorova, G.A.; Lonskij, Eh.S.; Potapov, E.V.; Rakov, A.V.

    1978-01-01

    Theoretical and experimental results are given of studying some characteristics of electrooptical modulator from lithium niobate when propagating in it linear-polarized light in directions close to the optical axis, the electric field being applied along the X axis. It has been shown that an increase in an angle of deviation from the optical axis of a light beam passing in the crystal changes the value of the controlling voltage. This is accompanied by the rotation of the polarization plane and the change in the intensity of the light being passed. The methods have been proposed of increasing the modulator aperture, determining the main refraction indices and some electrooptical coefficients fo the lithium niobate crystal

  16. Real-time optical correlator using computer-generated holographic filter on a liquid crystal light valve

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Tien-Hsin; Yu, Jeffrey

    1990-01-01

    Limitations associated with the binary phase-only filter often used in optical correlators are presently circumvented in the writing of complex-valued data on a gray-scale spatial light modulator through the use of a computer-generated hologram (CGH) algorithm. The CGH encodes complex-valued data into nonnegative real CGH data in such a way that it may be encoded in any of the available gray-scale spatial light modulators. A CdS liquid-crystal light valve is used for the complex-valued CGH encoding; computer simulations and experimental results are compared, and the use of such a CGH filter as the synapse hologram in a holographic optical neural net is discussed.

  17. Interstitial near-infrared photoimmunotherapy: effective treatment areas and light doses needed for use with fiber optic diffusers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okuyama, Shuhei; Nagaya, Tadanobu; Sato, Kazuhide; Ogata, Fusa; Maruoka, Yasuhiro; Choyke, Peter L; Kobayashi, Hisataka

    2018-02-16

    Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT), a promising cancer therapy utilizing an antibody-photoabsorber conjugate (APC) and NIR light, which induces rapid necrotic cell death only in APC-bound cells. Effective NIR-PIT in mouse models has been achieved using superficial light illumination (SLI) with light emitting diodes (LEDs) or lasers, but in the clinical setting, fiber optic diffusers have been employed to deliver light to deeper tumors. However, the performance of NIR light in tissue delivered by fiber optic diffusers is poorly understood. Here, we investigated NIR-PIT using a cylindrical fiber optic diffuser in a mouse model of A431 tumors. NIR-PIT with 100 J/cm, the same light dose used in clinical trials of NIR-PIT, was applied after insertion of the diffuser within the tumor bed, and then both bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging were analyzed to assess the therapeutic efficacy. The diffuser can deliver adequate NIR light dose for effective NIR-PIT to the A431 tumor at a distance of approximately 1 cm around the light source at 100 J/cm. At 50 J/cm NIR light effective NIR-PIT was reduced to a distance of 5 - 7 mm diameter around the light source. These results indicate that the energy of interstitial light (measured in Joules/cm) administered via a fiber diffuser determines the depth of effective NIR-PIT around the diffuser and determines the spacing at which such diffusers should be placed to entirely cover the tumor. Thermal measurements demonstrate that interstitial light for NIR-PIT does not cause damage to the skin overlying the diffuser.

  18. Determination of the depth-resolved Stokes parameters of light backscattered from turbid media by use of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boer, J.F. de; Milner, T.E.; Nelson, J.S.

    1999-01-01

    Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) was used to characterize completely the polarization state of light backscattered from turbid media. Using a low-coherence light source, one can determine the Stokes parameters of backscattered light as a function of optical path in turbid media. To demonstrate the application of this technique we determined the birefringence and the optical axis in fibrous tissue (rodent muscle) and in vivo rodent skin. PS-OCT has potentially useful applications in biomedical optics by imaging simultaneously the structural properties of turbid biological materials and their effects on the polarization state of backscattered light. This method may also find applications in material science for investigation of polarization properties (e.g., birefringence) in opaque media such as ceramics and crystals. copyright 1999 Optical Society of America

  19. A New Probe for Mechanical Testing of Nanostructures in Soft Materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hough, L.A.; Ou-Yang, H.D.

    1999-01-01

    We report a new application of the optical tweezers, where a harmonically driven oscillating tweezer is combined with the forward light scattering and lock-in amplification techniques, for probing the mechanics of nanostructures in soft materials in a broad frequency range. Model independent dynamic moduli G' and G'' of the material at a localized, sub-micron area can be measured directly from the displacement and the phase shift of the particle in the oscillating trap. The probe particles can be as small as 200 nm and the displacement of the particle was in the range of a few nanometers. To illustrate the new methodology, we show the microscopic viscoelastic properties of a transient polymer network in the vicinity of a silica bead

  20. Tuning the structural and optical properties of gold/silver nanoalloys prepared by laser ablation in liquids for ultra-sensitive spectroscopy and optical trapping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Neri

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The plasmon resonance of metallic Au/Ag alloys in the colloidal state was tuned from 400 nm to 500 nm using a laser irradiated technique, performed directly in the liquid state. Interesting optical nonlinearities, trapping effects and spectroscopic enhancements were detected as function of gold concentration in the nanoalloys. In particular a reduction of the limiting threshold was observed by increasing the gold amount. The SERS activity of the Au/Ag alloys was tested in liquid and in solid state in presence of linear carbon chains as probe molecules. The dependence of the increased Raman signals on the nanoparticle Au/Ag atomic ratio is presented and discussed. Finally preliminary studies and prospects for optical and Raman tweezers experiments are discussed.

  1. Monte Carlo study of skin optical clearing to enhance light penetration in the tissue: implications for photodynamic therapy of acne vulgaris

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashkatov, Alexey N.; Genina, Elina A.; Tuchin, Valery V.; Altshuler, Gregory B.; Yaroslavsky, Ilya V.

    2008-06-01

    Result of Monte Carlo simulations of skin optical clearing is presented. The model calculations were carried out with the aim of studying of spectral response of skin under immersion liquids action and calculation of enhancement of light penetration depth. In summary, we have shown that: 1) application of glucose, propylene glycol and glycerol produced significant decrease of light scattering in different skin layers; 2) maximal clearing effect will be obtained in case of optical clearing of skin dermis, however, absorbed light fraction in skin dermis changed insignificantly, independently on clearing agent and place it administration; 3) in contrast to it, the light absorbed fraction in skin adipose layer increased significantly in case of optical clearing of skin dermis. It is very important because it can be used for development of optical methods of obesity treatment; 4) optical clearing of superficial skin layers can be used for decreasing of power of light radiation used for treatment of acne vulgaris.

  2. Simultaneous optical and electrical modeling of plasmonic light trapping in thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gandhi, Keyur K.; Nejim, Ahmed; Beliatis, Michail J.; Mills, Christopher A.; Henley, Simon J.; Silva, S. Ravi P.

    2015-01-01

    Rapid prototyping of photovoltaic (PV) cells requires a method for the simultaneous simulation of the optical and electrical characteristics of the device. The development of nanomaterial-enabled PV cells only increases the complexity of such simulations. Here, we use a commercial technology computer aided design (TCAD) software, Silvaco Atlas, to design and model plasmonic gold nanoparticles integrated in optoelectronic device models of thin-film amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) PV cells. Upon illumination with incident light, we simulate the optical and electrical properties of the cell simultaneously and use the simulation to produce current-voltage (J-V) and external quantum efficiency plots. Light trapping due to light scattering and localized surface plasmon resonance interactions by the nanoparticles has resulted in the enhancement of both the optical and electrical properties due to the reduction in the recombination rates in the photoactive layer. We show that the device performance of the modeled plasmonic a-Si:H PV cells depends significantly on the position and size of the gold nanoparticles, which leads to improvements either in optical properties only, or in both optical and electrical properties. The model provides a route to optimize the device architecture by simultaneously optimizing the optical and electrical characteristics, which leads to a detailed understanding of plasmonic PV cells from a design perspective and offers an advanced tool for rapid device prototyping.

  3. Post delivery test report for light duty utility arm optical alignment system (OAS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pardini, A.F.

    1996-01-01

    This report documents the post delivery testing of the Optical Alignment System (OAS) LDUA system, designed for use by the Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) project. The post delivery test shows by demonstration that the optical alignment system is fully operational to perform the task of aligning the LDUA arm and mast with the entry riser during deployment operations within a Hanford Site waste tank

  4. Post delivery test report for light duty utility arm optical alignment system (OAS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pardini, A.F.

