Del Mar Photonics - Newsletter Fall 2010 - Newsletter Winter 2010

Femtosecond Nanotubes

Brochures to present at the expo:

Brochures to present at the exhibition:

Product Data Sheets

Pulse strecher/compressor
Avoca SPIDER system
Buccaneer femtosecond fiber lasers with SHG Second Harmonic Generator
Cannon Ultra-Broadband Light Source
Cortes Cr:Forsterite Regenerative Amplifier
Infrared cross-correlator CCIR-800
Cross-correlator Rincon
Femtosecond Autocorrelator IRA-3-10
Kirra Faraday Optical Isolators
Mavericks femtosecond Cr:Forsterite laser
OAFP optical attenuator
Pearls femtosecond fiber laser (Er-doped fiber, 1530-1565 nm)
Pismo pulse picker
Reef-M femtosecond scanning autocorrelator for microscopy
Reef-RTD scanning autocorrelator
Reef-SS single shot autocorrelator
Femtosecond Second Harmonic Generator
Spectrometer ASP-100M
Spectrometer ASP-150C
Spectrometer ASP-IR
Tamarack and Buccaneer femtosecond fiber lasers (Er-doped fiber, 1560+/- 10nm)
Teahupoo femtosecond Ti:Sapphire regenerative amplifier
Femtosecond third harmonic generator
Tourmaline femtosecond fiber laser (1054 nm)
Tourmaline TETA Yb femtosecond amplified laser system
Tourmaline Yb-SS femtosecond solid state laser system
Trestles CW Ti:Sapphire laser
Trestles femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser
Trestles Finesse femtosecond lasers system integrated with DPSS pump laser
Wedge Ti:Sapphire multipass amplifier

Multi-terawatt lasers overview
Hydrogen Thyratrons - Deuterium Thyratrons - Untriggered Spask Gaps - Triggered Spask Gaps - X-ray tube
Rincon 800 third-order scanning cross-correlator for aligning 20 Terawatt Ti:Sapphire laser
MCP + phosphorous screen for imaging of XUV radiation (14eV- 160-eV) in high harmonics experiments
Femtosecond autocorrelator Reef-RTD 700-1300 nm
New Trestles fs/CW laser system which can be easily switched from femtosecond mode to CW and back.
Femtosecond Two-stage Amplifier System Wedge-XL (table-top terawatt system) - pdf
CORTES-800 40 TERAWATT LASER SYSTEM
New Beacon Femtosecond Fluoresscence Upconversion System
Tamarack C1560 femtosecond fiber laser
Pacifica THz Time Domain Spectrometer
Wedge TiSapphire Multipass Amplifier
New Hatteras femtosecond transient absorption system
Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope - Power Point presentation (use read-only mode)
Atomic Force Microscope AFM HERON - sample quotes
Near-field Scanning Optical Microscope (NSOM) for nano-characterization and nanomanufacturing
Yb-based high-energy fiber laser system kit, model Tourmaline Yb-ULRepRate-07
Ytterbium-doped Femtosecond Solid-State Laser Tourmaline Yb-SS400
Pismo pulse picker for 1500-1600nm range

Del Mar Photonics Product brochures - Femtosecond products data sheets (zip file, 4.34 Mbytes) - Del Mar Photonics

New Beacon Femtosecond Fluoresscence Upconversion System
Tamarack C1560 femtosecond fiber laser
Pacifica THz Time Domain Spectrometer
ĀNUENUE - patented miniature Holographic Fourier Transform Spectrometer for the UV/Visible/NIR New!
Holographic Fourier Transform Spectrometer for THz Region
Wedge TiSapphire Multipass Amplifier
New Hatteras femtosecond transient absorption system
Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope - Power Point presentation (use read-only mode)
Atomic Force Microscope AFM HERON - sample quotes
Near-field Scanning Optical Microscope (NSOM) for nano-characterization and nanomanufacturing
Yb-based high-energy fiber laser system kit, model Tourmaline Yb-ULRepRate-07
Ytterbium-doped Femtosecond Solid-State Laser Tourmaline Yb-SS400
Pismo pulse picker for 1500-1600nm range
Trestles Finesse Ti:Sapphire oscillator - DPSS 5W green laser - DPSS 4W green laser
SAM-1550 - SAM-1040 - SAM-1064 - SAM-1300 - PCA-40-05-10-800-h - LiNbO3
Laser Power Meters - DMP12 - UP

High-resolution laser spectrometer - New!
Super-frequency-stable Ti:Sapphire laser TIS-SF-777 now has an absolute linewidth < 10 kHz rms - New!

Trestles Femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser - Trestles 50 Manual - pump options
Trestles 20 Manual - 20/50/100 fs oscillators - FemtoStart - safety
Trestles Finesse Ti:Sapphire oscillator - Q&A - LQ
Wedge-M Multipass Ti:Sapphire Amplifier
Amplified Ti:Sapphire System Teahupoo
Choose what is right for you!
featured on Optics.org

Trestles CW Ti:Sapphire laser (40GHz - 20GHz - 2GHz linewidth)

Mavericks Femtosecond Cr:Forsterite laser (around 1250 nm)
Multiphoton Imaging with Mavericks - introductory brochure
 

Program and Notes

Acoustooptical delay lines for femtosecond pulse shaping based on crystal materials with strong acoustic anisotropy
Paper 7789-8 of Conference 7789
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Vladimir Y. Molchanov, Sergey I. Chizhikov, National Univ. of Science and Technology (Russian Federation); Oleg Y. Makarov, Molecular Technology GmbH (Germany); Efim A. Khazanov, Vladislav N. Ginzburg, Institute of Applied Physics (Russian Federation)


The femtosecond pulse quality in a laser system is determined by a non-compensated high-order dispersion and spectral deformation of the amplifier. A dispersive device that modifies the spectral amplitude and phase of the femtosecond pulse should be used to improve the duration of the compressed pulse and suppress the prepulses. The application of acoustoopical dispersive delay lines is considered. Different modifications of delay lines are compared and the types of devices used to shape femtosecond pulses are discussed. Different experimental dispersive delay lines were fabricated and investigated.
Ablation of silicon by focusing a femtosecond laser through a subwavelength annular aperture structure
Paper 7789-21 of Conference 7789
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Yuh-Yan Yu, National Taiwan Univ. (Taiwan); Chin-Kai Chang, Ming-Wei Lai, Industrial Technology Research Institute (Taiwan); Long-Sun Huang, Chih-Kung Lee, National Taiwan Univ. (Taiwan)


We examined the effect of using laser energy on the ablation of silicon with a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser. The femtosecond laser was focused through an oxide-metal-oxide film engraved with a subwavelength annular aperture structure to create a quasi-Bessel beam for long depth of focus machining. The experimental results showed that the silicon can be ablated with an extremely low input ablation threshold, which was in the order of 0.3 J/cm2 for a pulse duration of around 130 femtoseconds. The depth of focus and the focal spot of the SAA structure were simulated using finite-difference time domain calculations. The far-field laser beam which propagated through the SAA structure possessed both a sub-micron focal spot, long depth of focus, and high focus intensity. The results show that this kind of system has good potential when silicon machining is required, which is particularly true for creating high aspect ratio surface structures.
Generation of femtosecond Bessel type pulses using multi-ring circular-slit diaphragm
Paper 7789-29 of Conference 7789
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Vladimir Belyi, Svetlana N. Kurilkina, Elena Ushakova, B.I. Stepanov Institute of Physics (Belarus)


It is shown that using a multi-ring circularly-slit diaphragm placed in focal plane of lens, it is possible to form pulsed beams of Bessel type characterized by a narrow central maximum and essential suppression of lateral maxima in the radial intensity distribution. It has been established that with increasing radius and number of diaphragm rings, the narrowing of central maximum with accompanying essential decrease of lateral maxima takes place. When a Gaussian pulse falls on two-ring diaphragm at a definite distance from lens, a weak satellite is found to appear in the formed femtosecond beam. At the same time the beam-pulse formed using three-ring diaphragm has the envelope with two distinguished maxima, one of which decreases when moving off the lens.
Fabrication of Raman biochip prototype by femtosecond laser micromachining
Paper 7759-42 of Conference 7759
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Zenghui Zhou, Jian Xu, Fei He, Yang Liao, Ya Cheng, Zhizhan Xu, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (China); Koji Sugioka, Katsumi Midorikawa, RIKEN (Japan)


