Bartosz Krajnik

SIL-based confocal fluorescence microscope for investigating individual nanostructures

Atomic layer deposition of ultrathin HfO2 on unmodified graphene from HfCl4 and H2O was investigated. Surface RMS roughness down to 0.5 nm was obtained for amorphous, 30 nm thick hafnia film grown at 180 degrees C. HfO2 was deposited also in a two-step temperature process where the initial growth of about 1 nm at 170 degrees C was continued up to 10-30 nm at 300 degrees C. This process yielded uniform, monoclinic HfO2 films with RMS roughness of 1.7 nm for 10-12 nm thick films and 2.5 nm for 30 nm thick films. Raman spectroscopy studies revealed that the deposition process caused compressive biaxial strain in graphene whereas no extra defects were generated. An 11 nm thick HfO2 film deposited onto bilayer graphene reduced the electron mobility by less than 10% at the Dirac point and by 30-40% far away from it.We developed a fluorescence confocal microscope equipped with a hemispherical solid immersion lens (SIL) and apply it to study the optical properties of light-harvesting complexes. We demonstrate that the collection efficiency of the SIL-equipped microscope is significantly improved, as is the spatial resolution, which reaches 600 nm. This experimental setup is suitable for detailed studies of physical phenomena in hybrid nanostructures. In particular, we compare the results of fluorescence intensity measurements for a light-harvesting peridinin-chlorophyll-protein (PCP) complex with and without the SIL.

Imaging of fluorescence enhancement in photosynthetic complexes coupled to silver nanowires

Optical microscopy and spectroscopy of hybrid nanostructures composed of chlorophyll-containing photosynthetic complexes and silver nanowires reveal strong enhancement of fluorescence intensity of chlorophylls bound to the protein. This effect results from interaction between excited states of molecules embedded in the photosynthetic complex and plasmon excitations in metallic nanowires. Wide-field microscopy images reveal twofold increase of the emission intensity for complexes located at the ends of the nanowires as compared to the ones lying along the nanowires. Complementary spectrally and temporally resolved experiments indicate about 10-fold average increase of the chlorophyll fluorescence rate upon coupling with the metallic nanoparticles.

Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence of Chlorophylls in Light-Harvesting Complexes Coupled to Silver Nanowires

We investigate metal-enhanced fluorescence of peridinin-chlorophyll protein coupled to silver nanowires using optical microscopy combined with spectrally and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. In particular we study two different sample geometries: first, in which the light-harvesting complexes are deposited onto silver nanowires, and second, where solution of both nanostructures are mixed prior deposition on a substrate. The results indicate that for the peridinin-chlorophyll complexes placed in the vicinity of the silver nanowires we observe higher intensities of fluorescence emission as compared to the reference sample, where no nanowires are present. Enhancement factors estimated for the sample where the light-harvesting complexes are mixed together with the silver nanowires prior deposition on a substrate are generally larger in comparison to the other geometry of a hybrid nanostructure. While fluorescence spectra are identical both in terms of overall shape and maximum wavelength for peridinin-chlorophyll-protein complexes both isolated and coupled to metallic nanostructures, we conclude that interaction with plasmon excitations in the latter remains neutral to the functionality of the biological system. Fluorescence transients measured for the PCP complexes coupled to the silver nanowires indicate shortening of the fluorescence lifetime pointing towards modifications of radiative rate due to plasmonic interactions. Our results can be applied for developing ways to plasmonically control the light-harvesting capability of photosynthetic complexes.

Electroluminescence from carbon nanotube films resistively heated in air

Light emission from carbon nanotube (CNT) films was explored in both the near-infrared and the infrared spectral regions upon application of external bias voltage. We obviated the need to use sophisticated vacuum apparatus by employing state-of-the-art optics and detection system. It enabled us to sensitively probe electroluminescence at relatively low temperatures (T ∼ 300 °C) in ambient conditions and investigate the character of emission from CNT assemblies in real life conditions. The observed spectral response revealed distinct features and the results strongly suggest that CNT assemblies are promising candidates for optoelectronic applications, particularly in the field of telecommunication.