    1996-04-18

    This report documents the post delivery testing of the Optical Alignment System (OAS) LDUA system, designed for use by the Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) project. The post delivery test shows by demonstration that the optical alignment system is fully operational to perform the task of aligning the LDUA arm and mast with the entry riser during deployment operations within a Hanford Site waste tank.

  5. Directed assembly of hybrid nanostructures using optically resonant nanotweezers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Erickson, David [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)

    2015-09-09

    This represents the final report for this project. Over the course of the project we have made significant progress in photonically driven nano-assembly including: (1) demonstrating the first direct optical tweezer based manipulation of proteins, (2) the ability to apply optical angular torques to microtubuals and other rod-shaped microparticles, (3) direct assembly of hybrid nanostructures comprising of polymeric nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes and, (4) the ability to drive biological reactions (specifically protein aggregation) that are thermodynamically unfavorable by applying localized optical work. These advancements are described in the list of papers provided in section 2.0 of the below. Summary details are provided in prior year annual reports. We have two additional papers which will be submitted shortly based on the work done under this award. An updated publication list will be provided to the program manager when those are accepted. In this report, we report on a new advancement made in the final project year, which uses the nanotweezer technology to perform direct measurements of particle-surface interactions. Briefly, these measurements are important for characterizing the stability and behavior of colloidal and nanoparticle suspensions and current techniques are limited in their ability to measure piconewton scale interaction forces on sub-micrometer particles due to signal detection limits and thermal noise. In this project year we developed a new technique called “Nanophotonic Force Microscopy” which uses the localized region of exponentially decaying, near-field, light to confine small particles close to a surface. From the statistical distribution of the light intensity scattered by the particle the technique maps out the potential well of the trap and directly quantify the repulsive force between the nanoparticle and the surface. The major advantage of the technique is that it can measure forces and energy wells below the thermal noise

  6. [Getting an insight into the brain - new optical clearing techniques and imaging using light-sheet microscope].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawłowska, Monika; Legutko, Diana; Stefaniuk, Marzena

    2017-01-01

    One of the biggest challenges in neuroscience is to understand how brain operates. For this, it would be the best to image the whole brain with at least cellular resolution, preserving the three-dimensional structure in order to capture the connections between different areas. Most currently available high-resolution imaging techniques are based on preparing thin brain sections that are next photographed one by one and subsequently bigger structures are reconstructed. These techniques are laborious and create artifacts. Recent optical clearing methods allow to obtain literally transparent brains that can be imaged using light-sheet microscope. The present review summarizes the most popular optical clearing techniques, describing their different mechanisms and comparing advantages and disadvantages of different approaches, and presents the principle of light-sheet microscopy and its use in imaging. Finally, it gives examples of application of optical tissue clearing and light-sheet imaging in neuroscience and beyond it.

  7. Optical properties of Lactuca and Taraxacum seed and fruit coats: Their role as light filters [phytochrome, photoblasty, fiber optics, transmission, spectra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Widell, K.-O.; Vogelmann, T.C.

    1985-01-01

    The optical properties of seed and fruit coats were examined from several varieties of light-sensitive achenes. Taraxacum vulgare L. and Lactuca sativa L. cv. Grand Rapids achenes with dark fruit coats and L. sativa cvs Huvudsallat and Issallat with white fruit coats were examined. Transmission spectra varied among the different achenes: white fruit coats of Lactuca acted as neutral density filters between 450 and 780 nm, whereas Taraxacum transmitted 2–36% in this region. The ribbed fruit coat structure greatly affected transmission so that at different locations in the same coat, transmission varied between 20 to 80% at 660 and 730 nm. Fruit coats of Grand Rapids lettuce and Taraxacum transmitted more far-red than red light with T 660 /T 730 ratios of 0.8 and 0.4, respectively. The relationship between the optical properties of fruit coats and light-stimulated germination is discussed. (author)

  8. Nonlinear magneto-optical rotation with modulated light in tilted magnetic fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pustelny, S.; Gawlik, W.; Rochester, S. M.; Kimball, D. F. Jackson; Yashchuk, V. V.; Budker, D.

    2006-01-01

    Larmor precession of laser-polarized atoms contained in antirelaxation-coated cells, detected via nonlinear magneto-optical rotation (NMOR), is a promising technique for a new generation of ultrasensitive atomic magnetometers. For magnetic fields directed along the light propagation direction, resonances in NMOR appear when linearly polarized light is frequency or amplitude modulated at twice the Larmor frequency. Because the frequency of these resonances depends on the magnitude but not the direction of the field, they are useful for scalar magnetometry. Additional NMOR resonances at the Larmor frequency appear when the magnetic field is tilted away from the light propagation direction in the plane defined by the light propagation and polarization vectors. These resonances, studied both experimentally and with a density matrix calculation in the present work, offer a convenient method of achieving additional information about a direction of the magnetic field

  9. At-wavelength metrology of x-ray optics at Diamond Light Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hongchang; Berujon, Sebastien; Sutter, John; Alcock, Simon G.; Sawhney, Kawal

    2014-09-01

    Modern, third-generation synchrotron radiation sources provide coherent and extremely bright beams of X-ray radiation. The successful exploitation of such beams depends to a significant extent on imperfections and misalignment of the optics employed on the beamlines. This issue becomes even more critical with the increasing use of active optics, and the desire to achieve diffraction-limited and coherence-preserving X-ray beams. In recent years, significant progress has been made to improve optic testing and optimization techniques, especially those using X-rays for so-called atwavelength metrology. These in-situ and at-wavelength metrology methods can be used not only to optimize the performance of X-ray optics, but also to correct and minimize the collective distortions of upstream beamline optics, including monochromators, and transmission windows. An overview of at-wavelength metrology techniques implemented at Diamond Light Source is presented, including grating interferometry and X-ray near-field speckle based techniques. Representative examples of the application of these techniques are also given, including in-situ and atwavelength calibration and optimization of: active, piezo bimorph mirrors; Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) mirrors; and refractive optics such as compound refractive lenses.

  10. Generation of Light Scattering States in Cholesteric Liquid Crystals by Optically Controlled Boundary Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy J. Bunning

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Circularly polarized light was previously employed to stimulate the reversible and reconfigurable writing of scattering states in cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC cells constructed with a photosensitive layer. Such dynamic photodriven responses have utility in remotely triggering changes in optical constructs responsive to optical stimulus and applications where complex spatial patterning is required. Writing of scattering regions required the handedness of incoming radiation to match the handedness of the CLC and the reflection bandwidth of the CLC to envelop the wavelength of the incoming radiation. In this paper, the mechanism of transforming the CLC into a light scattering state via the influence of light on the photosensitive alignment layer is detailed. Specifically, the effects of: (i the polarization state of light on the photosensitive alignment layer; (ii the exposure time; and (iii the incidence angle of radiation on domain formation are reported. The photogenerated light-scattering domains are shown to be similar in appearance between crossed polarizers to a defect structure that occurs at a CLC/air interface (i.e., a free CLC surface. This observation provides strong indication that exposure of the photosensitive alignment layer to the circularly polarized light of appropriate wavelength and handedness generates an out-of-plane orientation leading to a periodic distortion of the original planar structure.

