Tunable optical tweezers for wavelength-dependent measurements

Optical trapping forces depend on the difference between the trap wavelength and the extinction resonances of trapped particles. This leads to a wavelength-dependent trapping force, which should allow for the optimization of optical tweezers systems, simply by choosing the best trapping wavelength for a given application. Here we present an optical tweezer system with wavelength tunability, for the study of resonance effects. With this system, the optical trap stiffness is measured for single trapped particles that exhibit either single or multiple extinction resonances. We include discussions of wavelength-dependent effects, such as changes in temperature, and how to measure them.     

X-ray reflectometer for optical efficiency and scatter measurements

An instrument has been developed to determine the reflection efficiency and scatter characteristics of optical samples at x-ray wavelengths from 1.5 to 113 A. The reflectometer operates in an oil-free vacuum chamber and measures the reflection efficiency and scatter characteristics as a function of the angle of incidence. The reflection efficiency is given for lambda=8.34 A incident on a fused silica sample finished to a flatness of lambda/10. The experimental reflection efficiency is compared to the theoretical data. The scatter curves are given for the direct x-ray beam and for the beam reflected from the fused silica sample at theta=50 arc minutes. The full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) resolution of the instrument is approximately 13 arc seconds as determined by a least-squares smoothing of the experimental data.     

User interface for optical multi-sensorial measurements at extruded profiles

Nowadays the process control of concave extruding is a measuring task with rising requirements. A novel optical bi-sensorial measurement system - consisting of a shadow- and a light-section-system - as well as suitable methods of analysis for the in-line inspection are presented. The proposals help to ensure the product quality on a higher level than before. The combination of dimensional accuracy and data-density leads to excellent results. The optical multi-sensor measurement system has to be calibrated and aligned to detect the same surface zone despite of high refresh rates and optical resolutions. The metered characteristics will be coordinate transformed to extrinsic world-coordinates for evaluating form deviations of complex parts. An appropriate user interface enables to re-calculate measurement objects in-line and evaluate the conformity of the part consequently. Finally the real length information assists to influence the process control. After successful test in laboratory the results will be proved in production to the target: measurement uncertainty of better 0.1 mm at every profile.     

A multipass optical scheme for broadband measurements in Raman-scattering spectra

An optical scheme that provides multiple transmission of a probing laser beam through an object under study is considered. A Raman-scattering (RS) spectrometer is described in which this scheme is used to increase a signal in local simultaneous measurements of the temperature and the composition of gaseous mixtures. Broadband RS spectra in gaseous jets in the presence and absence of combustion were obtained as a result of broadband recording. The results of their processing using original software tools are demonstrated.     

Low-noise, high-speed detector development for optical turbulence fluctuation measurements for NSTX

A new beam emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic is under development. Photon-noise limited measurements of neutral beam emissions are achieved using photoconductive photodiodes with a novel frequency-compensated broadband preamplifier. The new BES system includes a next-generation preamplifier and upgraded optical coupling system. Notable features of the design are surface-mount components, minimized stray capacitance, a wide angular acceptance photodiode, a differential output line driver, reduced input capacitance, doubling of the frequency range, net reduced electronic noise, and elimination of the need for a cryogenic cooling system. The irreducible photon noise dominates the noise up to 800 kHz for a typical input power of 60 nW. This new assembly is being integrated into an upgraded multichannel optical detector assembly for a new BES system on the NSTX experiment.     

Design and characterization of optical heads for interferometric ballistic velocity measurements

The design of optical fiber based heads offering high accuracy and bandwidth for use in VISAR (velocity interferometer system for any reflector) experiments measuring ballistic velocities is described. A new, expanded, model for predicting the distance-dependent collection efficiency of the heads is presented. The model is shown to agree very well with experimental results, both within and outside the "depth of field". Various optical heads are demonstrated, to suit different experimental setups and conditions. Designs offering options for high bandwidths, accurate prealignment, and large stand-off distances are discussed. Results from a typical VISAR experiment are presented, verifying that our designs yield high-quality data.     

Thermal sensor for in situ flying height measurements of optical flying heads

The application of flying head technology in optical recording promises a considerable increase in recording density. It may be used for both far field and near field recording. For dynamic in situ flying height and flight attitude measurements, a prototype of a thermal test head has been developed. It takes advantage of the heat transfer in sub-micrometer air bearings as well as its dependence from the air gap width. Such a test head has a slider with a similar air bearing surface as the recording head, but with thermo-resistive sensors that are energized by Joule's heat and embedded at each of the four corners. The paper describes the head design and the fabrication technology and provides first experimental test results as well.     

An apparatus for simultaneous thermodynamic and optical measurements, with large temperature excursions

We report the design and realization of an integrated system for measuring, at the same time, the thermodynamic and spectroscopic features of nanoporous materials interesting for hydrogen storage purposes. The whole investigation cycle, from thermal activation to the actual investigation of uptake and release of hydrogen, is carried out in the same vacuum tight vessel, equipped with an optical window, whose temperature can range between 10 and 750 K, up to a maximum pressure of 50 bars. The system has been designed to investigate properties of carbon nanotubes but its use can be extended to any kind of nanoporous sample such as, for example, carbon nanofibers, zeolytes, metal organic frameworks, and similar materials.     

Studies of lubricated rubber friction: Part 1: Coupling optical observations to friction measurements

Rubber has been used in lubricated contact with a variety of surfaces for decades. Surprisingly the frictional mechanism in such contacts is not completely understood. This article surveys developments in the theories and discusses their practical application. Part I describes the evolution of our knowledge in this field emphasising the developments of optical interferometry for examining contact area. Part II concentrates on engineering applications.     

