H. Cabrera

Thermal lens microscope sensitivity enhancement using a passive Fabry–Perot-type optical cavity

We developed a thermal lens microscope equipped with a passive optical cavity, which provides an optical feedback for the multiple pass of the probe laser beam to enhance sensitivity. Considering the maximum absorption peak for Fe(II) at 532 nm wavelength, we have achieved a 6.6-fold decrease in the limit of detection (LOD) to a level of 0.077 μg l−1 without a cavity. The possibilities to use thermal lens detection combined with an optical resonator was proposed and a drastic thermal lens signal enhancement was achieved using very low excitation power. The corresponding LOD for Fe(II) was further decreased to the level of 0.006 μg l−1 which represents an 85-fold decrease of the LOD value. This setup is a promising device, which can be applied as a sensitive tool for detecting chemical traces in small volumes of solutions.

Thermal diffusivity measurement by lock-in photothermal shadowgraph method

Here, we present a novel application of the shadowgraph technique for obtaining the thermal diffusivity of an opaque solid sample, inspired by the orthogonal skimming photothermal beam deflection technique. This new variant utilizes the shadow projected by the sample when put against a collimated light source. The sample is then heated periodically by another light beam, giving rise to thermal waves, which propagate across it and through its surroundings. Changes in the refractive index of the surrounding media due to the heating distort the shadow. This phenomenon is recorded and lock-in amplified in order to determine the samples thermal diffusivity.

High sensitivity thermal lens microscopy: Cr-VI trace detection in water

In this work, a low detection limit for hexavalent chromium in water of parts per trillions (21ng/L) was achieved using a micro-spatial thermal lens spectroscopy setup with coaxial counter-propagating pump and probe laser beams and an integrated passive optical Fabry-Perot resonator, aided with a well-established diphenyl carbazide colorimetric method. Cr-VI concentrations in the range of μg/L, i.e. well-below the toxicity thresholds in humans and animals (26 and 190mg/L respectively) and below those delimited by international regulations for drink water (~0.05-0.5mg/L), have been obtained by measurements in bottled and tap water samples. The developed thermal lens microscope is also capable to detect Cr-VI directly in potassium dichromate solutions using pump beam wavelengths within the very low optical absorption region in the visible part of the spectrum, i.e., without the use of any colorimetric method.

Thermal diffusivity measurement in thin metallic filaments using the mirage method with multiple probe beams and a digital camera

Photothermal beam deflection is a well-established technique for measuring thermal diffusivity. In this technique, a pump laser beam generates temperature variations on the surface of the sample to be studied. These variations transfer heat to the surrounding medium, which may be air or any other fluid. The medium in turn experiences a change in the refractive index, which will be proportional to the temperature field on the sample surface when the distance to this surface is small. A probe laser beam will suffer a deflection due to the refractive index periodical changes, which is usually monitored by means of a quadrant photodetector or a similar device aided by lock-in amplification. A linear relationship that arises in this technique is that given by the phase lag of the thermal wave as a function of the distance to a punctual heat source when unidimensional heat diffusion can be guaranteed. This relationship is useful in the calculation of the samples thermal diffusivity, which can be obtained straightforwardly by the so-called slope method, if the pump beam modulation frequency is well-known. The measurement procedure requires the experimenter to displace the probe beam at a given distance from the heat source, measure the phase lag at that offset, and repeat this for as many points as desired. This process can be quite lengthy in dependence of the number points. In this paper, we propose a detection scheme, which overcomes this limitation and simplifies the experimental setup using a digital camera that substitutes all detection hardware utilizing motion detection techniques and software digital signal lock-in post-processing. In this work, the method is demonstrated using thin metallic filaments as samples.