  11. Propagation-invariant vectorial Bessel beams by use of sub wavelength quantized Pancharatnam-Berry phase optics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niv, A.; Biener, G.; Kleiner, V.; Hasman, E.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text:Propagation-invariant scalar fields have been extensively studied both theoretically and experimentally, since they were proposed by Durnin et al. These fields were employed in applications such as optical tweezers and for transport and guiding of microspheres. Although there has recently been considerable theoretical interest in propagation-invariant vectorial beams, experimental studies of such beams have remained somewhat limited. One of the most interesting types of propagation-invariant vectorial beam is the linearly polarized axially symmetric beam (LPASB) [l]. Recently, we introduced and experimentally demonstrated propagation-invariant vectorial Bessel beams with linearly polarized axial symmetry based on quantized Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical elements (QPBOEs) [21 and an axicon. QP-BOEs utilize the geometric phase that accompanies space-variant polarization manipulations to achieve a desired phase modification [31. To test our approach we formed QPBOEs with different polarization orders as computer-generated space-variant sub wavelength gratings upon GaAs wafers for use with 10.6 micron laser radiation. The resultant beams were also transmitted through a polarizer that produced a unique propagation-invariant scalar beam. This beam has a propeller-shaped intensity pattern that can be rotated by simple rotation of the polarizer. We therefore have demonstrated the formation of a vectorial Bessel beam by using simple, lightweight thin elements and exploited that beam to perform a controlled rotation of a propeller-shaped intensity pattern that can be suitable for optical tweezers

  12. Designing Plasmonic Materials and Optical Metasurfaces for Light Manipulation and Optical Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wenxiang

    Metamaterials are artificial materials designed to create optical properties that do not exist in nature. They are assemblies of subwavelength structures that are tailored in size, shape, composition, and orientation to realize the desired property. Metamaterials are promising for applications in diverse areas: optical filters, lenses, holography, sensors, photodetectors, photovoltaics, photocatalysts, medical devices, and many more, because of their excellent abilities in bending, absorbing, enhancing and blocking light. However, the practical use of metamaterials is challenged by the lack of plasmonic materials with proper permittivity for different applications and the slow and expensive fabrication methods available to pattern sub-wavelength structures. We have also only touched the surface in exploring the innovative uses of metamaterials to solve world problems. In this thesis, we study the fundamental optical properties of metamaterial building blocks by designing material permittivity. We continuously tune the interparticle distance in colloidal Au nanocrystal (NC) solids via the partial ligand exchange process. Then we combine top-down nanoimprint lithography with bottom-up assembly of colloidal NCs to develop a large-area, low-cost fabrication method for subwavelength nanostructures. Via this method, we fabricate and characterize nano-antenna arrays of different sizes and demonstrate metasurface quarter wave-plates of different bandwidth, and compare their performances with simulation results. We also integrate the metasurfaces with chemically- and mechanically-responsive polymers for strong-signal sensing. In the first design, we combine ultrathin plasmonic nanorods with hydrogel to fabricate optical moisture sensors for agricultural use. In the second application, we design mechanically tunable Au grating resonances on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. The dimensions of Au grating are carefully engineered to achieve a hybridized, ultrasharp, and

  13. Gas chromatographic sensing on an optical fiber by mode-filtered light detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruckner, C A; Synovec, R E

    1996-06-01

    A chemical sensor for gas phase measurements is reported which combines the principles of chemical separation and fiber optic detection. The analyzer incorporates an annular column Chromatographic sensor, constructed by inserting a polymer-clad optical fiber into a silica capillary. Light from a helium-neon laser is launched down the fiber, producing a steady intensity distribution within the fiber, but a low background of scattered light. When sample vapor is introduced to the sensor, and an analyte-rich volume interacts with the polymer cladding, Chromatographic retention is observed simultaneously with a change in the local refractive index of the cladding. An increase in cladding refractive index (RI) causes light to be coupled out of the fiber, with detection at a right-angle to the annular column length to provide optimum S/N ratio. This detection mechanism is called mode-filtered light detection. We report a gas Chromatographic separation on a 3.1 m annular column (320 microm i.d. silica tube, 228 microm o.d. fiber with a 12 microm fluorinated silicone clad) of methane, benzene, butanone and chlorobenzene in 6 min. The annular column length was reduced to 22 cm to function as a sensor, with selected organic vapors exhibiting unique retention times and detection selectivity. The detection selectivity is determined by the analyte RI and the partition coefficient into the cladding. The calculated limit of detection (LOD) for benzene vapor is 0.03% by volume in nitrogen, and several chlorinated species had LOD values less than 1%. For binary mixtures of organic vapors, the detected response appears to be the linear combination of the two organic standards, suggesting that the annular column may be useful as a general approach for designing chemical sensors that incorporate separation and optical detection principles simultaneously.

  14. Using the combination refraction-reflection solid to design omni-directional light source used in underwater wireless optical communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Jionghui; Yao, Wenming; Wen, Linqiang

    2015-10-01

    Underwater wireless optical communication is a communication technology which uses laser as an information carrier and transmits data through water. Underwater wireless optical communication has some good features such as broader bandwidth, high transmission rate, better security, anti—interference performance. Therefore, it is promising to be widely used in the civil and military communication domains. It is also suitable for high-speed, short-range communication between underwater mobile vehicles. This paper presents a design approach of omni-directional light source used in underwater wireless optical communication, using TRACEPRO simulation tool to help design a combination solid composed of the lens, conical reflector and parabolic reflector, and using the modulated DPSS green laser in the transmitter module to output the laser beam in small divergence angles, after expanded by the combination refraction-reflection solid, the angle turns into a space divergence angle of 2π, achieving the omni-directional light source of hemisphere space, and test in the air and underwater, the result shows that the effect is fine. This paper analyzes the experimental test in the air and water, in order to make further improvement of the uniformity of light distribution, we optimize the reflector surface parameters of combination refraction-reflection solid and test in the air and water. The result shows that omni-directional light source used in underwater wireless optical communication optimized could achieve the uniformity of light distribution of underwater space divergence angle of 2π. Omni-directional light source used in underwater wireless optical communication designed in this paper has the characteristics of small size and uniformity of light distribution, it is suitable for application between UUVs, AUVs, Swimmer Delivery Vehicles (SDVs) and other underwater vehicle fleet, it realizes point-to-multipoint communications.

  15. Integrated Quantum Optics: Experiments towards integrated quantum-light sources and quantum-enhanced sensing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoff, Ulrich Busk

    The work presented in this thesis is focused on experimental application and generation of continuous variable quantum correlated states of light in integrated dielectric structures. Squeezed states are among the most exploited continuous variable optical states for free-space quantum-enhanced se...... is presented and an optimized device design is proposed. The devices have been fabricated and tested optically and preliminary interrogations of the output quantum noise have been performed....

  16. Selective detection of Escherichia coli by imaging of the light intensity transmitted through an optical disk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiramizu, Hideyuki; Kuroda, Chiaki; Ohki, Yoshimichi; Shima, Takayuki; Wang, Xiaomin; Fujimaki, Makoto

    2018-03-01

    We have developed an optical disk system for imaging transmitted light from Escherichia coli dispersed on an optical disk. When E. coli was stained using Bismarck brown, the transmittance was found to decrease in images obtained at λ = 405 nm. The results indicate that transmittance imaging is suitable for finding the difference in light intensity between stained and unstained E. coli, whereas the reflectance images were scarcely changed by staining. Therefore, E. coli can be selectively discriminated from abiotic contaminants using transmittance imaging.

  17. Launch and capture of a single particle in a pulse-laser-assisted dual-beam fiber-optic trap

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Zhenhai; She, Xuan; Li, Nan; Hu, Huizhu

    2018-06-01

    The rapid loading and manipulation of microspheres in optical trap is important for its applications in optomechanics and precision force sensing. We investigate the microsphere behavior under coaction of a dual-beam fiber-optic trap and a pulse laser beam, which reveals a launched microsphere can be effectively captured in a spatial region. A suitable order of pulse duration for launch is derived according to the calculated detachment energy threshold of pulse laser. Furthermore, we illustrate the effect of structural parameters on the launching process, including the spot size of pulse laser, the vertical displacement of beam waist and the initial position of microsphere. Our result will be instructive in the optimal design of the pulse-laser-assisted optical tweezers for controllable loading mechanism of optical trap.

  18. Analysis of optical transmission by 400-500 nm visible light into aesthetic dental biomaterials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, D C; Cash, A J

    1994-04-01

    The penetration of visible light into dental biomaterials is an essential factor in photoinitiation of setting reactions and in the optical aspects of dental aesthetics. Light of visible blue wavelengths, 400-500 nm, has been applied at normal angles to 0.2-5.0 mm sections of human dentine and representative ceramic, polymerceramic composites and hybrid glass-polyalkenoate materials. The integrated optical transmission has been determined for each material section. The data have been converted to absorbance values and analysed to check for mathematical conformity to the Beer-Lambert Law. It is found that conformity (typically, P ratio. This factor ranges from 30% to 90% in the materials investigated. It follows that there is a high degree of inefficiency in the transmission of visible light into and through aesthetic biomaterials for the purposes of photoactivation using existing technology. Means by which this limitation and inefficiency may be reduced are discussed. While the reflectivity of aesthetic biomaterials has been perceived by dental practitioners, the magnitude of this effect and its implications in connection with light-cured materials have not been analysed and emphasized hitherto.