Spectroscopic evidence for self-organization of N-iodoacetylamphotericin B in crystalline and amorphous phases.

In this paper, we propose a new way of thinking about molecular self-organization of the antibiotic amphotericin B (AmB) by examination of its N-iodoacetyl derivative (AmB-I). This choice was dictated by the simplicity of AmB-I crystallization as compared to pure AmB. The studies focus on spectroscopic investigations of the monocrystal and the amorphous state of AmB-I. The results of vibrational, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy show differences between the crystalline and amorphous forms, in particular for bands attributed to C═O (1700-1730 cm(-1)) and C-C-H groups, as well as C═C-C (ca. 1010 cm(-1)) stretching vibrations. The process of crystallization is identified by strong differences in the intensities and locations of these characteristic bands. For the AmB-I crystals, the carbonyl band is shifted toward lower frequencies as a result of intensified hydrogen bonding in the crystalline form. Detailed analysis indicates that bands in the region characteristic for the C═C-C bending distortion in the chromophore are particularly intense for AmB-I in the crystalline form as compared to the intensity of this band in the amorphous state. These findings are corroborated by the results of fluorescence spectroscopy. We observe a much faster decay of the emission for the AmB-I monocrystal as compared to the DMSO solution of AmB-I. Interestingly, the fluorescence decay in the amorphous form requires three decay times for simulating the observed behavior; two of these decay constants are sufficient for estimating the decay measured for the AmB-I crystals. The proof of the molecular organization of AmB-I molecules is obtained from polarization-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy on a single AmB-I crystal. Strong anisotropy of the emission intensity correlates with the axes of the crystal, providing insight into actual alignment of the molecules in the AmB-I crystals. These findings related to molecular organization in AmB-I crystals are crucial for understanding toxicity mechanisms of the clinically used drug, amphotericin B.

Silica nanoparticles as a tool for fluorescence collection efficiency enhancement

In this work we demonstrate enhancement of the fluorescence collection efficiency for chlorophyll-containing photosynthetic complexes deposited on SiO2 spherical nanoparticles. Microscopic images of fluorescence emission reveal ring-like emission patterns associated with chlorophyll-containing complexes coupled to electromagnetic modes within the silica nanoparticles. The interaction leaves no effect upon the emission spectra of the complexes, and the transient behavior of the fluorescence also remains unchanged, which indicates no influence of the silica nanoparticles on the radiative properties of the fluorophores. We interpret this enhancement as a result of efficient scattering of electromagnetic field by the dielectric nanoparticles that increases collection efficiency of fluorescence emission.

Spectroscopic studies of plasmon coupling between photosynthetic complexes and metallic quantum dots

Metallic quantum dots, or nanoparticles, have found an increasing number of applications not only in nanotechnology and nanoscience, but also in neighboring disciplines, such as chemistry and biology. Among the variety of ways to exploit the unique properties of metallic nanostructures is the notion that plasmonic effects associated with the movement of free carriers in metallic nanoparticles may enhance photosynthetic function in naturally evolved organisms. We report on optical microscopy and spectroscopy studies of three hybrid nanostructures composed of spherical gold nanoparticles and peridinin-chlorophyll-protein (PCP), a light-harvesting complex from algae. In the case of a bioconjugated structure we find efficient, concentration dependent quenching due to non-radiative energy transfer. In contrast, for the PCP complexes deposited directly on Au nanoparticles, the emission is increased as a result of the strong increase of the fluorescence quantum yield. Finally, for a structure with controlled separation between metallic nanoparticles and the light-harvesting complexes the emission features non-monotonic behavior with maximum enhancement of about 6, which is due to a combination of fluorescence and absorption rate increases. In this way we demonstrate how the design of plasmonic hybrid nanostructures determines the optical response, which is important for engineering novel systems for photovoltaics and sensor applications, for instance.