An improved single-parameter tip-timing method for turbomachinery blade vibration measurements using optical laser probes

This paper presents an improved analysis method for the interpretation of the vibration data measured at turbomachinery blade tips using optical laser probes. A multi-degree-of-freedom numerical simulator, which includes the structural and geometric properties of the bladed-disk assembly, the external forcing terms and the characteristics of the optical probe, has been developed to assess the reliability of the various data processing techniques to identify the natural frequencies and mode shapes of bladed-disk assemblies. It has been demonstrated that the Zablotsky—Korostelev single parameter technique, which is a de-facto standard in the aerospace industries, has inherent limitations associated with it. An improved and more rigorous method is presented for deriving the blade arrival times and a non-linear solution technique is suggested for their numerical determination. Finally, the effect of blade mistuning on the accuracy of the proposed method is also investigated.     

An optical high-pressure cell for transient grating measurements of biological substance with a high reproducibility

We describe a high-pressure optical cell that can be used for time-resolved transient grating measurements to determine the thermodynamic properties of transient species under high pressure. This high-pressure cell enables us to compare the grating signal intensities of different samples quantitatively. Using this high-pressure cell with an inner sample cell, one can measure various thermodynamic properties of a biological substance in time domain. The stability and reproducibility of this apparatus are described.     

Single beam optical tweezers setup with backscattered light detection for three-dimensional measurements on DNA and nanopores

We introduce a versatile and high precision three-dimensional optical tweezers setup with minimal optical interference to measure small forces and manipulate single molecules in the vicinity of a weak reflective surface. Our tweezers system integrates an inverted optical microscope with a single IR-laser beam that is spatially filtered in an appropriate way to allow force measurements in three dimensions with remarkably high precision when operated in backscattered light detection mode. The setup was tested by overstretching a lambda-DNA in x and z directions (perpendicular and along the optical axis), and by manipulating individual lambda-DNA molecules in the vicinity of a nanopore that allowed quantitative single molecule threading experiments with minimal optical interference.     

Invited review article: a review of techniques for attaching micro- and nanoparticles to a probe's tip for surface force and near-field optical measurements

Cantilevers with single micro- or nanoparticle probes have been widely used for atomic force microscopy surface force measurements and apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy applications. In this article, I critically review the particle attachment and modification techniques currently available, to help researchers choose the appropriate techniques for specific applications.     

BioPhotonics workstation: a versatile setup for simultaneous optical manipulation, heat stress, and intracellular pH measurements of a live yeast cell

In this study we have modified the BioPhotonics workstation (BWS), which allows for using long working distance objective for optical trapping, to include traditional epi-fluorescence microscopy, using the trapping objectives. We have also added temperature regulation of sample stage, allowing for fast temperature variations while trapping. Using this modified BWS setup, we investigated the internal pH (pH(i)) response and membrane integrity of an optically trapped Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell at 5 mW subject to increasing temperatures. The pH(i) of the cell is obtained from the emission of 5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein diacetate, succinimidyl ester, at 435 and 485 nm wavelengths, while the permeability is indicated by the fluorescence of propidium iodide. We present images mapping the pH(i) and permeability of the cell at different temperatures and with enough spatial resolution to localize these attributes within the cell. The combined capability of optical trapping, fluorescence microscopy and temperature regulation offers a versatile tool for biological research.     

Phase methods for piezoelectric resonator measurements: New proposals

In the paper two new computerized phase transmission methods for piezoelectric resonator measurement are presented. In both methods new ways of determining the reference phase, which is the tuning criterion, are utilized. In the first method this phase is calculated using predicted values of resonator motional resistance and shunt capacitance. In the second one the mean value of the minimum and maximum phase values (obtained during sweeping the test signal frequency in the resonance area) is used as a reference.     

New polyacrylamide gel-based methods of sample preparation for optical microscopy: immobilization of DNA molecules for optical mapping

New methods have been developed for rapid immobilization of biological macromolecules and other microscopic objects from aqueous solution at gel/gel, gel/solid and gel/solution interfaces using thin polyacrylamide gels covalently bound to glass surfaces. When quickly spread over a dry gel, an aqueous sample loses most of its water and low-molecular-weight solutes due to migration of these components into the gel. All optically observable objects thus become concentrated at the gel surface and may be easily located by light microscopy. Based on this, a procedure for binding DNA at a positively charged gel/solution interface was developed. A mild immobilization of the DNA molecules was obtained, allowing 'all in focus' observations of DNA digestion by restriction endonucleases with an apparent rate close to that in solution.     

X-ray excited optical luminescence detection by scanning near-field optical microscope: a new tool for nanoscience

Investigations of complex nanostructured materials used in modern technologies require special experimental techniques able to provide information on the structure and electronic properties of materials with a spatial resolution down to the nanometer scale. We tried to address these needs through the combination of x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) using synchrotron radiation microbeams with scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) detection of the x-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) signal. This new instrumentation offers the possibility to carry out a selective structural analysis of the sample surface with the subwavelength spatial resolution determined by the SNOM probe aperture. In addition, the apex of the optical fiber plays the role of a topographic probe, and chemical and topographic mappings can be simultaneously recorded. Our working XAS-SNOM prototype is based on a quartz tuning-fork head mounted on a high stability nanopositioning system; a coated optical fiber tip, operating as a probe in shear-force mode; a detection system coupled with the microscope head control system; and a dedicated software/hardware setup for synchronization of the XEOL signal detection with the synchrotron beamline acquisition system. We illustrate the possibility to obtain an element-specific contrast and to perform nano-XAS experiments by detecting the Zn K and W L(3) absorption edges in luminescent ZnO and mixed ZnWO(4)-ZnO nanostructured thin films.