  19. Slow and fast light effects in semiconductor optical amplifiers for applications in microwave photonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xue, Weiqi

    This thesis analyzes semiconductor optical amplifiers based slow and fast light effects with particular focus on the applications in microwave photonics. We conceive novel ideas and demonstrate a great enhancement of light slow down. Furthermore, by cascading several slow light stages, >360 degree...... microwave phase shifts over a bandwidth of several tens of gigahertz are achieved. These also satisfy the basic requirements of microwave photonic systems. As an application demonstration, a tunable microwave notch filter is realized, where slow light based phase shifters provide 100% fractional tuning over...

  20. Multilayered phantoms with tunable optical properties for a better understanding of light/tissue interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roig, Blandine; Koenig, Anne; Perraut, François; Piot, Olivier; Vignoud, Séverine; Lavaud, Jonathan; Manfait, Michel; Dinten, Jean-Marc

    2015-03-01

    Light/tissue interactions, like diffuse reflectance, endogenous fluorescence and Raman scattering, are a powerful means for providing skin diagnosis. Instrument calibration is an important step. We thus developed multilayered phantoms for calibration of optical systems. These phantoms mimic the optical properties of biological tissues such as skin. Our final objective is to better understand light/tissue interactions especially in the case of confocal Raman spectroscopy. The phantom preparation procedure is described, including the employed method to obtain a stratified object. PDMS was chosen as the bulk material. TiO2 was used as light scattering agent. Dye and ink were adopted to mimic, respectively, oxy-hemoglobin and melanin absorption spectra. By varying the amount of the incorporated components, we created a material with tunable optical properties. Monolayer and multilayered phantoms were designed to allow several characterization methods. Among them, we can name: X-ray tomography for structural information; Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) with a homemade fibered bundle system for optical characterization; and Raman depth profiling with a commercial confocal Raman microscope for structural information and for our final objective. For each technique, the obtained results are presented and correlated when possible. A few words are said on our final objective. Raman depth profiles of the multilayered phantoms are distorted by elastic scattering. The signal attenuation through each single layer is directly dependent on its own scattering property. Therefore, determining the optical properties, obtained here with DRS, is crucial to properly correct Raman depth profiles. Thus, it would be permitted to consider quantitative studies on skin for drug permeation follow-up or hydration assessment, for instance.

  1. Thermal, optical, and electrical engineering of an innovative tunable white LED light engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trivellin, Nicola; Meneghini, Matteo; Ferretti, Marco; Barbisan, Diego; Dal Lago, Matteo; Meneghesso, Gaudenzio; Zanoni, Enrico

    2014-02-01

    Color temperature, intensity and blue spectrum of the light affects the ganglion receptors in human brain stimulating the human nervous system. With this work we review different methods for obtaining tunable light emission spectra and propose an innovative white LED lighting system. By an in depth study of the thermal, electrical and optical characteristics of GaN and GaP based compound semiconductors for optoelectronics a specific tunable spectra has been designed. The proposed tunable white LED system is able to achieve high CRI (above 95) in a large CCT range (3000 - 5000K).

  2. Mode division multiplexing technology for single-fiber optical trapping axial-position adjustment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhihai; Wang, Lei; Liang, Peibo; Zhang, Yu; Yang, Jun; Yuan, Libo

    2013-07-15

    We demonstrate trapped yeast cell axial-position adjustment without moving the optical fiber in a single-fiber optical trapping system. The dynamic axial-position adjustment is realized by controlling the power ratio of the fundamental mode beam (LP01) and the low-order mode beam (LP11) generated in a normal single-core fiber. In order to separate the trapping positions produced by the two mode beams, we fabricate a special fiber tapered tip with a selective two-step method. A yeast cell of 6 μm diameter is moved along the optical axis direction for a distance of ~3 μm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the trapping position adjustment without moving the fiber for single-fiber optical tweezers. The excitation and utilization of multimode beams in a single fiber constitutes a new development for single-fiber optical trapping and makes possible more practical applications in biomedical research fields.

  3. Optics for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Duree, Galen C

    2011-01-01

    The easy way to shed light on Optics In general terms, optics is the science of light. More specifically, optics is a branch of physics that describes the behavior and properties of light?including visible, infrared, and ultraviolet?and the interaction of light with matter. Optics For Dummies gives you an approachable introduction to optical science, methods, and applications. You'll get plain-English explanations of the nature of light and optical effects; reflection, refraction, and diffraction; color dispersion; optical devices, industrial, medical, and military applicatio

  4. Electro-optical properties of a polymer light-emitting diode with an injection-limited hole contact

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Woudenbergh, T; Blom, PWM; Huiberts, JN

    2003-01-01

    The electro-optical characteristics of a polymer light-emitting diode with a strongly reduced hole injection have been investigated. A silver contact on poly-dialkoxy-p-phenylene vinylene decreases the hole injection by five orders of magnitude, resulting in both a highly reduced light output and

  5. Polymer optical fiber with Rhodamine doped cladding for fiber light systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Narro-García, R., E-mail: roberto.narro@gmail.com [Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico); Quintero-Torres, R. [Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico); Domínguez-Juárez, J.L. [Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico); Cátedras CONACyT, Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico); Ocampo, M.A. [Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Querétaro 76230 (Mexico)

    2016-01-15

    Both preform and polymer optical fiber with a Poly(methyl methacrylate) core and THV–Rhodamine 6G cladding were characterized. UV–vis absorbance, photoluminescence spectra and lifetime of the preform were measured. Axial and lateral photoluminescence spectra of the polymer optical fiber were studied under 404 nm excitation in order to study the illumination performance of the fiber. It was observed that the peak wavelength from the fiber photoluminescence spectra is higher than the peak wavelength from the fiber preform and that the peak wavelength from the fiber photoluminescence spectra is red shifted with the fiber length in the case of axial emission. The obtained results suggest the influence of self-absorption on the photoluminescence shape. Strong lateral emission along the fiber was observed with the naked eyes in all the cases. The lateral photoluminescence spectra show that the lateral emission is a combination between the pump laser and the Rh6G molecule photoluminescence. The results suggest that this polymer optical fiber could be a potential candidate for the development of fiber lighting systems. - Highlights: • Axial and lateral emission along the fiber was studied. • Self-absorption effect was confirmed in the case of axial photoluminescence. • The lateral emission is a combination between the laser and the RhG6 emission. • This fiber could be a potential candidate for the development of lighting systems.

  6. Optically nonlinear energy transfer in light-harvesting dendrimers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, David L.; Bradshaw, David S.

    2004-08-01

    Dendrimeric polymers are the subject of intense research activity geared towards their implementation in nanodevice applications such as energy harvesting systems, organic light-emitting diodes, photosensitizers, low-threshold lasers, and quantum logic elements, etc. A recent development in this area has been the construction of dendrimers specifically designed to exhibit novel forms of optical nonlinearity, exploiting the unique properties of these materials at high levels of photon flux. Starting from a thorough treatment of the underlying theory based on the principles of molecular quantum electrodynamics, it is possible to identify and characterize several optically nonlinear mechanisms for directed energy transfer and energy pooling in multichromophore dendrimers. Such mechanisms fall into two classes: first, those where two-photon absorption by individual donors is followed by transfer of the net energy to an acceptor; second, those where the excitation of two electronically distinct but neighboring donor groups is followed by a collective migration of their energy to a suitable acceptor. Each transfer process is subject to minor dissipative losses. In this paper we describe in detail the balance of factors and the constraints that determines the favored mechanism, which include the excitation statistics, structure of the energy levels, laser coherence factors, chromophore selection rules and architecture, possibilities for the formation of delocalized excitons, spectral overlap, and the overall distribution of donors and acceptors. Furthermore, it transpires that quantum interference between different mechanisms can play an important role. Thus, as the relative importance of each mechanism determines the relevant nanophotonic characteristics, the results reported here afford the means for optimizing highly efficient light-harvesting dendrimer devices.