Confocal microscopy of plasmonic hybrid nanostructures

The paper presents the way that colour can serve solving the problem of calibration points indexing in a camera geometrical calibration process. We propose a technique in which indexes of calibration points in a black-and-white chessboard are represented as sets of colour regions in the neighbourhood of calibration points. We provide some general rules for designing a colour calibration chessboard and provide a method of calibration image analysis. We show that this approach leads to obtaining better results than in the case of widely used methods employing information about already indexed points to compute indexes. We also report constraints concerning the technique. Nowadays we are witnessing an increasing need for camera geometrical calibration systems. They are vital for such applications as 3D modelling, 3D reconstruction, assembly control systems, etc. Wherever possible, calibration objects placed in the scene are used in a camera geometrical calibration process. This approach significantly increases accuracy of calibration results and makes the calibration data extraction process easier and universal. There are many geometrical camera calibration techniques for a known calibration scene [1]. A great number of them use as an input calibration points which are localised and indexed in the scene. In this paper we propose the technique of calibration points indexing which uses a colour chessboard. The presented technique was developed by solving problems we encountered during experiments with our earlier methods of camera calibration scene analysis [2]-[3]. In particular, the proposed technique increases the number of indexed points points in case of local lack of calibration points detection. At the beginning of the paper we present a way of designing a chessboard pattern. Then we describe a calibration point indexing method, and finally we show experimental results. A black-and-white chessboard is widely used in order to obtain sub-pixel accuracy of calibration points localisation [1]. Calibration points are defined as corners of chessboard squares. Assuming the availability of rough localisation of these points, the points can be indexed. Noting that differences in distances between neighbouring points in calibration scene images differ slightly, one of the local searching methods can be employed (e.g. [2]). Methods of this type search for a calibration point to be indexed, using a window of a certain size. The position of the window is determined by a vector representing the distance between two previously indexed points in the same row or column. However, experiments show that this approach has its disadvantages, as described below. * E-mail: A.Nowakowski@ire.pw.edu.pl Firstly, there is a danger of omitting some points during indexing in case of local lack of calibration points detection in a neighbourhood (e.g. caused by the presence of non-homogeneous light in the calibration scene). A particularly unfavourable situation is when the local lack of detection effects in the appearance of separated regions of detected calibration points. It is worth saying that such situations are likely to happen for calibration points situated near image borders. Such points are very important for the analysis of optical nonlinearities, and a lack of them can significantly influence the accuracy of distortion modelling. Secondly, such methods may give wrong results in the case of optical distortion with strong nonlinearities when getting information about the neighbouring index is not an easy task. Beside this, the methods are very sensitive to a single false localisation of a calibration point. Such a single false localisation can even result in false indexing of a big set of calibration points. To avoid the above-mentioned problems, we propose using a black-and-white chessboard which contains the coded index of a calibration point in the form of colour squares situated in the nearest neighbourhood of each point. The index of a certain calibration point is determined by colours of four nearest neighbouring squares (Fig.1). An order of squares in such foursome is important. Because the size of a colour square is determined only by the possibility of correct colour detection, the size of a colour square can be smaller than the size of a black or white square. The larger size of a black or white square is determined by the requirements of the exact localisation step which follows the indexing of calibration points [3]. In this step, edge information is extracted from a blackand-white chessboard. This edge information needs larger Artur Nowakowski, Wladyslaw Skarbek Institute of Radioelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Nowowiejska 15/19, 00-665 Warszawa, A.Nowakowski@ire.pw.edu.pl Received February 10, 2009; accepted March 27, 2009; published March 31, 2009 http://www.photonics.pl/PLP

Plasmonic hybrid nanostructure with controlled interaction strength

In this report we discuss the influence of plasmon excitations in a silver island film on the fluorescence of photosynthetic complex, peridinin-chlorophyll-protein (PCP). Control of the separation between these two components is obtained by fabricating a wedge layer of silica across the substrate, with a thickness from 0 to 46 nm. Continuous variation of the silica thickness allows for gradual change of interaction strength between plasmon excitations in the metallic film and the excited states of pigments comprising photosynthetic complexes. While the largest separation between the silver film and photosynthetic complexes results in fluorescence featuring a mono-exponential decay and relatively narrow distribution of intensities, the PCP complexes placed on thinner silica spacers show biexponential fluorescence decay and significantly broader distribution of total fluorescence intensities. This broad distribution is a signature of stronger sensitivity of fluorescence enhancement upon actual parameters of a hybrid nanostructure. By gradual change of the silica spacer thickness we are able to reproduce classical distance dependence of fluorescence intensity in plasmonic hybrid nanostructures on ensemble level. Experiments carried out for different excitation wavelengths indicate that the interaction is stronger for excitations resonant with plasmon absorption in the metallic layer.