A nanoscale surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate is fabricated by fs laser reduction and deposition. The conductive silver microstructures are also deposited in fs laser irradiated area on the glass surfaces. Based on this approach, we integrate the microelectronic circuit and micro-Raman substrate into a microfluidic chamber and form a prototype of Raman biochip for biosensing. Enhancement of Raman signal and control of temperature of the sensor are both achieved. This technique provides a great potential for integrating microelectronics and micro-Raman sensors on a single glass chip.l>
Femtosecond optical Kerr gating using nonlinear photonic crystal fiber
Paper 7775-51 of Conference 7775
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Qian Xu, Kebin Shi, Zhiwen Liu, The Pennsylvania State Univ. (United States)


We experimentally investigated optical Kerr gating effect by co-propagating a pump beam and a weak signal beam in a nonlinear photonic crystal fiber. It is shown that optical Kerr gating can be observed by using femtosecond pump pulses with only a few milliwatts of average power.
Widefield multiphoton excited fluorescence microscopy for animal study in vivo
Paper 7765-32 of Conference 7765
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Shean-Jen Chen, Li-Chung Cheng, Chia-Yuan Chang, Hung-Wei Su, National Cheng Kung Univ. (Taiwan)


A widefield multiphoton excited fluorescence microscope with a simultaneously spatial and temporal focusing technique has been developed to provide fast three-dimensional (3D) multiphoton fluorescence images fro animal study in vivo. Unlike conventional multiphoton microscopy based on pixel by pixel scanning technique, the wide-field multiphoton microscope only scans one dimension, z-axis, to construct a 3D image. By using a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser oscillator as a seed laser for the femtosecond laser amplifier with a repetition rate of 10 kHz, we raise the average power from 1.0 to 4.2 W, which is enough power to excite the fluorescence in the area over 100 μm x 100 μm. The fluorescence image signal is detected by an EM CCD, which frame rate might rise up to 1 kHz according to the efficiency of fluorophore, so the widefield multiphoton microscopy can provide very fast imaging fro animal study in vivo such as monitoring brain neuron activity and liver metabolism.
Near-field imaging with a localized nonlinear light source (Keynote Presentation) (Keynote Presentation)
Paper 7757-4 of Conference 7757
Date: Sunday, 01 August 2010

Author(s): Lukas Novotny, Stefano Palomba, Univ. of Rochester (United States)


We demonstrate high-resolution near-field imaging and spectroscopy using the nonlinear optical response of a gold nanoparticle pair as an excitation photon source. Femtosecond pulses of frequencies f1 and f2 are used to induce a nonlinear polarization at the four wave mixing (4WM) frequency 2 f1 − f2 in the junction of the nanoparticle dimer. The nonlinear response leads to localized photon emission, which is employed as an excitation source for fluorescence and extinction imaging. The principle of this imaging technique is demonstrated for samples of fluorescent nanospheres and tubular J-aggregates
Tomography with random snapshots of faint non-stationary objects
Paper 7800-1 of Conference 7800
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Abbas Ourmazd, Peter Schwander, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (United States); Dimitris Giannakis, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (United States); George N. Phillips, Jr., Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison (United States)


A new generation of powerful algorithms is poised to enable the determination of the structure and evolution of objects ranging from single molecules to beating hearts and breathing lungs. At one extreme, new algorithms are paving the way to atomic-level mapping of the conformations of biological molecules with femtosecond time resolution. At the other, they are driving ultra-low-dose tomography of non-stationary, faintly scattering macroscopic objects. We describe how such approaches can be used to reconstruct the structure and conformational continuum of individual molecules, viruses, and potentially living cells.
Supercontinuum generation using small core photonic crystal fibers
Paper 7781-21 of Conference 7781
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Luiz C. Barbosa, Enver F. Chillcce, Italo O. Mazali, Univ. Estadual de Campinas (Brazil)


In this work we study the supercontinuum generaton using small core silica photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). The core of the PCFs varying from 1.0 to 2.0 µm was possible changing the external fiber diameter. The PCFs have structures which consist of small hollows. The supercontinum light, that extends from blue to near infra-red region, was obtained using a femtosecond 785 nm Ti:Saphire laser. The blue light generated is very intense, which could be used to fluorescence applications as biological.
Three-dimensional polymer microdevices with gold nanorods
Paper 7757-123 of Conference 7757
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Shean-Jen Chen, Wen-Shuo Kuo, Chi-Hsiang Lien, National Cheng Kung Univ. (Taiwan)


In this study, nonlinear multiphoton photocrosslinking and photopolymerization of rose bengal and trimethylolpropane triacrylate monomers in solution have been used to direct the three-dimension (3D) assembly of microdevices; moreover, we also presents the first example of containing gold nanorods within the photopolymerization. The experimental results show that the two-photon excited photopolymerization containing the nanorods improves more efficiently of decreasing the power density of femtosecond laser, and also provides a great diversity of optical properties. The doped nanorods with two-photon luminescence act as label molecules for internal microdiagnosis of 3D polymer microdevices.
Nanojoining as interconnect and packaging technologies for nanodevices
Paper 7764-12 of Conference 7764
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Norman Y. Zhou, Univ. of Waterloo (Canada)


Joining, whether at nano-, micro- or macro-scale, is an essential part of man-made product manufacturing and assembly, providing mechanical coupling and support, electrical connection or insulation, environmental protection, etc. Nanojoining, also termed nanobonding, nanowelding, nanobrazing, nanosoldering, etc., has attracted growing interests in the past few years as emerging interconnect and packaging technologies for nanodevices and nanosystems. A number of nanojoining techniques have been developed and will be described, namely, femtosecond laser welding of Au nanoparticles, low temperature bonding using Ag nanoparticles, and brazing of carbon nano-tubes (CNTs).
Experimental observation of the Laue diffraction in one-dimensional photonic crystals
Paper 7755-23 of Conference 7755
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Sergey E. Svyakhovskiy, Anton I. Maydykovskiy, Ilya E. Razdolski, Tatiana V. Murzina, Alexander A. Skorynin, Boris I. Mantsyzov, Oleg A. Aktsipetrov, Moscow State Univ. (Russian Federation)


Theoretically predicted that the femtosecond laser pulse propagating in the linear photonic crystal (PC) in case of the Bragg diffraction at the Laue scheme is separated into two, called the transmitted and the diffracted pulses. Each of them, in turn, is separated into two pulses with different propagation velocity, which is associated with redistribution of the field of an initial pulse between the layers of PC. In this work we experimentally observed spatial laser pulse splitting into two beams in a PC made of porous silicon. Direction and intensity of transmitted and diffracted beams coincides with theoretically predicted.
Spatio-temporal control of fields around nano-antennas
Paper 7757-16 of Conference 7757
Date: Sunday, 01 August 2010

Author(s): Daan Brinks, Marta Castro Lopez, Alberto G. Curto, Richard Hildner, Tim H. Taminiau, Niek F. van Hulst, ICFO - Instituto de Ciencias Fotónicas (Spain)


Nano-antennas concentrate electromagnetic fields in sub-diffraction limited hotspots, whose position in time and space depends on the antenna-structure and the incoming electromagnetic field. Antennas can therefore be combined with ultrafast pulses to address femtosecond processes in nanometric volumes, provided one takes into account and compensates for the dispersion of the antenna-structures. We adapt the field of an excitation pulse to the dispersion and resonances of an optical gap-antenna. This way we change and enhance the localization of hotspots, while at the same time obtaining quantitative information about the field dynamics around the structure. Our latest experimental results will be presented.
Two-photon spectroscopy allows for probing of the pi-conjugation pathway in tetrapyrolles
Paper 7774-20 of Conference 7774
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Nikolay S. Makarov, Mikhail Drobizhev, Montana State Univ. (United States); Elena A. Makarova, Evgeny A. Lukyanets, Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms (Russian Federation); Aleksander K. Rebane, Montana State Univ. (United States)