  7. Production cavity and central optics for a light shining through a wall experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hodajerdi, Reza

    2015-02-01

    The unexplained nature of dark matter and dark energy is a prominent reason for investigating physics beyond the standard model of particle physics (SM). Some extensions of the SM propose weakly interacting slim particles (WISPs). In an attempt to prove the existence of these particles, Light shining through the wall (LSW) experiments explore a very weak coupling between WISPs and photons (and viceversa). LSW experiments employ high-power lasers that provide a well defined flux of photons for the WISP-Photon conversion. The ALPS-I experiment at DESY in Hamburg was the first successful experiment with a high finesse optical resonator to enhance the laser power in a strong magnetic field in order to increase the photon to WISP conversion probability. The ALPS-II experimental concept adds a second optical cavity to also increase the reconversion probability. Both cavities are separated by a wall, amplify light at 1064 nm and share a common optical axis. Operating these two cavities inside 20 straightened HERA superconducting dipole magnets and using a transition edge sensor (TES) as a single photon detector will make the ALPS-II experiment almost three orders of magnitude more sensitive than its predecessor. Since photons, originating from reconverted WISPs in the regeneration cavity (RC) have 1064 nm wavelengths, the RC has to be locked to the production cavity (PC) with light of a different wavelength. Therefore frequency doubled PCs light will be used to lock the RC. This 532 nm light shall not arrive at the TES to prevent background noise. To achieve this, an optical attenuation system for wavelengths different from 1064 nm is required. In my thesis, the required attenuation was estimated and an optical setup was proposed and constructed and tested. It attenuates green photons by a factor of of 10 -18 and transmits 85% of the infrared photons. Furthermore the high finesse production cavity of ALPS-IIa was set up and characterized during this thesis. The PC reached

  8. The Atomic, Molecular and Optical Science instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferguson, Ken R. [Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, 348 Via Pueblo, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Bucher, Maximilian; Bozek, John D.; Carron, Sebastian; Castagna, Jean-Charles [Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Coffee, Ryan [Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Pulse Institute, Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Curiel, G. Ivan; Holmes, Michael; Krzywinski, Jacek; Messerschmidt, Marc; Minitti, Michael; Mitra, Ankush; Moeller, Stefan; Noonan, Peter; Osipov, Timur; Schorb, Sebastian; Swiggers, Michele; Wallace, Alexander; Yin, Jing [Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Bostedt, Christoph, E-mail: bostedt@slac.stanford.edu [Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Pulse Institute, Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States)

    2015-04-17

    A description of the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Sciences (AMO) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source is presented. Recent scientific highlights illustrate the imaging, time-resolved spectroscopy and high-power density capabilities of the AMO instrument. The Atomic, Molecular and Optical Science (AMO) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) provides a tight soft X-ray focus into one of three experimental endstations. The flexible instrument design is optimized for studying a wide variety of phenomena requiring peak intensity. There is a suite of spectrometers and two photon area detectors available. An optional mirror-based split-and-delay unit can be used for X-ray pump–probe experiments. Recent scientific highlights illustrate the imaging, time-resolved spectroscopy and high-power density capabilities of the AMO instrument.

  9. A reprocessing model for the ultraviolet and optical light from 4U 1820-30

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arons, Jonathan; King, Ivan R.

    1993-01-01

    We show that the recently discovered optical and ultraviolet light from the X-ray burst source 4U 1820-30 in the globular cluster NGC 6624 is due to reprocessing of the X-rays in the outer regions of an optically thick, geometrically thin accretion disk. We suggest that observation of orbital modulation of the reprocessed light, due to the variable contribution made as the heated face of the companion turns toward and away from the observer, would provide constraints on the inclination of the binary orbit, and we suggest that detection in the reprocessed flux of the 'red noise' already observed in the X-rays would provide useful constraints on the geometry and physics of the accretion disk.

  10. A comparative study of noise in supercontinuum light sources for ultra-high resolution optical coherence tomography

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maria J., Sanjuan-Ferrer,; Bravo Gonzalo, Ivan; Bondu, Magalie

    2017-01-01

    Supercontinuum (SC) light is a well-established technology, which finds applications in several domains ranging from chemistry to material science and imaging systems [1-2]. More specifically, its ultra-wide optical bandwidth and high average power make it an ideal tool for Optical Coherence...... Tomography (OCT). Over the last 5 years, numerous examples have demonstrated its high potential [3-4] in this context. However, SC light sources present pulse-to-pulse intensity variation that can limit the performance of any OCT system [5] by degrading their signal to noise ratio (SNR). To this goal, we...... have studied and compared the noise of several SC light sources and evaluated how their noise properties affect the performance of Ultra-High Resolution OCT (UHR-OCT) at 1300 nm. We have measured several SC light sources with different parameters (pulse length, energy, seed repetition rate, etc.). We...

  11. Understanding vision: students’ use of light and optics resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, Dyan L; Zollman, Dean

    2014-01-01

    We present a qualitative study designed to examine how students construct an understanding of the human eye and vision from their knowledge of light and optics. As would be expected, vast differences are shown to exist between pre- and post-instruction students in terms of not only resource use, but also willingness to transfer their existing knowledge. However, we have found that appropriate scaffolding can facilitate resource activation and guide students to construct an understanding of vision and vision defects. (paper)

  12. Chemical/Light-Powered Hybrid Micromotors with "On-the-Fly" Optical Brakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chuanrui; Tang, Songsong; Teymourian, Hazhir; Karshalev, Emil; Zhang, Fangyu; Li, Jinxing; Mou, Fangzhi; Liang, Yuyan; Guan, Jianguo; Wang, Joseph

    2018-07-02

    Hybrid micromotors capable of both chemically powered propulsion and fuel-free light-driven actuation and offering built-in optical brakes for chemical propulsion are described. The new hybrid micromotors are designed by combining photocatalytic TiO 2 and catalytic Pt surfaces into a Janus microparticle. The chemical reactions on the different surfaces of the Janus particle hybrid micromotor can be tailored by using chemical or light stimuli that generate counteracting propulsion forces on the catalytic Pt and photocatalytic TiO 2 sides. Such modulation of the surface chemistry on a single micromotor leads to switchable propulsion modes and reversal of the direction of motion that reflect the tuning of the local ion concentration and hence the dominant propulsion force. An intermediate Au layer (under the Pt surface) plays an important role in determining the propulsion mechanism and operation of the hybrid motor. The built-in optical braking system allows "on-the-fly" control of the chemical propulsion through a photocatalytic reaction on the TiO 2 side to counterbalance the chemical propulsion force generated on the Pt side. The adaptive dual operation of these chemical/light hybrid micromotors, associated with such control of the surface chemistry, holds considerable promise for designing smart nanomachines that autonomously reconfigure their propulsion mode for various on-demand operations. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Hermitian symmetry free optical-single-carrier frequency division multiple access for visible light communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azim, Ali W.; Le Guennec, Yannis; Maury, Ghislaine

    2018-05-01

    Optical-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (O-OFDM) is an effective scheme for visible light communications (VLC), offering a candid extension to multiple access (MA) scenarios, i.e., O-OFDMA. However, O-OFDMA exhibits high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), which exacerbates the non-linear distortions from the light emitting diode (LED). To overcome high PAPR while sustaining MA, optical-single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (O-SCFDMA) is used. For both O-OFDMA and O-SCFDMA, Hermitian symmetry (HS) constraint is imposed in frequency-domain (FD) to obtain a real-valued time-domain (TD) signal for intensity modulation-direct detection (IM-DD) implementation of VLC. Howbeit, HS results in an increase of PAPR for O-SCFDMA. In this regard, we propose HS free (HSF) O-SCFDMA (HSFO-SCFDMA). We compare HSFO-SCFDMA with several approaches in key parameters, such as, bit error rate (BER), optical power penalty, PAPR, quantization, electrical power efficiency and system complexity. BER performance and optical power penalty is evaluated considering multipath VLC channel and taking into account the bandwidth limitation of LED in combination with its optimized driver. It is illustrated that HSFO-SCFDMA outperforms other alternatives.