A plasmonic hybrid nanostructure with controlled interaction strength

The paper presents the way that colour can serve solving the problem of calibration points indexing in a camera geometrical calibration process. We propose a technique in which indexes of calibration points in a black-and-white chessboard are represented as sets of colour regions in the neighbourhood of calibration points. We provide some general rules for designing a colour calibration chessboard and provide a method of calibration image analysis. We show that this approach leads to obtaining better results than in the case of widely used methods employing information about already indexed points to compute indexes. We also report constraints concerning the technique. Nowadays we are witnessing an increasing need for camera geometrical calibration systems. They are vital for such applications as 3D modelling, 3D reconstruction, assembly control systems, etc. Wherever possible, calibration objects placed in the scene are used in a camera geometrical calibration process. This approach significantly increases accuracy of calibration results and makes the calibration data extraction process easier and universal. There are many geometrical camera calibration techniques for a known calibration scene [1]. A great number of them use as an input calibration points which are localised and indexed in the scene. In this paper we propose the technique of calibration points indexing which uses a colour chessboard. The presented technique was developed by solving problems we encountered during experiments with our earlier methods of camera calibration scene analysis [2]-[3]. In particular, the proposed technique increases the number of indexed points points in case of local lack of calibration points detection. At the beginning of the paper we present a way of designing a chessboard pattern. Then we describe a calibration point indexing method, and finally we show experimental results. A black-and-white chessboard is widely used in order to obtain sub-pixel accuracy of calibration points localisation [1]. Calibration points are defined as corners of chessboard squares. Assuming the availability of rough localisation of these points, the points can be indexed. Noting that differences in distances between neighbouring points in calibration scene images differ slightly, one of the local searching methods can be employed (e.g. [2]). Methods of this type search for a calibration point to be indexed, using a window of a certain size. The position of the window is determined by a vector representing the distance between two previously indexed points in the same row or column. However, experiments show that this approach has its disadvantages, as described below. * E-mail: A.Nowakowski@ire.pw.edu.pl Firstly, there is a danger of omitting some points during indexing in case of local lack of calibration points detection in a neighbourhood (e.g. caused by the presence of non-homogeneous light in the calibration scene). A particularly unfavourable situation is when the local lack of detection effects in the appearance of separated regions of detected calibration points. It is worth saying that such situations are likely to happen for calibration points situated near image borders. Such points are very important for the analysis of optical nonlinearities, and a lack of them can significantly influence the accuracy of distortion modelling. Secondly, such methods may give wrong results in the case of optical distortion with strong nonlinearities when getting information about the neighbouring index is not an easy task. Beside this, the methods are very sensitive to a single false localisation of a calibration point. Such a single false localisation can even result in false indexing of a big set of calibration points. To avoid the above-mentioned problems, we propose using a black-and-white chessboard which contains the coded index of a calibration point in the form of colour squares situated in the nearest neighbourhood of each point. The index of a certain calibration point is determined by colours of four nearest neighbouring squares (Fig.1). An order of squares in such foursome is important. Because the size of a colour square is determined only by the possibility of correct colour detection, the size of a colour square can be smaller than the size of a black or white square. The larger size of a black or white square is determined by the requirements of the exact localisation step which follows the indexing of calibration points [3]. In this step, edge information is extracted from a blackand-white chessboard. This edge information needs larger Artur Nowakowski, Wladyslaw Skarbek Institute of Radioelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Nowowiejska 15/19, 00-665 Warszawa, A.Nowakowski@ire.pw.edu.pl Received February 10, 2009; accepted March 27, 2009; published March 31, 2009 http://www.photonics.pl/PLP