Two-dimensionally extended, branched, pi-electron structure provides tetrapyrrolic molecules their unique optical properties, which makes them attractive for photonics applications. The knowledge of the structure and the symmetry of the pi-electron conjugation pathway thus presents an important task for understanding of the optical properties of tetrapyrroles. Here we study femtosecond two-photon absorption (2PA) and excited-state absorption spectra of metal-free centrosymmetrical tetra-tert-butyl-phthalocyanine and formally non-centrosymmetrical tribenzo-tetraazachlorin. We show that both molecules contain a strong 2PA transition near 940 nm, which is absent in corresponding one-photon absorption spectra. This observation imply, in accordance with previous quantum-chemical calculations, that the main pi-conjugation pathway of phthalocyanines excludes the outer parts of the pyrrolenine rings.
Ultra-fast dynamics of spin and orbital magnetic moments of CoPd alloys probed by time resolved x-ray magnetic circular dichroism
Paper 7760-21 of Conference 7760
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Eric Beaurepaire, Christine Boeglin, Valérie Halté, Jean-Yves Bigot, Victor Lopez-Flores, Jacek Arabski, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg (France); Christian Stamm, Nikolaus Pontius, Hermann Dürr, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (Germany)


Ultrashort optical laser pulses (60 fs) have been used to change the magnetization of a ferromagnetic CoPd alloy film, and probe its dynamics with circularly polarized femtosecond X-ray pulses (100 fs), measuring the magnetic dichroism at Co L2,3 edges. The use of sum rules allows disentangling for the first time, the spin and orbital components of the magnetic moment. We show that the dynamics of L and S are different. Our results show that the mechanism responsible for the ultrafast laser induced demagnetization requires the concept of spin-orbit interaction, and that the magneto-crystalline anisotropy energy is an important quantity to consider.
Role of carrier diffusion and picosecond exciton kinetics in nonproportionality of scintillator light yield
Paper 7805-19 of Conference 7805
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Richard T. Williams, Joel Q. Grim, Qi Li, Wake Forest Univ. (United States); William W. Moses, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (United States)


Numerical modeling of carrier diffusion and drift in the strong concentration gradient surrounding the track of an energetic electron in the femtosecond-picosecond time domain shows that hole and electron mobilities can exert a controlling influence on whether subsequent recombination kinetics are 1st or 2nd order, and what the effective volume density of recombinations is, as it affects nonradiative 2nd and 3rd order decay processes. These affect the shape of both the low- and high-dE/dx ends of the light-yield curve of a scintillator. We report time-resolved measurements of recombination kinetics at the high excitation densities appropriate to track ends and the picosecond population dynamics of excitons and activators in CsI:Tl.
Non-adiabatic change in frequency of light trapped in a GaAs-AlAs microcavity
Paper 7756-13 of Conference 7756
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Philip J. Harding, Univ. Twente (Netherlands); Huib J. Bakker, Alex Hartsuiker, FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (Netherlands); Julien Claudon, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (France); Allard P. Mosk, Univ. Twente (Netherlands); Jean-Michel Gérard, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (France); Willem L. Vos, Univ. Twente (Netherlands)


We study frequency-resolved femtosecond pump-probe reflectivity of a planar GaAs-AlAs microcavity. About 8 ps after a pump pulse, we observe a strong excess probe reflectivity. Light trapped in the cavity accumulates a phase change due to a time-dependent refractive index, resulting in a change in frequency by more than 5 linewidths away from the cavity resonance. The frequency change is non-adiabatic as the wave function changes shape in time and the rate of change of the cavity resonance is fast. An analytical model predicts dynamics in agreement with experiments, and points to crucial parameters that control future applications.
Orientation determination for 3D single molecule diffraction imaging
Paper 7800-25 of Conference 7800
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Chao Yang, Stefano Marchesini, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (United States)


The latest development of ultrafast free electron laser makes it possible to perform single molecule diffraction imaging. In such an experiment, two-dimensional diffraction images of randomly oriented molecules of the same type can be captured within femtosecond exposure time. To deduce the 3D structure of the molecule at high resolution, we must solve two challenging problems: 1) the determination of the relative orientations of 2D images; 2) phase retrieval of a reconstructed 3D diffraction pattern. We will focus on the first problem and discuss the use of common curve detection techniques to deduce the relative orientation of 2D diffraction images.
Upconversion as a tool for characterization and preparation of photonic quantum states
Paper 7815-9 of Conference 7815
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Alfred B. U'Ren, Univ. Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico); Kevin A. O'Donnell, Ctr. de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (Mexico)


There are few ways of characterizing photon wavepackets on an ultrafast time-scale. While femtosecond resolution can be necessary, optical detectors have a slower response by several orders of magnitude. One way of overcoming this limitation is with Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. Another possible ultrafast characterization method is to introduce a controlled delay between generated signal and idler photons, overlap them spatially in a nonlinear crystal, and detect the sum-frequency photon, in analogy to the autocorrelation of classical laser pulses. We present experimental results where we demonstrate this latter principle and discuss extensions of this work for the preparation of photonic quantum states.
Dynamic complex optical fields for optical manipulation, 3D microscopy, and photostimulation of neurotransmitters
Paper 7762-64 of Conference 7762
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Vincent R. Daria, Christian Stricker, John Bekkers, Steve Redman, Hans-Albert Bachor, The Australian National Univ. (Australia)


We demonstrate a multi-functional system capable of multiple-site two-photon excitation of photo-sensitive compounds as well as transfer of optical mechanical properties on an array of mesoscopic particles. We use holographic projection of a single Ti:Sapphire laser operating in femtosecond pulse mode to show that the projected three-dimensional light patterns have sufficient spatiotemporal photon density for multi-site two-photon excitation of biological fluorescent markers and caged neurotransmitters. Using the same laser operating in continuous-wave mode, we can use the same light patterns for non-invasive transfer of both linear and orbital angular momentum on a variety of mesoscopic particles. The system also incorporates high-speed scanning using acousto-optic modulators to rapidly render 3D images of neuron samples via two-photon microscopy.
Fundamental understanding of the ordered heterojunction hybrid systems from in situ polymerization for photovoltaics
Paper 7777-75 of Conference 7777
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Tingting Xu, Xingzhong Yan, South Dakota State Univ. (United States); Jing-Shun Huang, Ching-Fuh Lin, National Taiwan Univ. (Taiwan); David W. Galipeau, Qiquan Qiao, South Dakota State Univ. (United States)


Ordered heterojunction hybrid systems from in-situ polymerization is one of the promising technologies to achieve high efficiency because it has an optimized structure to increase the exciton dissociation and charge transport. Here, in-situ electrochemical polymerization of a polythiophene (P3HT) into vertical aligned ZnO nanorods was prepared through a novel silane linker. Through the UV-visible absorption measuremen, it was found that this ordered hybrid system had a comparable absorption with the other methods including the physical filtration of P3HT into the nanorod template. The femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion (FFU) technique was used to probe the dynamics of vibrational relaxation processes, intra-chain (intramolecular) and inter-chain (intermolecular) energy transfer between segments, self-trapping of excitons, and/or charge transfer dynamics of the in-situ polymerized hybrid system and their application photovoltaics.
Course: Nanoplasmonics
Date: Thursday, 05 August 2010

Instructor(s): Mark I. Stockman, Georgia State Univ. (United States)


Nanooptics deals with optical phenomena and spectroscopy on the nanoscale, i.e., in the regions of space whose size is much smaller than the light wavelength. While electromagnetic waves cannot be localized in the regions with sizes significantly less than half wavelength, nanooptics is based on electric fields oscillating at optical frequency. From the positions of the interaction with matter and spectroscopy, such local optical fields mostly produce the same type of responses as electromagnetic waves. Elementary excitations that are carriers of energy and coherence in nanooptics are surface plasmons (SPs). These local fields cause a wealth of gigantically enhanced optical phenomena of which the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is the most studied and widely known. This one-day course will encompass the fundamental properties and applications of the surface plasmonics at the nanoscale. It will include coherent effects associated with phase memory of the SPs, in particular, coherent control of nanooptical phenomena. Nonlinear processes such as generation of harmonics and two-photon excitation by nanoscale fields will also be covered. Ultrafast (femtosecond and attosecond) phenomena are within the scope of this course. We will also include quantum phenomena associated with properties of surface plasmons as quantum quasiparticles such as quantum generation and fluctuations. Along with fundamental properties of SPs, we will consider many applications of nanoplasmonics, in particular, detection of ultrasmall amounts of chemical and biological compounds, scanning near-field optical microscopes or SNOMs, and nanolithography.
Interfacial charge transfer excitations for optical applications: A case of molecule-metal and molecule-semiconductor nanoclusters
Paper 7758-1 of Conference 7758
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Ramakrishna Guda, Western Michigan Univ. (United States)