  14. Flat Optical Fiber Daylighting System with Lateral Displacement Sun-Tracking Mechanism for Indoor Lighting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ngoc Hai Vu

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available An essential impact which can improve the indoor environment and save on power consumption for artificial lighting is utilization of daylight. Optical fiber daylighting technology offers a way to use direct daylight for remote spaces in a building. However, the existing paradigm based on the precise orientation of sunlight concentrator toward the Sun is very costly and difficult to install on the roof of buildings. Here, we explore an alternative approach using mirror-coated lens array and planar waveguide to develop a flat optical fiber daylighting system (optical fiber daylighting panel with lateral displacement Sun-tracking mechanism. Sunlight collected and reflected by each mirror-coated lens in a rectangular lens array is coupled into a planar waveguide using cone prisms placed at each lens focus. This geometry yields a thin, flat profile for Sunlight concentrator. Our proposed concentrating panel can be achieved with 35 mm thickness while the concentrator’s width and length are 500 mm × 500 mm. The commercial optical simulation tool (LightToolsTM was used to develop the simulation models and analyze the system performance. Simulation results based on the designed system demonstrated an optical efficiency of 51.4% at a concentration ratio of 125. The system can support utilizing a lateral displacement Sun-tracking system, which allows for replacing bulky and robust conventional rotational Sun-tracking systems. This study shows a feasibility of a compact and inexpensive optical fiber daylighting system to be installed on the roof of buildings.

  15. Application of polarization information to a light-controlling-light technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, J C; Wang, H C

    2017-09-15

    Nonlinear effects of photo-induced waveguides based on isomerization photochemistry are investigated. It is found that polarization information of the controlling light can be used to control the propagation of the signal light in all-optical waveguides, and an accurate and convenient light-controlling-light scheme is proposed, that is, controlling propagation of the signal light by synergic use of the intensity information and polarization information of the controlling light. The polarization dependence of optical nonlinearity is expected to enrich the connotation of the optical nonlinear effects and has theoretical significance and practical value.

  16. Light backscatter fiber optic sensor: a new tool for predicting the stability of pork emulsions containing antioxidative potato protein hydrolysate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieto, Gema; Xiong, Youling L; Payne, Fred; Castillo, Manuel

    2015-02-01

    The objective of this study was to determine whether light backscatter response from fresh pork meat emulsions is correlated to final product stability indices. A specially designed fiber optic measurement system was used in combination with a miniature fiber optic spectrometer to determine the intensity of light backscatter within the wavelength range 300-1100 nm (UV/VIS/NIR) at different radial distances (2, 2.5 and 3mm) with respect to the light source in pork meat emulsions with two fat levels (15%, 30%) and two levels (0, 2.5%) of the natural antioxidant hydrolyzed potato protein (HPP). Textural parameters (hardness, deformability, cohesiveness and breaking force), cooking loss, TBARS (1, 2, 3, and 7 days of storage at 4 °C) and CIELAB color coordinates of cooked emulsions were measured. The light backscatter was directly correlated with cooking losses, color, breaking force and TBARS. The optical configuration proposed would compensate for the emulsion heterogeneity, maximizing the existing correlation between the optical signal and the emulsion quality metrics.

  17. From sight to light the passage from ancient to modern optics

    CERN Document Server

    Smith, A Mark

    2014-01-01

    From its inception in Greek antiquity, the science of optics was aimed primarily at explaining sight and accounting for why things look as they do. By the end of the seventeenth century, however, the analytic focus of optics had shifted to light: its fundamental properties and such physical behaviors as reflection, refraction, and diffraction. This dramatic shift-which A. Mark Smith characterizes as the "Keplerian turn"-lies at the heart of this fascinating and pioneering study.                    Breaking from previous scholarship that sees Johannes Kepler as the culmination of a long-evolvin

  18. Mass estimates from optical-light curves for binary X-ray sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avni, Y.

    1978-01-01

    The small amplitude variations with orbital phase of the optical light from X-ray binaries are caused by the changing geometrical aspect of the primary as seen by a fixed observer. The shape and the amplitude of the light curve depends on the stellar masses and on the orbital elements. The light curve can, therefore, be used to determine, or set limits on, the parameters of the binary system. A self-consistent procedure for the calculation of the light curve can be formulated if the primary is formulated if the primary is uniformly rotating at an angular velocity equal to the angular velocity of its orbital revolution in a circular orbit, and if the primary is in a hydrostatic and radiative equilibrium in the co-rotating frame. When the primary is further approximated to be centrally condensed, the above set of assumptions is called the standard picture. The standard picture is described, its validity discussed and its application to various systems reviewed. (C.F.)

  19. Sensitivity of a fibre scattered-light interferometer to external phase perturbations in an optical fibre

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alekseev, A E; Potapov, V T [V.A.Kotel' nikov Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Fryazino Branch, Fryazino, Moscow region (Russian Federation); Gorshkov, B G [OOO ' Petrofaiber' , Russia, Tula region, Novomoskovsk (Russian Federation)

    2015-10-31

    Sensitivity of a fibre scattered-light interferometer to external phase perturbations is studied for the first time. An expression is derived for an average power of a useful signal at the interferometer output under external harmonic perturbations in a signal fibre of the interferometer. It is shown that the maximum sensitivity of the scattered-light interferometer depends on the dispersion of the interferogram intensity. An average signal-to-noise ratio is determined theoretically and experimentally at the output of the interferometer at different amplitudes of external perturbations. Using the measured dependences of the signal-to-noise ratio, the threshold sensitivity of the fibre scattered-light interferometer to external phase perturbations is found. The results obtained can be used to optimise characteristics of optical time-domain reflectometers and to design individual phase-sensitive fibre-optic sensors. (laser applications and other topics in quantum electronics)

  20. Deflection of slow light by magneto-optically controlled atomic media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, D. L.; Wang, R. Q.; Zhou, Lan; Yi, S.; Sun, C. P.

    2007-01-01

    We present a semiclassical theory for light deflection by a coherent Λ-type three-level atomic medium in an inhomogeneous magnetic field or an inhomogeneous control laser. When the atomic energy levels (or the Rabi coupling by the control laser) are position-dependent due to the Zeeman effect caused by the inhomogeneous magnetic field (or due to inhomogeneity of the control field profile), the spatial dependence of the refraction index of the atomic medium will result in an observable deflection of slow signal light when the electromagnetically induced transparency cancels medium absorption. Our theoretical approach based on Fermat's principle in geometrical optics not only provides a consistent explanation for the most recent experiment in a straightforward way, but also predicts the two-photon detuning dependent behaviors and larger deflection angles by three orders of magnitude for the slow signal light deflection by the atomic media in an inhomogeneous off-resonant control laser field

  1. Microstructure, optical characterization and light induced degradation in a-Si:H deposited at different temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minani, E.; Sigcau, Z.; Adgebite, O.; Ramukosi, F.L.; Ntsoane, T.P.; Harindintwari, S.; Knoesen, D.; Comrie, C.M.; Britton, D.T.; Haerting, M.

    2006-01-01

    The microstructure and optical properties of a series of hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers deposited on glass substrates at different temperature have been characterized by means of X-ray diffraction techniques and optical spectroscopy. The radial distribution function of the as-deposited samples showed an increase in the bond angle and a decrease in the radial distance indicating a relaxation of the amorphous network with increasing the deposition temperature. Light induced degradation was studied using a simulated daylight spectrum. The changes in hydrogen bonding configuration, associated with the light soaking at different stages of illumination, was monitored via the transmission bands of the vibrational wag and stretch modes of the IR spectrum

  2. Raman tweezers spectroscopy of live, single red and white blood cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aseefhali Bankapur

    Full Text Available An optical trap has been combined with a Raman spectrometer to make high-resolution measurements of Raman spectra of optically-immobilized, single, live red (RBC and white blood cells (WBC under physiological conditions. Tightly-focused, near infrared wavelength light (1064 nm is utilized for trapping of single cells and 785 nm light is used for Raman excitation at low levels of incident power (few mW. Raman spectra of RBC recorded using this high-sensitivity, dual-wavelength apparatus has enabled identification of several additional lines; the hitherto-unreported lines originate purely from hemoglobin molecules. Raman spectra of single granulocytes and lymphocytes are interpreted on the basis of standard protein and nucleic acid vibrational spectroscopy data. The richness of the measured spectrum illustrates that Raman studies of live cells in suspension are more informative than conventional micro-Raman studies where the cells are chemically bound to a glass cover slip.

