O. V. Ushakova

Random media characterization using the analysis of diffusing light data on the basis of an effective medium model

The transport properties of dense random media such as rutile powder layers and polyball suspensions are analyzed in visible and near infrared on the basis of experimental data on coherent backscattering, diffuse transmittance, and low-coherence interferometry. The developed technique of retrieval of the transport parameters of examined scattering media allows the evaluation of the transport mean free path l* and the effective refractive index n(ef) of the medium without a priori knowledge of the optical properties of the scattering particles. It is found that with decreasing wavelength lambda(0) the value of localization parameter 2pin(ef)l*/lambda(0) of the studied rutile samples abruptly drops and approaches approximately 2.6 at 473 nm. This peculiarity is caused by the very large scattering efficiency of scatterers in the vicinity of the first Mie resonance.

Laser speckle probes of relaxation dynamics in soft porous media saturated by near-critical fluids

Speckle correlation analysis was applied to study the relaxation dynamics in soft porous media saturated by near-critical carbon dioxide. The relaxation of soft matrix deformation was caused by a stepwise change in the fluid pressure. It was found that the deformation rate in the course of relaxation and the relaxation time strongly depend on the temperature of the system. The values of relaxation time reach their maximal values in the vicinity of the critical point of saturating fluid. The contributions of hydrodynamic relaxation of the fluid density and viscoelastic relaxation of the porous matrix to its creeping are analyzed.

Resonant scattering and absorption in the titanate-based nanoplatelet dispersions in near ultraviolet region.

Extinction enhancement and nonlinear near-resonant absorption of potassium polytitanate nanoplatelets were experimentally studied in the near-UV region. Phenomenological models such as the one-oscillator Lorentz model for dielectric function and the two-level model with the depleted ground state were used to interpret the experimental data. The introduced model parameters demonstrate the adequately high sensitivity to variations in nanoplatelet morphology and chemical environment.

Speckle correlometry method for evaluating the transport scattering coefficient of a randomly inhomogeneous medium

We propose a method for evaluating the transport scattering coefficient of a randomly inhomogeneous medium, which is based on a correlation analysis of the intensity of laser radiation backscattered from the moving medium. The method employs a localized source of radiation (laser beam focused on the surface of medium) and makes use of the spatial filtration of detected scattered radiation in the image plane of the optical system with the aid of a programmed ring filter.

Optical clearing and laser light dynamic scattering near the critical point of fluid in mesoporous materials

The effects of dynamic scattering of laser light and optical clearing of a mesoporous system impregnated by near-critical fluid (carbon dioxide) were studied for the case of quasi-equilibrium isothermal transitions between the phase states of the fluid (CO2) in the vicinity of the critical point. The rate of optical clearing with increasing pressure near the saturation vapor point of the filling subcritical substance was found to be controlled by the co-existence of the liquid and gaseous phases in mesopores and decayed with an increase in detuning from the critical temperature. It was shown that the decorrelation of speckle-modulated scattered light during slow variations of the pressure can be described in terms of the Fourier transform of the pathlength probability density of the scattered light. The transform parameter is defined by the pressure derivative of the effective refractive index of the system. The results obtained can be used as a physical basis for laser probing of near-critical disperse systems.

Analysis of the scatter growth in dispersive media with the use of dynamic light scattering

Analysis of the structure functions of intensity fluctuations of scattered laser light was applied to monitor the phase separation in probed disperse media. UV-cured mixtures of a liquid crystal and prepolymer were studied during the formation of the structure of dispersive polymer-liquid crystal (DPLC) composites. The experimentally observed features of light beating induced by dynamic light scattering in DPLC systems (the scaling properties of the structure functions, the narrowing of the beating spectrum for certain weight fractions of the liquid-crystalline component) were interpreted in terms of the discrete scattering model using the results of statistical modeling.

Effect of the “inversion” of a scattering medium in layers of close-packed titanium dioxide nanoparticles

The features of the behavior of the diffuse transmission of layers of close-packed titanium dioxide nanoparticles in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges with an increase in the volume fraction f of the particles in a layer have been analyzed. It has been found that an increase in f for layers of small particles (about 25 nm) with a relatively low volume fraction (0.20–0.25) is accompanied by the expected decrease in diffuse transmission. At the same time, an increase in f for layers of large particles (about 100 nm) with a volume fraction of 0.45–0.50 results in a strong increase in transmission. The described phenomenon has been interpreted in terms of the concepts of inverse scattering systems, where the main scattering centers are air nanocavities in a TiO2 matrix rather than TiO2 particles in an air matrix.

Polarization videoreflectometry of multiple scattering anisotropic media in application to fibrous tissue diagnostics

Diffuse reflectance of polarized light is studied in application to characterization of multiple scattering anisotropic media (such as, e.g., the fibrous tissues) with the use of focused probe laser beam. The theoretical model for description of the transport properties (the values of transport scattering coefficients and effective refractive index for different polarization states of probe light) of closely packed systems of partially disordered dielectric cylinders is considered on the base of coherent potential approximation. The influence of structural and optical characteristics of fibrous systems (such as the volume fraction of cylindrical scatters, their average diameter, the degree of disorder, refractive indices of scatters and surrounding medium) on diagnostical parameters determined with the polarization videoreflectometry can be analyzed in the framework of the considered theoretical model. The obtained theoretical results satisfactorily agree with the experimental data on polarization videoreflectometry and spectral-polarization measurements in the transmittance mode of in-vitro samples of demineralized bone, muscular tissue and phantom samples (partially oriented polymer films).

Excitation of local surface modes in semiconductor nanoparticles in visible and near UV regions

The effect of excitation of local surface modes in semiconductor nanoparticles is studied experimentally and theoretically for various compounds: titanium dioxide, titanium nitride, tungsten disilicide, molybdenum disilicide. Enhancement of depolarizing properties for non-spherical titania nanoparticles (nanoplatelets and nanoribbons) associated with the excitation of local surface modes is considered. The possibility to retrieve the dielectric function spectrum from the depolarization factor measurements for low-dimensional nanoparticles is discussed.

The optical immersion effect in disperse systems with supercritical components

The method of optical immersion of randomly inhomogeneous media with porous structures into a supercritical fluid (SCF) is considered. Growth in the fluid density upon isothermal increase in the pressure leads to growth in the refractive index and, accordingly, in diffuse transmission of light through a layer of immersed medium. Experimental data on the small-angle diffuse transmission of a model scattering medium (filter paper, PTFE ribbon) are presented for various SCF pressures. Values of the transport length of laser radiation in these media are recovered as dependent on the SCF refractive index.