Optical excitations in donor-acceptor systems in organic molecules, polymers, nanomaterials and molecule-nanomaterial interface are under intense research both because of their fundamental interest as well as applications in photo-voltaics, nonlinear optics and sensors. One of the important applications is in solar energy conversion especially the ones related to dye-sensitized solar cells1 and organic bulk heterojunction solar cells2. These systems are considered cost-effective alternatives to silicon based solar cells. Vital aspect of these devices is the photo-induced electron transfer where the photo-excited donor transfers the electron to the acceptor. Our strategy is to use the interfacial charge transfer excitons where the excitation leads directly to an electron on the acceptor and hole in the donor without loss as heat due to photo-induced electron transfer3, 4. If this energy can be converted without loss as heat, the solar cell efficiencies can be increased by as high as 5%. Dynamics of direct charge transfer excitations in small molecule-TiO2 nanoparticles5 and chromophore functionalized TiO2, ZnO and ZrO2 nanoparticles are investigated6. Interesting localization and delocalization of the charge transfer excitations are observed which can provide insights in designing better dye molecules which can improve the solar energy conversion efficiency. In addition, chromophore-gold cluster composites are being investigated which have shown directional photo-induced electron transfer and interfacial charge transfer excitations. Femtosecond fluorescence upconversion and transient measurements measurements are being utilized to follow such charge transfer excitations and the consequent localization and delocalization pathways. Present results also show the potential of these systems as better nonlinear optical materials especially in relation to optical limiting. References 1. Gratzel, M Nature 2001, 414, 338. 2. Dennler, G.; Scharber, M.; Brabec, C. J. Adv. Mater. 2009, 21, 1323. 3. Tae, E. L.; Lee, S. H.; Lee, K.; Yoo, S. S.; Kang, E. J.; Yoon, K. B. J. Phys. Chem. B 2005, 109, 22513. 4. Schmidtke, J. P.; Friend, R. H.; Silva, C. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2008, 100, 157401 5. Varaganti, S.; Ramakrishna, G. J Phys Chem (submitted). 6. Varaganti,S.; Gessesse, M.; Obare, S.; Ramakrishna, G. Proc SPIE 2009, 741309, 741309/01-10.


The role of polarization pulse shaping in ultrafast nanooptics: adaptive and deterministic control mechanisms
Paper 7757-12 of Conference 7757
Date: Sunday, 01 August 2010

Author(s): Walter Pfeiffer, Univ. Bielefeld (Germany)


Recent theoretical investigations as well as experiments have shown that the polarization degree of freedom of the incident light is essential to manipulate and control nanophotonic excitations on an ultrashort time scale and at a length scale below the diffraction limit. The present status of knowledge is reviewed and a qualitative discussion of the different control mechanisms is presented. To some extend deterministic rules are applicable to realize particular nanophotonic excitations as it is shown for spatial contrast reversal.
Spaser as nanoscale optical generator and ultrafast nano-amplifier
Paper 7754-16 of Conference 7754
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Mark I. Stockman, Georgia State Univ. (United States)


Nanoplasmonics deals with collective electron dynamics on the surface of metal nanostructures, which arises as a result of excitations called surface plasmons. The surface plasmons localize and concentrate optical energy in nanoscopic regions creating highly enhanced local optical fields. They undergo ultrafast dynamics with timescales as short as a few hundred attoseconds. We will review the numerous existing applications of nanoplasmonics: nanoantennas for photovoltaic cells and LEDs, nanoplasmonic labels, tests, and sensors for biology, medicine, industry, environmental monitoring and defense, ultramicroscopy, plasmonics-assisted magnetic recording, nanoshell-mediated cancer treatment, etc. From the latest developments and original work in nanoplasmonics, we will concentrate on the SPASER as a quantum nanoscale optical generator and ultrafast nanoamplifier of local fields.
Chalcogenide photonic integrated circuits for ultrafast nonlinear optics
Paper 7756-18 of Conference 7756
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Benjamin J. Eggleton, The Univ. of Sydney (Australia)


This paper reviews our recent progress in developing dispersion engineered highly nonlinear chalcogwnide circuits for all-optical processing. Highlights of this research include recent demonstrations of >Tera/baud per second optical switching and waveform analysis.
Pulse laser driven ultrafast micro and nanofluidics system
Paper 7759-36 of Conference 7759
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Pei-Yu Chiou, Univ. of California, Los Angeles (United States)


A tightly focused laser beam is capable of disrupting water medium directly and inducing localized hot plasma for rapid heating and creating cavitation bubbles. These bubbles expand at speeds up to hundred meters per second in the micro and nanometer scale. Through proper engineering designs, such ultrafast microfluidic phenomena can be utilized for actuating ultrafast microfluidic devices to enable new functionalities not possible with conventional microfluidic devices.
Electron and XUV light emission probes of ultrafast nano-localized plasmonic fields
Paper 7757-47 of Conference 7757
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Matthias F. Kling, Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik (Germany)


Recent advantages in laser technology have paved the way for a full control of the waveform of optical fields. The use of metallic nanostructures for high-harmonic generation (HHG) via nanoplasmonic field enhancement offers a route for the production of ultrashort XUV pulses. We have theoretically studied the influence of the sub-cycle field evolution of the driving laser field on the generated plasmonic fields and found feasible conditions for the generation of single attosecond pulses. These results together with first experimental work on HHG from nanostructures will be presented. We will furthermore present results on the characterization of nanolocalized plasmonic fields utilizing time-of-flight photoelectron emission microscopy (TOF-PEEM).
Probing ultrafast nano-localised plasmonic fields via XUV light generation
Paper 7757-48 of Conference 7757
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Sarah L. Stebbings, Frederik Süßmann, Ying Ying Yang, Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik (Germany); Roswitha Graf, Alexander Apolonskiy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Univ. München (Germany); Alexander Weber-Bargioni, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (United States); Mark I. Stockman, Georgia State Univ. (United States); Ferenc Krausz, Matthias F. Kling, Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik (Germany)


The use of nanostructure arrays, such as bow-tie-like antennae, offer a promising route to ultrashort XUV pulses via plasmonic enhanced high harmonic generation at relatively low laser intensities. By performing a systematic theoretical investigation, the optimal conditions for the generation of single XUV pulses via nanoplasmonic field enhancement have been identified. Both the experimental and theoretical results of this work will be presented at the conference.
Photodetector behavior in the presence of ultrafast laser irradiance
Paper 7780A-7 of Conference 7780A
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Michael K. Rafailov, Richer LLC (United States)


Ultra-fast laser is able to change optical state of semiconductor. These changes are time-dependent and completely reversible: ultra-fast laser "bleaches" semiconductor and therefore temporally changes detector's optical characteristics. Practically, ultra-fast laser allows remote control of fundamental properties of semiconductor and therefore, temporal alteration of photodetector's characteristics - such as responsivity and detectivity as well as response time and response spectral bandwidth. However, with excessive energy transfer that can follow bleaching the effect may be masked by thermal noise or even lattice disorder. In this paper we will discuss some foundations of ultra-fast laser bandgap photonics in connection to ultra-fast low energy per pulse laser.
Electrical polaritonic control of ultrafast optical amplification in semiconductor microcavities
Paper 7756-33 of Conference 7756
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Jeremy J. Baumberg, Gabriel Christmann, Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom); Pavlos Savvidis, Nikolaos Pelekanos, Zacharias Hatzopoulos, Simeon Tsintzos, Univ. of Crete (Greece); Chris Coulson, Cornelius Grossman, Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)