  3. Optical assembly of bio-hybrid micro-robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barroso, Álvaro; Landwerth, Shirin; Woerdemann, Mike; Alpmann, Christina; Buscher, Tim; Becker, Maike; Studer, Armido; Denz, Cornelia

    2015-04-01

    The combination of micro synthetic structures with bacterial flagella motors represents an actual trend for the construction of self-propelled micro-robots. The development of methods for fabrication of these bacteria-based robots is a first crucial step towards the realization of functional miniature and autonomous moving robots. We present a novel scheme based on optical trapping to fabricate living micro-robots. By using holographic optical tweezers that allow three-dimensional manipulation in real time, we are able to arrange the building blocks that constitute the micro-robot in a defined way. We demonstrate exemplarily that our method enables the controlled assembly of living micro-robots consisting of a rod-shaped prokaryotic bacterium and a single elongated zeolite L crystal, which are used as model of the biological and abiotic components, respectively. We present different proof-of-principle approaches for the site-selective attachment of the bacteria on the particle surface. The propulsion of the optically assembled micro-robot demonstrates the potential of the proposed method as a powerful strategy for the fabrication of bio-hybrid micro-robots.

  4. Optical Dependence of Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance in Lightly Doped Si:P Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Lihuang; van Schooten, Kipp J.; Guy, Mallory L.; Ramanathan, Chandrasekhar

    2017-06-01

    Using frequency-modulated electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR), we show that signals measured from lightly doped (1.2 - 5 ×1 015 cm-3 ) silicon devices vary significantly with the wavelength of the optical excitation used to generate the mobile carriers. We measure EDMR spectra at 4.2 K as a function of modulation frequency and applied microwave power using a 980-nm laser, a 405-nm laser, and a broadband white-light source. EDMR signals are observed from the phosphorus donor and two distinct defect species in all of the experiments. With near-infrared irradiation, we find that the EDMR signal primarily arises from donor-defect pairs, while, at higher photon energies, there are significant additional contributions from defect-defect pairs. The contribution of spins from different spatial regions to the EDMR signal is seen to vary as the optical penetration depth changes from about 120 nm at 405-nm illumination to 100 μ m at 980-nm illumination. The modulation frequency dependence of the EDMR signal shows that the energy of the optical excitation strongly modulates the kinetics of the underlying spin-dependent recombination (SDR) process. Careful tuning of the optical photon energy could therefore be used to control both the subset of spin pairs contributing to the EDMR signal and the dynamics of the SDR process.

  5. Ray-optics analysis of inhomogeneous optically anisotropic media

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sluijter, M.

    2010-01-01

    When the optical behavior of light in a medium depends on the direction in which light is traveling, the medium is called optically anisotropic. Light is an electromagnetic wave and in this thesis, we discuss the electromagnetic theory on optical anisotropy. We do this with the assumption that the

  6. Coherent Pound-Drever-Hall technique for high resolution fiber optic strain sensor at very low light power

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Mengxin; Liu, Qingwen; Chen, Jiageng; He, Zuyuan

    2017-04-01

    Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique has been widely adopted for ultrahigh resolution fiber-optic sensors, but its performance degenerates seriously as the light power drops. To solve this problem, we developed a coherent PDH technique for weak optical signal detection, with which the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of demodulated PDH signal is dramatically improved. In the demonstrational experiments, a high resolution fiber-optic sensor using the proposed technique is realized, and n"-order strain resolution at a low light power down to -43 dBm is achieved, which is about 15 dB lower compared with classical PDH technique. The proposed coherent PDH technique has great potentials in longer distance and larger scale sensor networks.

  7. Orthogonal trapping and sensing with long working distance optics [invited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glückstad, Jesper; Palima, Darwin; Tauro, Sandeep

    2010-01-01

    We are developing a next generation BioPhotonics Workstation to be applied in research on regulated microbial cell growth including their underlying physiological mechanisms, in vivo characterization of cell constituents and manufacturing of nanostructures and meta-materials. The workstation......Photonics Workstation that allows the user to directly control and simultaneously measure a portfolio of important chemical and biological processes. We arc currently able to generate up to 100 powerful optical traps using well-separated objectives, which eliminates the need for high numerical aperture oil or water...... immersion objectives required in conventional optical tweezers. This generates a large field of view and leaves vital space for integrating other enabling tools for probing the trapped particles, such as linear and nonlinear microscopy or micro-spectroscopy. Together with chcmists at another Danish...

  8. Direct observation of processive exoribonuclease motion using optical tweezers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazal, Furqan M; Koslover, Daniel J; Luisi, Ben F; Block, Steven M

    2015-12-08

    Bacterial RNases catalyze the turnover of RNA and are essential for gene expression and quality surveillance of transcripts. In Escherichia coli, the exoribonucleases RNase R and polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) play critical roles in degrading RNA. Here, we developed an optical-trapping assay to monitor the translocation of individual enzymes along RNA-based substrates. Single-molecule records of motion reveal RNase R to be highly processive: one molecule can unwind over 500 bp of a structured substrate. However, enzyme progress is interrupted by pausing and stalling events that can slow degradation in a sequence-dependent fashion. We found that the distance traveled by PNPase through structured RNA is dependent on the A+U content of the substrate and that removal of its KH and S1 RNA-binding domains can reduce enzyme processivity without affecting the velocity. By a periodogram analysis of single-molecule records, we establish that PNPase takes discrete steps of six or seven nucleotides. These findings, in combination with previous structural and biochemical data, support an asymmetric inchworm mechanism for PNPase motion. The assay developed here for RNase R and PNPase is well suited to studies of other exonucleases and helicases.

  9. Study the effects of varying interference upon the optical properties of turbid samples using NIR spatial light modulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaul, Oren; Fanrazi-Kahana, Michal; Meitav, Omri; Pinhasi, Gad A.; Abookasis, David

    2018-03-01

    Optical properties of biological tissues are valuable diagnostic parameters which can provide necessary information regarding tissue state during disease pathogenesis and therapy. However, different sources of interference, such as temperature changes may modify these properties, introducing confounding factors and artifacts to data, consequently skewing their interpretation and misinforming clinical decision-making. In the current study, we apply spatial light modulation, a type of diffuse reflectance hyperspectral imaging technique, to monitor the variation in optical properties of highly scattering turbid media in the presence varying levels of the following sources of interference: scattering concentration, temperature, and pressure. Spatial near-infrared (NIR) light modulation is a wide-field, non-contact emerging optical imaging platform capable of separating the effects of tissue scattering from those of absorption, thereby accurately estimating both parameters. With this technique, periodic NIR illumination patterns at alternately low and high spatial frequencies, at six discrete wavelengths between 690 to 970 nm, were sequentially projected upon the medium while a CCD camera collects the diffusely reflected light. Data analysis based assumptions is then performed off-line to recover the medium's optical properties. We conducted a series of experiments demonstrating the changes in absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of commercially available fresh milk and chicken breast tissue under different interference conditions. In addition, information on the refractive index was study under increased pressure. This work demonstrates the utility of NIR spatial light modulation to detect varying sources of interference upon the optical properties of biological samples.

  10. Light and optics conceptual evaluation findings from first year optometry students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thapa, Damber; Lakshminarayanan, Vasudevan

    2014-07-01

    The Light and Optics Conceptual Evaluation (LOCE) was developed to examine conceptual understanding of basic geometric and physical optics for the Active Learning in Optics and Photonics program administered by UNESCO. This 50 item test (46 multiple choice, 4 ray-tracing short answer) was administered to entering students in the Optometry professional degree (OD) program. We wanted to determine how much of the physics/optics concepts from undergraduate physics courses (a pre-requisite for entry to the OD program) were retained. In addition, the test was administered after the first year students had taken a required course in geometric and visual optics as part of their first semester courses. The LOCE was completed by two consecutive classes to the program in 2010 (n=89) and 2011 (n=84). The tests were administered the first week of the term and the test was given without any prior notice. In addition, the test was administered to the class of 2010 students after they had completed the course in geometric and visual optics. The means of the test were 22.1 (SD=4.5; range: 12-35) and 21.3(SD=5.1; range: 11-35) for the two entering classes. There was no statistical significance between the two classes (t-test, poptometry (and other allied health programs such as opticianry or ophthalmology).

  11. MEMS optical sensor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2013-01-01

    The present invention relates to an all-optical sensor utilizing effective index modulation of a waveguide and detection of a wavelength shift of reflected light and a force sensing system accommodating said optical sensor. One embodiment of the invention relates to a sensor system comprising...... at least one multimode light source, one or more optical sensors comprising a multimode sensor optical waveguide accommodating a distributed Bragg reflector, at least one transmitting optical waveguide for guiding light from said at least one light source to said one or more multimode sensor optical...... waveguides, a detector for measuring light reflected from said Bragg reflector in said one or more multimode sensor optical waveguides, and a data processor adapted for analyzing variations in the Bragg wavelength of at least one higher order mode of the reflected light....

