Denis Pristinski

Solid-core photonic crystal fiber as a Raman spectroscopy platform with a silica core as an internal reference

We show that solid-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is a promising platform for evanescent-field Raman spectroscopy of low-volume analytes. The Raman peak ratio of a silica core as a background to acetonitrile solution as analyte contained in the air holes maintains a constant value despite varying laser power and fiber length in a set of measurements. The Raman signal from the silica core can be used to eliminate the need to account for the coupling losses. These results demonstrate the feasibility of quantitative measurements using PCF as a Raman platform with silica as an internal reference. In addition, integrated Raman intensity increases with the length of the PCF due to long path length of light.

Determination of film thickness and refractive index in one measurement of phase-modulated ellipsometry.

Ellipsometry is often used to determine the refractive index and/or the thickness of a polymer layer on a substrate. However, simultaneous determination of these parameters from a single-wavelength single-angle measurement is not always possible. The present study determines the sensitivity of the method to errors of measurement for the case of phase modulated ellipsometry and identifies conditions for decoupling film thickness and refractive index. For a specific range of film thickness, both the thickness and the refractive index can be determined from a single measurement with high precision. This optimal range of the film thickness is determined for organic thin films, and the analysis is tested on hydrogel-like polymer films in air and in water.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering at a planar dielectric interface beyond critical angle.

Light refraction at the planar boundary of dielectric media prevents light propagation in the higher refractive index medium at angles beyond the critical value. This limitation is lifted when the evanescent wave is excited at the lower refractive index side of the interface. In this work we quantify polarization and angle dependence of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensity beyond the critical angle. Specifically, Raman spectra of thiocyanate molecules adsorbed on clustered silver nanoparticles at the water-glass interface were acquired using evanescent excitation and detection. Detected SERS signal polarization and scattering angle dependence are shown to be in agreement with a simple model based on excitation and radiation of a classical dipole near a lossless interface.