Baiquan Tang

Optical trapping and manipulation of metallic micro/nanoparticles via photorefractive crystals

A simple method to trap and manipulate metallic micro/nano-particles on the surface of photorefractive crystals is proposed. After inducing inhomogeneous charge density and space-charge fields in photorefractive crystals by non-uniform illumination, both uncharged and charged metallic particles can be trapped on the illuminated surface due to dielectrophoretic force and electrophoretic force, respectively. A transition from dielectrophoresis to electrophoresis is observed when manipulating nano-silver particles with high surface space-charge field. Our results show that this method is simple and effective to form surface microstructures of metallic particles.

Generation and erasure of femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures on nanoparticle-covered silicon by a single laser pulse.

We experimentally show that the generation and erasure of femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures on nanoparticle-covered silicon inducted by irradiation with a single laser pulse (800 nm, 120 fs, linear polarization) depend on the pulse fluence. We propose that this is due to competition between periodic surface structuring originating from the interference of incident light with surface plasmon polaritons and surface smoothing associated with surface melting. Experimental results are supported by theoretical analysis of transient surface modifications based on combining the two-temperature model and the Drude model.

Generation and evolution of plasma during femtosecond laser ablation of silicon in different ambient gases

Generation and evolution of plasma during femtosecond laser ablation of silicon are studied by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy in air, N 2 , SF 6 , and under vacuum. The plasma is generated faster than 200 ps (time resolution of our experiment) after excitation and mainly contains atoms and monovalent ions of silicon. Time-resolved spectra prove that silicon ions are faster than the silicon atoms which may be attributed to Coulomb repulsion and a local electric field when they are ejected from the silicon surface. During plasma evolution, ambient gas causes a confinement effect that enhances the dissociation of ambient gas molecules and the re-deposition of the removed material and leads to higher intensity and longer lifetime of the emission spectra. In SF 6 , a chemical reaction increases the plasma density and weakens the re-deposition effect. The different processes during plasma evolution strongly influence microstructure formation.

Real-time imaging of autofluorescence NAD(P)H in single human neutrophils

Real-time detection of NAD(P)H is particularly important for understanding physiological activities of neutrophils. We scrutinize the performance of weak light detection systems with electron multiplying CCDs (EMCCDs) with regard to the feasibility of valid investigations by autofluorescence NAD(P)H in single human neutrophils. The low-noise amplification facility of EMCCDs is indeed just adequate to permit detection at an irradiation level where neither quenching nor phototoxic effects occur. For demonstration, a neutrophil respiratory burst was triggered and observed in real time. Our low-intensity detection system fulfills all requirements for real-time investigations at high spatiotemporal resolution in the field of neutrophil physiology and pathology.

Refractive index changes by electrically induced domain reversal in a c-cut slab of LiNbO3

Refractive index changes caused by electrically induced domain reversal are investigated by light diffraction from domains in periodically poled LiNbO3. Light diffraction from this type of refractive index modulation is calculated theoretically thus providing an effective and damage-free technique to characterize periodically poled materials. Examplarily, the refractive index modulation and the duty cycle are determined. The refractive index modulation obtained by electrically induced domain reversal is in the magnitude of 10−5.

Light-induced backward scattering in LiNbO3:Fe,Zn

We investigated the light-induced backward scattering in doubly doped lithium niobate crystals and observed an intensity threshold effect. It will be shown that scattering microregions are locally recorded in the sample by holographic interaction due to the existence of the threshold effect. Experimental results of multilayer recording point out that this property could be used for high-density multilayer-like bit data optical storage while keeping high signal-to-noise ratio.

Investigation on the phase shifts of extinction and phase gratings in polymethyl methacrylate

The phase shifts of the extinction and refractive index gratings to the illumination pattern are revealed in doped polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The dynamic process of these shifts is studied via two-wave coupling at 351 nm. It is shown that these shifts are from the strain and the shrinkage inside the sample and accompanied with the photo-repolymerization process during the building process of the holographic grating. Such shifts will cause obvious energy exchange between the two recording beams and enough attention should be paid to the nonlocal property of the holographic gratings of the material in the application.