Optical amplification in strongly-coupled semiconductor microcavities is the largest reported for any material. We report high-speed electronic control of ultrafast polariton amplification in an electrically-biased semiconductor microcavity which contains double-quantum wells. A >90% reduction of the parametric scattering gain is obtained by tuning the intracavity electric field to turn on inter-well resonant tunneling.
Ultrafast optical switching of nematic liquid crystal birefringence
Paper 7775-47 of Conference 7775
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Iam Choon Khoo, Justin Liou, Michael V. Stinger, The Pennsylvania State Univ. (United States)


The theory and experimental demonstrations of ultra-fast all-optical switching based on laser induced order parameter and birefringence changes with cw - nanosecond pulsed lasers at 400 nm - 1550 nm will be presented.
Ultrafast transient absorption microscopy studies of carrier dynamics in epitaxial graphene
Paper 7758-35 of Conference 7758
Date: Thursday, 05 August 2010

Author(s): Libai Huang, Gregory V. Hartland, Huili Xing, Univ. of Notre Dame (United States)


Energy exchange between the electrons and phonons is particularly important to electron transport, and understanding this process will be vital for the realization of future graphene-based electronics. Epitaxial growth is a very promising approach for practical applications, as it has the ability to prepare graphene on a large scale and supported on a substrate. However, epitaxially grown graphene is highly inhomogeneous, with variations in the sample thickness occurring over length scale of a few micrometers. To pave the road for electronic devices based on epitaxial graphene, characterization methods with high spatial resolution are required. Here we present transient absorption microscopy as a novel tool to characterize graphene, and to interrogate the charge carrier dynamics. This technique has the ability to directly image carrier dynamics with a diffraction-limited spatial resolution and a time resolution of ~ 200 fs. The intensity of the transient absorption signal is shown to correlate with the number of graphene layers. The carrier cooling exhibits a bi-exponential decay, consisting of an instrument-response limited fast decay time 1 (< 0.2 ps) and a slower decay time 2. The fast and slow relaxation times were assigned to coupling between electrons and optical phonon modes and the hot phonon effect, respectively. The limiting value of the slow relaxation time at high pump intensity reflects the lifetime of the optical phonons. The contribution of the slow component to the overall decay was found to vary with spatial position in the sample. This is attributed to differences in coupling between the graphene and the substrate. These results point to transient absorption microscopy as a potentially important tool for characterizing graphene.
Modeling of non-adiabatic photoinduced dynamics and energy transfer in conjugated molecules
Paper 7758-6 of Conference 7758
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Sebastian Fernandez-Alberti, Univ. Nacional de Quilmes (Argentina); Valeria D. Kleiman, Adrian E. Roitberg, Univ. of Florida (United States); Sergei Tretiak, Los Alamos National Lab. (United States)


Prediction and understanding of photoinduced processes in molecular- and nano-materials is fundamental to a myriad of technological applications, ranging from sensing, imaging, solar energy harvesting, to future optoelectronic devices. This talk will overview several applications of recently developed excited state molecular dynamics framework incorporating non-adiabatic quantum transitions studying ultrafast dynamics and exciton transport in several conjugated molecular systems. Our calculations rely on the use of the Collective Electronic Oscillator (CEO) package accounting for many-body effects and actual potential energy surfaces of the excited states combined with the Tully's fewest switches algorithm for surface hopping probing non-adiabatic processes. Our analysis show intricate details of photoinduced vibronic relaxation and identify the conformational degrees of freedom leading to ultrafast energy transfer. This theoretical modeling allows to understand and to potentially manipulate energy transfer pathways in molecular materials suitable for solar energy conversion.
Upconversion as a tool for characterization and preparation of photonic quantum states
Paper 7815-9 of Conference 7815
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Alfred B. U'Ren, Univ. Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico); Kevin A. O'Donnell, Ctr. de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (Mexico)


There are few ways of characterizing photon wavepackets on an ultrafast time-scale. While femtosecond resolution can be necessary, optical detectors have a slower response by several orders of magnitude. One way of overcoming this limitation is with Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. Another possible ultrafast characterization method is to introduce a controlled delay between generated signal and idler photons, overlap them spatially in a nonlinear crystal, and detect the sum-frequency photon, in analogy to the autocorrelation of classical laser pulses. We present experimental results where we demonstrate this latter principle and discuss extensions of this work for the preparation of photonic quantum states.
Terahertz nonlinear spectroscopy of free-carriers in direct bandgap semiconductors
Paper 7763-11 of Conference 7763
Date: Sunday, 01 August 2010

Author(s): Luca Razzari, Francois Blanchard, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (Canada); Fuhai Su, Univ. of Alberta (Canada); Gargi Sharma, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (Canada); Ayesheshim K. Ayesheshim, Tyler L. Cocker, Lyubov V. Titova, Univ. of Alberta (Canada); Heidi C. Bandulet, Roberto Morandotti, Jean-Claude Kieffer, Tsuneyuki Ozaki, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (Canada); Matthew E. Reid, Univ. of Northern British Columbia (Canada); Frank A. Hegmann, Univ. of Alberta (Canada)


Ultrafast nonlinear processes have been extensively explored in the visible and near infrared frequency range, thanks to the availability of ultrashort pulses delivered by mode-locked lasers. Here, the combination of high intensities of excitation together with a very fine temporal resolution have shed new light on diverse aspects of condensed-matter dynamics [1]. On the other hand, this kind of phenomena has remained relatively unexplored in the terahertz (THz) spectral region (typically 0.1-10 THz), mainly because of the lack of sources delivering high-energy, fewcycle THz pulses. Nowadays, this kind of sources is becoming available [2,3], thus opening the route towards the understanding of new aspects of radiation-matter interaction. Nonlinear interactions at THz frequencies possess interesting properties and peculiarities: on one side, in this spectral range one can observe an intermediate regime in which both electronic and ionic motions contribute to the nonlinear dielectric function of a material. On the other side, the very low energy per photon associated to this radiation allows to neglect multiphoton interactions in semiconductors, thus opening up the possibility of observing drift-velocity-based nonlinearities owing to free carriers in this type of systems. While these processes were studied in the past using relatively long THz pulses (time duration of several tens of nanoseconds) [4,5], the above-mentioned new-generation of few-cycle THz sources allows now to explore their ultrafast nature and dynamics in the picosecond domain [6]. In particular, our investigation has been aimed at studying the ultrafast nonlinear dynamics of free carriers in semiconductors and at developing the proper tools for this new kind of THz spectroscopy. We have performed several nonlinear experiments on free-carriers in direct bandgap semiconductors at THz frequencies. Techniques as Z-scan [7], THz pump - THz probe [8], and optical pump - THz probe [9] have been employed to explore nonlinear interactions in both n-doped and photoexcited samples. The mechanism that dominates these nonlinearities is found to be intervalley scattering and a simple mathematical model adding this effect to a standard Drude-like response well explains our experimental results. References [1] S. Mukamel, Principles of nonlinear spectroscopy, Oxford University Press, (1999). [2] F. Blanchard et al., Opt. Exp. 15 (20), 13212 (2007). [3] K.-L. Yeh, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 171121 (2007). [4] A. Mayer and F. Keilmann, Phys. Rev. B 33, 6954 (1986). [5] A. Mayer and F. Keilmann, Phys. Rev. B 33, 6962 (1986). [6] J. Hebling et al., IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quant. Electron. 14, 345 (2008). [7] L. Razzari et al., Phys. Rev. B 79, 193204 (2009). [8] F. Blanchard et al., in preparation. [9] F.H. Su et al., Opt. Exp. 17 (12), 9620 (2009).
Nanocrystal lasing in the Auger-recombination-free regime using engineered heterostructures
Paper 7756-23 of Conference 7756
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Victor I. Klimov, Los Alamos National Lab. (United States)


Nanocrystal quantum dots show high photoluminescence quantum yields and size-dependent emission colors tunable through the quantum-confinement effect. Despite their favorable light-emitting properties, nanocrystals are difficult to use in lasing because of fast optical-gain decay induced by nonradiative Auger recombination. In this talk, I will discuss several approaches for resolving the problem of ultrafast Auger recombination by using engineered carrier-carrier interactions in various types of heterostructured nanocrystals.
Performance of a Schwarzschild imaging microscope for plasma diagnostics
Paper 7801-15 of Conference 7801
Date: Sunday, 01 August 2010