  12. Subwavelength optical lithography via classical light: A possible implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Jieyu; Liao, Zeyang; Hemmer, P. R.; Zubairy, M. Suhail

    2018-04-01

    The resolution of an interferometric optical lithography system is about the half wavelength of the illumination light. We proposed a method based on Doppleron resonance to achieve a resolution beyond half wavelength [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 163603 (2006), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.163603]. Here, we analyze a possible experimental demonstration of this method in the negatively charged silicon-vacancy (SiV-) system by considering realistic experimental parameters. Our results show that quarter wavelength resolution and beyond can be achieved in this system even in room temperature without using perturbation theory.

  13. Optical trapping and tweezing using a spatial light modulator

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ismail, Y

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available using a spatial light modulator Y.Ismail1,2, M. G. Mclaren1,3, A. Forbes1,2,4 1 CSIR National Laser Centre 2 School of Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal 3 School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand 4 School of Physics, University... of Stellenbosch Presented at the 2009 South African Institute of Physics Annual Conference University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban, South Africa 6-10 July 2009 Optical tweezing is based on the manipulation of micron sized particles in 3 dimensions 100X...

  14. Type Ia Supernova Light Curve Inference: Hierarchical Models for Nearby SN Ia in the Optical and Near Infrared

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandel, Kaisey; Kirshner, R. P.; Narayan, G.; Wood-Vasey, W. M.; Friedman, A. S.; Hicken, M.

    2010-01-01

    I have constructed a comprehensive statistical model for Type Ia supernova light curves spanning optical through near infrared data simultaneously. The near infrared light curves are found to be excellent standard candles (sigma(MH) = 0.11 +/- 0.03 mag) that are less vulnerable to systematic error from dust extinction, a major confounding factor for cosmological studies. A hierarchical statistical framework incorporates coherently multiple sources of randomness and uncertainty, including photometric error, intrinsic supernova light curve variations and correlations, dust extinction and reddening, peculiar velocity dispersion and distances, for probabilistic inference with Type Ia SN light curves. Inferences are drawn from the full probability density over individual supernovae and the SN Ia and dust populations, conditioned on a dataset of SN Ia light curves and redshifts. To compute probabilistic inferences with hierarchical models, I have developed BayeSN, a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm based on Gibbs sampling. This code explores and samples the global probability density of parameters describing individual supernovae and the population. I have applied this hierarchical model to optical and near infrared data of over 100 nearby Type Ia SN from PAIRITEL, the CfA3 sample, and the literature. Using this statistical model, I find that SN with optical and NIR data have a smaller residual scatter in the Hubble diagram than SN with only optical data. The continued study of Type Ia SN in the near infrared will be important for improving their utility as precise and accurate cosmological distance indicators.

  15. Generalized laws of refraction that can lead to wave-optically forbidden light-ray fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courtial, Johannes; Tyc, Tomáš

    2012-07-01

    The recent demonstration of a metamaterial phase hologram so thin that it can be classified as an interface in the effective-medium approximation [Science 334, 333 (2011)] has dramatically increased interest in generalized laws of refraction. Based on the fact that scalar wave optics allows only certain light-ray fields, we divide generalized laws of refraction into two categories. When applied to a planar cross section through any allowed light-ray field, the laws in the first category always result in a cross section through an allowed light-ray field again, whereas the laws in the second category can result in a cross section through a forbidden light-ray field.

  16. TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA LIGHT CURVE INFERENCE: HIERARCHICAL MODELS IN THE OPTICAL AND NEAR-INFRARED

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mandel, Kaisey S.; Narayan, Gautham; Kirshner, Robert P.

    2011-01-01

    We have constructed a comprehensive statistical model for Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) light curves spanning optical through near-infrared (NIR) data. A hierarchical framework coherently models multiple random and uncertain effects, including intrinsic supernova (SN) light curve covariances, dust extinction and reddening, and distances. An improved BAYESN Markov Chain Monte Carlo code computes probabilistic inferences for the hierarchical model by sampling the global probability density of parameters describing individual SNe and the population. We have applied this hierarchical model to optical and NIR data of 127 SNe Ia from PAIRITEL, CfA3, Carnegie Supernova Project, and the literature. We find an apparent population correlation between the host galaxy extinction A V and the ratio of total-to-selective dust absorption R V . For SNe with low dust extinction, A V ∼ V ∼ 2.5-2.9, while at high extinctions, A V ∼> 1, low values of R V < 2 are favored. The NIR luminosities are excellent standard candles and are less sensitive to dust extinction. They exhibit low correlation with optical peak luminosities, and thus provide independent information on distances. The combination of NIR and optical data constrains the dust extinction and improves the predictive precision of individual SN Ia distances by about 60%. Using cross-validation, we estimate an rms distance modulus prediction error of 0.11 mag for SNe with optical and NIR data versus 0.15 mag for SNe with optical data alone. Continued study of SNe Ia in the NIR is important for improving their utility as precise and accurate cosmological distance indicators.

  17. Omnidirectional narrow optical filters for circularly polarized light in a nanocomposite structurally chiral medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avendaño, Carlos G; Palomares, Laura O

    2018-04-20

    We consider the propagation of electromagnetic waves throughout a nanocomposite structurally chiral medium consisting of metallic nanoballs randomly dispersed in a structurally chiral material whose dielectric properties can be represented by a resonant effective uniaxial tensor. It is found that an omnidirectional narrow pass band and two omnidirectional narrow band gaps are created in the blue optical spectrum for right and left circularly polarized light, as well as narrow reflection bands for right circularly polarized light that can be controlled by varying the light incidence angle and the filling fraction of metallic inclusions.

  18. Orbital angular momentum of a high-order Bessel light beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volke-Sepulveda, K; Garces-Chavez, V; Chavez-Cerda, S; Arlt, J; Dholakia, K

    2002-01-01

    The orbital angular momentum density of Bessel beams is calculated explicitly within a rigorous vectorial treatment. This allows us to investigate some aspects that have not been analysed previously, such as the angular momentum content of azimuthally and radially polarized beams. Furthermore, we demonstrate experimentally the mechanical transfer of orbital angular momentum to trapped particles in optical tweezers using a high-order Bessel beam. We set transparent particles of known dimensions into rotation, where the sense of rotation can be reversed by changing the sign of the singularity. Quantitative results are obtained for rotation rates. This paper's animations are available from the Multimedia Enhancements page

  19. Improving the optical performance of InGaN light-emitting diodes by altering light reflection and refraction with triangular air prism arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Ji Hye; Kim, Hyung Gu; Chandramohan, S; Kim, Hyun Kyu; Kim, Hee Yun; Ryu, Jae Hyoung; Park, Young Jae; Beak, Yun Seon; Lee, Jeong-Sik; Park, Joong Seo; Lysak, Volodymyr V; Hong, Chang-Hee

    2012-01-01

    The effect of triangular air prism (TAP) arrays with different distance-to-width (d/w) ratios on the enhancement of light extraction efficiency (LEE) of InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is investigated. The TAP arrays embedded at the sapphire/GaN interface act as light reflectors and refractors, and thereby improve the light output power due to the redirection of light into escape cones on both the front and back sides of the LED. Enhancement in radiometric power as high as 117% and far-field angle as low as 129° are realized with a compact arrangement of TAP arrays compared with that of a conventional LED made without TAP arrays under an injection current of 20 mA. © 2012 Optical Society of America

  20. Light comfort zones of mesopelagic acoustic scattering layers in two contrasting optical environments

    KAUST Repository

    Rø stad, Anders; Kaartvedt, Stein; Aksnes, Dag L.

    2016-01-01

    We make a comparison of the mesopelagic sound scattering layers (SLs) in two contrasting optical environments; the clear Red Sea and in murkier coastal waters of Norway (Masfjorden). The depth distributions of the SL in Masfjorden are shallower and narrower than those of the Red Sea. This difference in depth distribution is consistent with the hypothesis that the organisms of the SL distribute according to similar light comfort zones (LCZ) in the two environments. Our study suggest that surface and underwater light measurements ranging more than10 orders of magnitude is required to assess the controlling effects of light on SL structure and dynamics.