Rod S. Taylor

Preionization and discharge stability study of long optical pulse duration UV-preionized XeCl lasers

This paper presents a complete study of the temporal and spatial characteristics of the preionization of a XeCl rare-gas halide laser. The detailed study was made possible using the technique of laser-induced preionization which utilizes the uv radiation from a KrF laser to preionize a second rare-gas halide laser. In addition to the preionization study, high spatial and temporal resolution framing camera photographs have been used to investigate the growth of discharge instabilities which can lead to the premature termination of the XeCl optical pulse. The roles played by HCl, Xe, the buffer gas as well as the discharge energy loading in the development of discharge instabilities have been determined experimentally.

Time‐resolved reflectivity as a probe of the dynamics of laser ablation of organic polymers

The interaction of KrF excimer laser pulses with polyimide, poly(ethylene terephthalate), polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), and polyethylene has been studied by time‐resolved reflectivity. The width, fluence, and peak intensity of a KrF (248 nm) laser pulse reflected from the polymer surface was determined over a large range of incident laser fluences, 1–3000 mJ/cm2. The reflected pulse was truncated once the incident fluence exceeded a critical value (threshold), characteristic for each polymer. Above the threshold the pulse decayed exponentially with time constants ranging from 2 to 6 ns. For polyethylene, such a critical value appears to lie above the highest fluence available in the present experiments. The threshold fluences for pulse truncation are usually somewhat lower than the ablation thresholds measured photoacoustically. The mechanism of the process is discussed in terms of time‐dependent absorption and scattering from particles emerging from the surface during ablation. Approximate calc...

Dependence of the damage and transmission properties of fused silica fibers on the excimer laser wavelength

The damage and transmission properties of selected commercially available fused silica fibers have been measured as a function of excimer laser wavelength. Two-photon absorption and color center formation in fused silica currently limit the use of these fibers at the excimer wavelengths of 193 nm (ArF) and 248 nm (KrF).

Nanoscale Imaging of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Clustering: EFFECTS OF INHIBITORS*

The development of some solid tumors is associated with overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and often correlates with poor prognosis. Near field scanning optical microscopy, a technique with subdiffraction-limited optical resolution, was used to examine the influence of two inhibitors (the chimeric 225 antibody and tyrosine phosphorylation inhibitor AG1478) on the nanoscale clustering of EGFR in HeLa cells. The EGFR is organized in small clusters, average diameter of 150 nm, on the plasma membrane for both control and EGF-treated cells. The numbers of receptors in individual clusters vary from as few as one or two proteins to greater than 100. Both inhibitors yield an increased cluster density and an increase in the fraction of clusters with smaller diameters and fewer receptors. Exposure to AG1478 also decreases the fraction of EGFR that colocalizes with both rafts and caveolae. EGF stimulation results in a significant loss of the full-length EGFR from the plasma membrane with the concomitant appearance of low molecular mass proteolytic products. By contrast, AG1478 reduces the level of EGFR degradation. Changes in receptor clustering provide one mechanism for regulating EGFR signaling and are relevant to the design of strategies for therapeutic interventions based on modulating EGFR signaling.

Ultralong optical‐pulse corona preionized XeCl laser

A simple corona preionization scheme together with magnetic spiker and pulse forming line technology has resulted in the production of 100‐mJ, 1‐μs duration as well as 500‐mJ, 0.5‐μs duration XeCl laser pulses.

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy with sub-diffraction-limited resolution using near-field optical probes

We report fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) measurements using near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) probes to produce a sub-diffraction-limited observation area. An order of magnitude reduction in the area compared to confocal FCS has been achieved. We also demonstrate a simple means to model the autocorrelation decay due to diffusion within the excitation profile at the NSOM probe aperture. The use of probes with smaller apertures is expected to provide an additional order of magnitude reduction in the observation area, thus enabling the study of cellular membranes with higher concentrations of fluorophores than is currently possible with diffraction-limited techniques.

Near-field scanning optical microscopy probes: a comparison of pulled and double-etched bent NSOM probes for fluorescence imaging of biological samples

Bent near‐field optical probes for biological applications have been fabricated using a combination of a two‐step chemical etching method and focused ion beam milling to create a well‐defined aperture. The transmission efficiencies have been evaluated as a function of laser wavelength (λ) and aperture size (D) for both large and small core fibres. The probe transmission behaviour follows a (D/λ)3 relationship. The double‐etched probes are compared to pulled probes fabricated from highly GeO2‐doped dispersion compensating fibre and a standard single‐mode optical fibre. The transmission efficiencies of both types of pulled probes are approximately two orders of magnitude lower than double‐etched probes with similar aperture sizes. To demonstrate the utility of the various probes, their imaging performance has been evaluated for samples of polymer beads and phase‐separated phospholipid monolayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine or cholesterol/phosphatidylcholine/sphingomyelin mixtures. Both pulled and double‐etched probes are suitable for fluorescence imaging of polymer spheres. However, pulled probes are rapidly damaged at the higher input laser intensities required for fluorescence imaging of monolayer samples doped with < 1% of a fluorescent dye‐labelled lipid. The images obtained with the double‐etched probes show excellent spatial resolution and signal/noise, illustrating the potential of such probes for imaging of biological samples.

Preionization kinetics of an X-ray preionized XeCl gas discharge laser

The influence of preionization conditions on the performance of a XeCl gas discharge laser preionized by a short, high intensity x-ray pulse, has been studied. The laser output energy and optical pulse temporal characteristics have been used to determine the roles of initial electron density and of electron attachment to HCl and to impurities. Although the short pulse preionization technique functions well for XeCl when the laser voltage pulse has a short risetime (≲20 ns), it is less well suited to XeCl lasers using slowly rising voltage pulses (>50 ns), or to F2 containing gas mixtures (KrF and XeF lasers).

Comparison of theoretical models of laser ablation of polyimide with experimental results

Abstract The results of detailed calculations of the etch rates for pulsed UV laser ablation of polyimide at 308 nm using several proposed theoretical models of the process are compared with experimental results. The theories which indicate that the etch depth per pulse is dependent on the fluence, and not the peak intensity of the laser pulse, are consistent with the experimental data for laser pulse widths of 7–500 ns. The implication of the results on various aspects of the models is discussed.

Excited singlet-state absorption in laser dyes at the XeCl wavelength

The transmission properties of the laser dyes BBQ, PBD, BPBD, α-NPO,p-Quarterphenyl and PPO have been measured using a XeCl (308 nm) excimer laser. A model for the dye saturation which incorporates excited-state absorption was used to estimate the lifetime and the absorption cross section of the first excited singlet-state for each dye.