Author(s): Xin Wang, Baozhong Mu, Yi Huang, Zirong Zhai, Shengzhen Yi, Li Jiang, Jingtao Zhu, Zhanshan Wang, Tongji Univ. (China)


Schwarzschild microscope system has been essential diagnostics in the intense ultrafast laser-matter interaction research. A Schwarzschild type plasma diagnostics system with numerical aperture of 0.1 and a magnification of 10 has been designed, component fabricated, system assembled and experimental tested. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm with a pulsed energy of 1 J was used to ablate copper target to produce EUV emission above 10 nm. Mo/Si multilayers with a thickness period of 9.5 nm and 30 layers pairs are deposited by magnetron sputtering as a normal-incidence reflection coating at 18.2 nm and 5% bandwidth. Since the spatial resolution of the microscope is limited by the CCD camera, LiF is employed as the detector to achieve the sub-micron resolution for a field of view of 2 mm using 600# copper mesh (bar width is 5μm) and 500lp/mm transmittance grating as the object.
Spatio-temporal control of fields around nano-antennas
Paper 7757-16 of Conference 7757
Date: Sunday, 01 August 2010

Author(s): Daan Brinks, Marta Castro Lopez, Alberto G. Curto, Richard Hildner, Tim H. Taminiau, Niek F. van Hulst, ICFO - Instituto de Ciencias Fotónicas (Spain)


Nano-antennas concentrate electromagnetic fields in sub-diffraction limited hotspots, whose position in time and space depends on the antenna-structure and the incoming electromagnetic field. Antennas can therefore be combined with ultrafast pulses to address femtosecond processes in nanometric volumes, provided one takes into account and compensates for the dispersion of the antenna-structures. We adapt the field of an excitation pulse to the dispersion and resonances of an optical gap-antenna. This way we change and enhance the localization of hotspots, while at the same time obtaining quantitative information about the field dynamics around the structure. Our latest experimental results will be presented.
Ultra-fast dynamics of spin and orbital magnetic moments of CoPd alloys probed by time resolved x-ray magnetic circular dichroism
Paper 7760-21 of Conference 7760
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Eric Beaurepaire, Christine Boeglin, Valérie Halté, Jean-Yves Bigot, Victor Lopez-Flores, Jacek Arabski, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg (France); Christian Stamm, Nikolaus Pontius, Hermann Dürr, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (Germany)


Ultrashort optical laser pulses (60 fs) have been used to change the magnetization of a ferromagnetic CoPd alloy film, and probe its dynamics with circularly polarized femtosecond X-ray pulses (100 fs), measuring the magnetic dichroism at Co L2,3 edges. The use of sum rules allows disentangling for the first time, the spin and orbital components of the magnetic moment. We show that the dynamics of L and S are different. Our results show that the mechanism responsible for the ultrafast laser induced demagnetization requires the concept of spin-orbit interaction, and that the magneto-crystalline anisotropy energy is an important quantity to consider.
Orientation determination for 3D single molecule diffraction imaging
Paper 7800-25 of Conference 7800
Date: Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Author(s): Chao Yang, Stefano Marchesini, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (United States)


The latest development of ultrafast free electron laser makes it possible to perform single molecule diffraction imaging. In such an experiment, two-dimensional diffraction images of randomly oriented molecules of the same type can be captured within femtosecond exposure time. To deduce the 3D structure of the molecule at high resolution, we must solve two challenging problems: 1) the determination of the relative orientations of 2D images; 2) phase retrieval of a reconstructed 3D diffraction pattern. We will focus on the first problem and discuss the use of common curve detection techniques to deduce the relative orientation of 2D diffraction images.
Surface plasmon enhancement of third-generation conversion processes
Paper 7772-32 of Conference 7772
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Jao van de Lagemaat, Allison C. Kanarr, Thomas H. Reilly III, Justin C. Johnson, National Renewable Energy Lab. (United States)


In this presentation, I will describe a study of surface plasmon/exciton hybridization with the aim of enhancing third-generation photoconversion processes that have the theoretical capability of breaking the Shockley-Queisser limit. Pentacene is a candidate for such a process called singlet fission, in which a singlet exciton breaks up in two separate triplet excitons. We will show results of ultrafast spectroscopy of pentacene on plasmonically active systems. These measurements show altered excited state kinetics and show evidence of enhanced formation of triplets indicating that hybridizing surface plasmons with molecular states is a promising avenue of controlling energy conversion pathways.
Detection of nucleic acids with graphene nanopores: ab initio characterization of a novel sequencing device
Paper 7758-15 of Conference 7758
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Tammie Nelson, Bo Zhang, Oleg V. Prezhdo, Univ. of Washington (United States)


We report an ab initio study of the interaction of two nucleobases, cytosine and adenine, with a novel graphene nanopore device for detecting the base sequence of a single-stranded nucleic acid (ssDNA or RNA). The nucleobases were inserted into a pore in a graphene nanoribbon, and the electrical current and conductance spectra were calculated as functions of voltage applied across the nanoribbon. The conductance spectra and charge densities were analyzed in the presence of each nucleobase in the graphene nanopore. The results indicate that, due to significant differences in the conductance spectra, the proposed device has adequate sensitivity to discriminate between different nucleotides. Moreover, we show that the nucleotide conductance spectra are not affected by its orientation inside the graphene nanopore. The proposed technique may be extremely useful for real applications in developing ultrafast, low cost DNA sequencing methods.
Course: Nanoplasmonics
Date: Thursday, 05 August 2010

Instructor(s): Mark I. Stockman, Georgia State Univ. (United States)


Nanooptics deals with optical phenomena and spectroscopy on the nanoscale, i.e., in the regions of space whose size is much smaller than the light wavelength. While electromagnetic waves cannot be localized in the regions with sizes significantly less than half wavelength, nanooptics is based on electric fields oscillating at optical frequency. From the positions of the interaction with matter and spectroscopy, such local optical fields mostly produce the same type of responses as electromagnetic waves. Elementary excitations that are carriers of energy and coherence in nanooptics are surface plasmons (SPs). These local fields cause a wealth of gigantically enhanced optical phenomena of which the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is the most studied and widely known. This one-day course will encompass the fundamental properties and applications of the surface plasmonics at the nanoscale. It will include coherent effects associated with phase memory of the SPs, in particular, coherent control of nanooptical phenomena. Nonlinear processes such as generation of harmonics and two-photon excitation by nanoscale fields will also be covered. Ultrafast (femtosecond and attosecond) phenomena are within the scope of this course. We will also include quantum phenomena associated with properties of surface plasmons as quantum quasiparticles such as quantum generation and fluctuations. Along with fundamental properties of SPs, we will consider many applications of nanoplasmonics, in particular, detection of ultrasmall amounts of chemical and biological compounds, scanning near-field optical microscopes or SNOMs, and nanolithography.
State-resolved exciton dynamics in quantum dots
Paper 7758-27 of Conference 7758
Date: Thursday, 05 August 2010

Author(s): Patanjali Kambhampati, McGill Univ. (Canada)


The semiconductor quantum dot is one of the canonical systems in nanoscience. Whereas the nanometer size of these materials is obvious, the richer and more meaningful issue is the presence of quantum confinement effects conferred by virtue of size. One may qualitatively describe quantum dot electronic structure like the textbook particle in a sphere. However, this simple picture misses the vast majority of the processes which ultimately control the functionality of the quantum dot. Our goal is to obtain a detailed picture of the rich inner workings of the quantum dot. We introduce a mixed time/frequency domain ultrafast spectroscopic approach which we denote State-Resolved Exciton Dynamics. We have applied this approach to resolve several long standing issues central to quantum dot science: 1) Hot exciton relaxation dynamics: radiationless transitions on the nanoscale 2) Optical gain: recovering predictions from theory and revealing new physics 3) Electronic structure of multiexcitons: creation of an artificial periodic table 4) electron-phonon interactions: quantizing piezoelectricity The power of this approach is reflected by our ability to predict aspects of unrelated experiments, e.g. single dot blinking and multiple exciton generation. In addition to the basic science of excitons in nanoscale materials, these fundamental results have advanced the design principles for a broad range of applications including: LEDs, lasers, solar cells, THz radiation sources, piezoelectrics, and non-classical light.
Excitation dynamics in nanoscale materials for solar energy harvesting
Paper 7758-28 of Conference 7758
Date: Thursday, 05 August 2010

