Boram Joo

Columnar deformation of human red blood cell by highly localized fiber optic Bessel beam stretcher

A single human red blood cell was optically stretched along two counter-propagating fiber-optic Bessel-like beams in an integrated lab-on-a-chip structure. The beam enabled highly localized stretching of RBC, and it induced a nonlinear mechanical deformation to finally reach an irreversible columnar shape that has not been reported. We characterized and systematically quantified this optically induced mechanical deformation by the geometrical aspect ratio of stretched RBC and the irreversible stretching time. The proposed RBC mechanism can realize a versatile and compact opto-mechanical platform for optical diagnosis of biological substances in the single cell level.

Enhanced optical transmission through a star-shaped bull’s eye at dual resonant-bands in UV and the visible spectral range

Dual resonant bands in UV and the visible range were simultaneously observed in the enhanced optical transmission (EOT) through star-shaped plasmonic structures. EOTs through four types of polygonal bulls eyes with a star aperture surrounded by the concentric star grooves were analyzed and compared for 3, 4, 5, and 6 corners, using finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. In contrast to plasmonic resonances in the visible range, the UV-band resonance intensity was found to scale with the number of corners, which is related with higher order multipole interactions. Spectral positions and relative intensities of the dual resonances were analyzed parametrically to find optimal conditions to maximize EOT in UV-visible dual bands.

Optical dispersion control in surfactant-free DNA thin films by Vitamin B2 doping

A new route to systematically control the optical dispersion properties of surfactant-free deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) thin solid films was developed by doping them with vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin. Surfactant-free DNA solid films of high optical quality were successfully deposited on various types of substrates by spin coating of aqueous solutions without additional chemical processes, with thicknesses ranging from 18 to 100 nm. Optical properties of the DNA films were investigated by measuring UV-visible-NIR transmission, and their refractive indices were measured using variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. By doping DNA solid films with riboflavin, the refractive index was consistently increased with an index difference Δn ≥ 0.015 in the spectral range from 500 to 900 nm, which is sufficiently large to make an all-DNA optical waveguide. Detailed correlation between the optical dispersion and riboflavin concentration was experimentally investigated and thermo-optic coefficients of the DNA-riboflavin thin solid films were also experimentally measured in the temperature range from 20 to 85 °C, opening the potential to new bio-thermal sensing applications.

Highly birefringent V-groove liquid core fiber

We report a new efficient light guidance along a liquid core using an open V-groove. Guiding properties were analyzed using finite element method in terms of the single mode guidance condition, and the corresponding modal birefringence. We experimentally demonstrated a silica V-groove fiber with an opening angle of 40°, which was spliced to single mode fibers at both ends. A liquid with the refractive index of 1.455 was filled to serve as a core along a maximum length of 47cm. We confirmed the single mode guidance and birefringence consistent to theory, which will enable polarimetric liquid sensing.

Preparation and optical characterization of DNA-riboflavin thin films

Thin films of DNA biopolymer thin film are fabricated by a drop casting process on glass and silicon substrates, as well as freestanding. The refractive index is measured by elliposmetry and in bulk DNA film the refractive index is shown to be increased in the 600 to 900 nm DNA transparency window by doping with riboflavin. Further analysis with FT-IR, Raman, and XRD are used to determine whether binding between riboflavin and DNA occurs.

Optically-induced transportation of dielectric particles with fiber optic Bessel beam

Bessel beams are important for applications in optical trapping because they have non-diffracting and self-reconstructing properties. We fabricated a fiber device to generate a Bessel-like beam that is significantly more compact than a conventional bulk-optic Bessel beam generation system. Micro-scale dielectric particles in water are trapped and transported along the optical route formed by this Bessel-like beam. By controlling the speed and angular motion of the particles, we have demonstrated optically induced circulation of particles along triangular routes. This technique is applicable to the control of motion of living cells in a microscopic environment.

Fabrication and characterization of V-groove liquid core waveguide

We report development of a new kind of micro-optical waveguide based on liquid core in a V-groove glass and air cladding and a similar finite element method was constructed to investigate the guiding properties such as mode distribution and modal birefringence. Through the detailed modeling, we investigate the role of each parameter such as, refractive index of core and diameter of core of V-groove structure. This work demonstrates numerically and experimentally high birefringence in this optical waveguide and different aspects of the fiber properties related to the fundamental mode and fiber birefringence are revealed. As a result, wave-guide with large birefringence is identified for opening angle of 40 degree and refractive index of 1.472.

Dual-resonant-band enhanced optical transmission through star shape bull’s eye

Two resonant bands in enhanced optical transmission were predicted in a star shape bulls eye plasmonic structure. Fundamental and its second harmonic resonance were analyzed parametrically to find optimal conditions for linear and nonlinear responses.