Author(s): Oleg V. Prezhdo, Univ. of Washington (United States)


Design of novel materials for energy harvesting and storage requires an understanding of the dynamical response on the nanometer scale. A great deal of experimental and theoretical work has been devoted to characterizing the excitation, charge, spin, and vibrational dynamics in quantum dots, conducting polymers, carbon nanotubes, inorganic semiconductors and molecular chromophores. We have developed state-of-the-art non-adiabatic molecular dynamics techniques and implemented them within time-dependent density functional theory in order to model the ultrafast processes in these materials at the atomistic level and in real time. Quantum dots (QD) are quasi-zero dimensional structures with a unique combination of molecular and bulk properties. As a result, QDs exhibit new physical phenomena such as the electron-phonon relaxation bottleneck and efficient carrier multiplication, which have the potential to greatly increase the efficiency of solar cells. Photoinduced charge separation across molecular/bulk interfaces drives the dye-sensitized semiconductor solar cell. A subject of active research, it creates many challenges due to the stark differences between the quantum states of molecular and periodic systems, as well as the different sets of theories and experimental tools used by physicists and chemists. Our time-domain atomistic simulations create a detailed picture of these materials. By comparing and contrasting their properties, we provide a unifying description of quantum dynamics on the nanometer scale, resolve several highly debated issues, and generate theoretical guidelines for development of novel systems for energy harvesting and storage.


Widefield multiphoton excited fluorescence microscopy for animal study in vivo
Paper 7765-32 of Conference 7765
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Shean-Jen Chen, Li-Chung Cheng, Chia-Yuan Chang, Hung-Wei Su, National Cheng Kung Univ. (Taiwan)


A widefield multiphoton excited fluorescence microscope with a simultaneously spatial and temporal focusing technique has been developed to provide fast three-dimensional (3D) multiphoton fluorescence images fro animal study in vivo. Unlike conventional multiphoton microscopy based on pixel by pixel scanning technique, the wide-field multiphoton microscope only scans one dimension, z-axis, to construct a 3D image. By using a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser oscillator as a seed laser for the femtosecond laser amplifier with a repetition rate of 10 kHz, we raise the average power from 1.0 to 4.2 W, which is enough power to excite the fluorescence in the area over 100 μm x 100 μm. The fluorescence image signal is detected by an EM CCD, which frame rate might rise up to 1 kHz according to the efficiency of fluorophore, so the widefield multiphoton microscopy can provide very fast imaging fro animal study in vivo such as monitoring brain neuron activity and liver metabolism.
Multiphoton excited whispering gallery mode ultraviolet lasing from ZnO nano-multipods
Paper 7755-3 of Conference 7755
Date: Sunday, 01 August 2010

Author(s): Gaurav Shukla, Alika Khare, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (India)


For c-axis oriented hexagonal ZnO nanodisks, microrods, and nano-multipods, the lasing action can originate from whispering-gallery mode (WGM) cavity, in which the light wave propagates circularly in the inner walls due to multiple total internal reflections at the resonator's boundary. In this work, growth of ZnO nano-multipods on ZnO seed layer using a two step hydrothermal process followed by high temperature annealing is reported. Under excitation of a nanosecond pulsed laser with 1064 nm wavelength, UV lasing emission from ZnO nano-multipods was obtained. The UV lasing emission, resonant conditions, and laser mode characteristics will be discussed using whispering-gallery mode mechanism.
3D microstructures of functional materials fabricated by multiphoton processing
Paper 7774-16 of Conference 7774
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Xuan-Ming Duan, Xian-Zi Dong, Feng Jin, Wei-Qiang Chen, Zhen-Sheng Zhao, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (China)


Multi-photon process of nonlinear optical materials provides an excellent opportunity for nanolithography with laser direct writing technique, which can achieve not only nanometer scale resolution but also microstructure fabrication in three-dimensions. In this paper, we will report the latest progresses on the resolution of nanometer scale and 3D microstructures of functional materials fabricated by multi-photon processing in our laboratory. The fabrication resolution is downed to less than 50 nm. The fabricated 3D microstructures of active materials, semiconductor-polymer nanocomposites exhibit excellent properties such as ultra-low lasing threshold, tunable photonic bandgap and so on.
Widefield multiphoton excited fluorescence microscopy with adaptive optics
Paper 7765-33 of Conference 7765
Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2010

Author(s): Shean-Jen Chen, Chia-Yuan Chang, Li-Chung Cheng, Hung-Wei Su, National Cheng Kung Univ. (Taiwan)


This paper demonstrates the first integration for widefield multiphoton excited fluorescence microscopy with adaptive optics to image mice in vivo. According to distorted wavefront collected by defined image sharpness parameters, deformable mirror is used to correct the distortion in real time. The adaptive optics device corrects uniformity and system misalignment first and then reduces biospecimen distortion to ensure perfect temporal focusing.
Entanglement-enhanced measurement of a completely unknown phase
Paper 7815-36 of Conference 7815
Date: Thursday, 05 August 2010

Author(s): B. L. Higgins, G. Y. Xiang, Griffith Univ. (Australia); D. W. Berry, Univ. of Waterloo (Canada); H. M. Wiseman, G. J. Pryde, Griffith Univ. (Australia)


Obtaining uncertainty in an estimate of an optical phase shift below the standard quantum limit (SQL) requires employing nonclassical properties of quantum mechanics, such as multiphoton entangled NOON states. Measurement of a phase anywhere within 0 to 2π, however, additionally requires nontrivial quantum control. Furthermore, the experimental construction of NOON states is notoriously difficult. We present an adaptive phase measurement scheme using entangled multiphoton states. We take a "bottom-up" approach by constructing an experimental measurement protocol tailored to available states, employing precharacterization of the apparatus and optimising feedback to achieve sub-SQL measurement of a random phase.
Three-dimensional polymer microdevices with gold nanorods
Paper 7757-123 of Conference 7757
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Shean-Jen Chen, Wen-Shuo Kuo, Chi-Hsiang Lien, National Cheng Kung Univ. (Taiwan)


In this study, nonlinear multiphoton photocrosslinking and photopolymerization of rose bengal and trimethylolpropane triacrylate monomers in solution have been used to direct the three-dimension (3D) assembly of microdevices; moreover, we also presents the first example of containing gold nanorods within the photopolymerization. The experimental results show that the two-photon excited photopolymerization containing the nanorods improves more efficiently of decreasing the power density of femtosecond laser, and also provides a great diversity of optical properties. The doped nanorods with two-photon luminescence act as label molecules for internal microdiagnosis of 3D polymer microdevices.
The 3D structure with gradient spiral lattices exhibits a completely different phenomenon on light propagation: these gradient 3D photonic structures may be beneficial for developing polymer based optoelectronic devices and integrated systems
Paper 7774-18 of Conference 7774
Date: Monday, 02 August 2010

Author(s): Zhen-Sheng Zhao, Xian-Zi Dong, Xuan-Ming Duan, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (China)


Multiphoton photopolymerization (MPP) is an emerging technique for the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) microstructures. Here, we report the fabrication and properties of 3D photonic structures consisting of gradient lattices. The properties of 3D structures were experimentally confirmed by experimentals and FDTD calculations. The 3D structure with gradient quasidiamond lattices could effectively expand the width of the PBG. The 3D structure with gradient spiral lattices exhibits a completely different phenomenon on light propagation. These gradient 3D photonic structures may be beneficial for developing polymer based optoelectronic devices and integrated systems. The details will be reported on the conference.
Terahertz nonlinear spectroscopy of free-carriers in direct bandgap semiconductors
Paper 7763-11 of Conference 7763
Date: Sunday, 01 August 2010

Author(s): Luca Razzari, Francois Blanchard, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (Canada); Fuhai Su, Univ. of Alberta (Canada); Gargi Sharma, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (Canada); Ayesheshim K. Ayesheshim, Tyler L. Cocker, Lyubov V. Titova, Univ. of Alberta (Canada); Heidi C. Bandulet, Roberto Morandotti, Jean-Claude Kieffer, Tsuneyuki Ozaki, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (Canada); Matthew E. Reid, Univ. of Northern British Columbia (Canada); Frank A. Hegmann, Univ. of Alberta (Canada)


Ultrafast nonlinear processes have been extensively explored in the visible and near infrared frequency range, thanks to the availability of ultrashort pulses delivered by mode-locked lasers. Here, the combination of high intensities of excitation together with a very fine temporal resolution have shed new light on diverse aspects of condensed-matter dynamics [1]. On the other hand, this kind of phenomena has remained relatively unexplored in the terahertz (THz) spectral region (typically 0.1-10 THz), mainly because of the lack of sources delivering high-energy, fewcycle THz pulses. Nowadays, this kind of sources is becoming available [2,3], thus opening the route towards the understanding of new aspects of radiation-matter interaction. Nonlinear interactions at THz frequencies possess interesting properties and peculiarities: on one side, in this spectral range one can observe an intermediate regime in which both electronic and ionic motions contribute to the nonlinear dielectric function of a material. On the other side, the very low energy per photon associated to this radiation allows to neglect multiphoton interactions in semiconductors, thus opening up the possibility of observing drift-velocity-based nonlinearities owing to free carriers in this type of systems. While these processes were studied in the past using relatively long THz pulses (time duration of several tens of nanoseconds) [4,5], the above-mentioned new-generation of few-cycle THz sources allows now to explore their ultrafast nature and dynamics in the picosecond domain [6]. In particular, our investigation has been aimed at studying the ultrafast nonlinear dynamics of free carriers in semiconductors and at developing the proper tools for this new kind of THz spectroscopy. We have performed several nonlinear experiments on free-carriers in direct bandgap semiconductors at THz frequencies. Techniques as Z-scan [7], THz pump - THz probe [8], and optical pump - THz probe [9] have been employed to explore nonlinear interactions in both n-doped and photoexcited samples. The mechanism that dominates these nonlinearities is found to be intervalley scattering and a simple mathematical model adding this effect to a standard Drude-like response well explains our experimental results. References [1] S. Mukamel, Principles of nonlinear spectroscopy, Oxford University Press, (1999). [2] F. Blanchard et al., Opt. Exp. 15 (20), 13212 (2007). [3] K.-L. Yeh, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 171121 (2007). [4] A. Mayer and F. Keilmann, Phys. Rev. B 33, 6954 (1986). [5] A. Mayer and F. Keilmann, Phys. Rev. B 33, 6962 (1986). [6] J. Hebling et al., IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quant. Electron. 14, 345 (2008). [7] L. Razzari et al., Phys. Rev. B 79, 193204 (2009). [8] F. Blanchard et al., in preparation. [9] F.H. Su et al., Opt. Exp. 17 (12), 9620 (2009).

 

Del Mar Photonics - Newsletter Fall 2010 - Newsletter Winter 2010

Del Mar Photonics is involved in research of CNTs, graphene nanoplatelets and graphene materials, develops advanced multifunctional materials for variety of applications as well as research instrumentation for characterization of the above.

We currently we can offer:

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2) Graphene materials: Graphene Powder, Graphene Oxide Powder, Graphene Suspension.
3) Carbon Nanotubes.
 

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Graphene nanoplatelets are the stack of multi-layer graphene sheets including platelet morphology, with characteristics as follows:

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Applications:

The high performance composite additives in PPO, POM, PPS, PC, ABS, PP, PE, PS, Nylon and rubbers.
To improve composite tensile strength, stiffness, corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance and anti-static and lubricant properties.
Mechanical properties modifications.
Conductivity modification.
Fuel tank coating.
In electronic enclosures add electrical conductivity to polymers at low densities of 3 to 5 wt%.
Adding EMI or RFI shielding capabilities to a variety of polymers.
Automotive parts: a composite with nanoplatelets can be painted electrostatically, thereby saving costs.
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Appliances: fortified polymers provide superior thermal and electrical conductivity, thereby saving the costs of separate heat dissipation mechanisms.
Sporting goods: graphite-based composites are stronger and stiffer and lighter than comparable materials.
Coatings and paints: graphene nanoplatelets can be dispersed in a wide variety of materials to add electrical conductivity and surface durability.
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Del Mar Photonics develops advanced instrumentation for research of CNTs, graphene nanoplatelets and graphene materials including lasers for broadband spectroscopy, femtosecond transient absorption and fluorescence measurements.

T&D Scan high resolution Laser Spectrometer based on broadly tunable CW laser
CW single-frequency ring Dye laser
Beacon Femtosecond Optically Gated Fluorescence Kinetic Measurement System
New Hatteras femtosecond transient absorption system
Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope
 

Graphene is a one-atom-thick planar sheet of sp2-bonded carbon atoms that are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. The term Graphene was coined as a combination of graphite and the suffix -ene by Hanns-Peter Boehm,[1][2] who described single-layer carbon foils in 1962.[3] Graphene is most easily visualized as an atomic-scale chicken wire made of carbon atoms and their bonds. The crystalline or "flake" form of graphite consists of many graphene sheets stacked together.
The carbon-carbon bond length in graphene is about 0.142 nm. Graphene sheets stack to form graphite with an interplanar spacing of 0.335 nm, which means that a stack of 3 million sheets would be only one millimeter thick. Graphene is the basic structural element of some carbon allotropes including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes. It can also be considered as an indefinitely large aromatic molecule, the limiting case of the family of flat polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2010 was awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene".[4]

Graphene is a flat monolayer of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice, and is a basic building block for graphitic materials of all other dimensionalities. It can be wrapped up into 0D fullerenes, rolled into 1D nanotubes or stacked into 3D graphite.[5]

References

[1] H. P. Boehm, R. Setton, E. Stumpp (1994). "Nomenclature and terminology of graphite intercalation compounds". Pure and Applied Chemistry 66 (9): 1893–1901. doi:10.1351/pac199466091893.
[2] H. C. Schniepp, J.-L. Li, M. J. McAllister, H. Sai, M. Herrera-Alonso, D. H. Adamson, R. K. Prud’homme, R. Car, D. A. Saville, I. A. Aksay (2006). "Functionalized Single Graphene Sheets Derived from Splitting Graphite Oxide". The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 110 (17): 8535–8539. doi:10.1021/jp060936f. PMID 16640401.
[3] H. P. Boehm, A. Clauss, G. O. Fischer, U. Hofmann (1962). "Das Adsorptionsverhalten sehr dünner Kohlenstoffolien". Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie 316 (3-4): 119–127. doi:10.1002/zaac.19623160303.
[4] Nobel Foundation announcement
[5] Geim, A. K. and Novoselov, K. S. (2007). "The rise of graphene". Nature Materials 6 (3): 183–191. doi:10.1038/nmat1849. PMID 17330084.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs; also known as buckytubes) are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-to-diameter ratio of up to 132,000,000:1,[1] which is significantly larger than any other material. These cylindrical carbon molecules have novel properties which make them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics, and other fields of materials science, as well as potential uses in architectural fields. They may also have applications in the construction of body armor. They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient thermal conductors.
Nanotubes are members of the fullerene structural family, which also includes the spherical buckyballs. The ends of a nanotube may be capped with a hemisphere of the buckyball structure. Their name is derived from their size, since the diameter of a nanotube is on the order of a few nanometers (approximately 1/50,000th of the width of a human hair), while they can be up to 18 centimeters in length (as of 2010).[1] Nanotubes are categorized as single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs).
Chemical bonding in nanotubes is described by applied quantum chemistry, specifically, orbital hybridization. The chemical bonding of nanotubes is composed entirely of sp2 bonds, similar to those of graphite. These bonds, which are stronger than the sp3 bonds found in diamonds, provide nanotubules with their unique strength. Moreover, nanotubes naturally align themselves into "ropes" held together by Van der Waals forces.

[1] Wang, X.; Li, Q.; Xie, J.; Jin, Z.; Wang, J.; Li, Y.; Jiang, K.; Fan, S. (2009). "Fabrication of Ultralong and Electrically Uniform Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Clean Substrates". Nano Letters 9 (9): 3137–3141. doi:10.1021/nl901260b. PMID 19650638.

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