Sangeeta Murugkar

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy using photonic crystal fiber with two closely lying zero dispersion wavelengths

We demonstrate coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy of lipid-rich structures using a single unamplified femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser and a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with two closely lying zero dispersion wavelengths (ZDW) for the Stokes source. The primary enabling factor for the fast data acquisition (84 micros per pixel) in the proof-of-principle CARS images, is the low noise supercontinuum (SC) generated in this type of PCF, in contrast to SC generated in a PCF with one ZDW. The dependence of the Stokes pulse on average input power, pump wavelength, pulse duration and polarization is experimentally characterized. We show that it is possible to control the spectral shape of the SC by tuning the pump wavelength of the input pulse and the consequence for CARS microscopy is discussed.

Miniaturized multimodal CARS microscope based on MEMS scanning and a single laser source.

We demonstrate a novel miniaturized multimodal coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscope based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) scanning mirrors and custom miniature optics. A single Ti:sapphire femtosecond pulsed laser is used as the light source to produce the CARS, two photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) and second harmonic generation (SHG) images using this miniaturized microscope. The high resolution and distortion-free images obtained from various samples such as a USAF target, fluorescent and polystyrene microspheres and biological tissue successfully demonstrate proof of concept, and pave the path towards future integration of parts into a handheld multimodal CARS probe for non- or minimally-invasive in vivo imaging.

Portable, miniaturized, fibre delivered, multimodal CARS exoscope

We demonstrate for the first time, a portable multimodal coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscope (exoscope) for minimally invasive in-vivo imaging of tissues. This device is based around a micro-electromechanical system scanning mirror and miniaturized optics with light delivery accomplished by a photonic crystal fibre. A single Ti:sapphire femtosecond pulsed laser is used as the light source to produce CARS, two photon excitation fluorescence and second harmonic generation images. The high resolution and distortion-free images obtained from various resolution and bio-samples, particularly in backward direction (epi) successfully demonstrate proof of concept, and pave the path towards future non or minimally-invasive in vivo imaging.

Measurement of the Orbital Angular Momentum Spectrum of Partially Coherent Fields using Double Angular Slit Interference

We implement an interferometric method using two angular slits to measure the orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode spectrum of a partially coherent field. As the angular separation of the slits changes, an interference pattern for a particular OAM mode is obtained. The visibility of this interference pattern as a function of angular separation is equivalent to the angular correlation function of the field. By Fourier transforming the angular correlation function obtained from the double angular slit interference, we are able to calculate the OAM spectrum of the partially coherent field. This method has potential application for characterizing the OAM spectrum in high-dimensional quantum information protocols.

Enhancing optical field intensities in Gaussian-profile fiber Bragg gratings

Gaussian profile fiber Bragg gratings exhibit narrow-bandwidth transmission peaks with significant group delay at the edge of their photonic bandgap. We demonstrate group delays ranging from 0.2 to 5.6 ns from a 1.2 cm structure. Simulations suggest such a device would be capable of enhancing the field intensity of incoming light by a factor of 800. Enhancement is confirmed by photothermally induced bistability of these peaks even at sub-milliwatt input powers with as much as a four-fold difference in the magnitude of their responses. The strong field intensities of these modes could significantly enhance desired nonlinear optical responses in fiber, provided the impact of absorption is addressed.

Chemically specific imaging of cryptosporidium oocysts using coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy.

We demonstrate the application of coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering microscopy for the rapid, label‐free chemical imaging of waterborne pathogens. Chemically selective images of cryptosporidium were acquired in just a few seconds using coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering microscopy, demonstrating its capability for the rapid detection of cryptosporidium at the single oocyst level. We discuss the applicability of such a technique in a near‐real time automated water testing system.

Planar chiral metamaterials for biosensing applications

There has been a considerable effort recently in the development of planar chiral metamaterials. Owing to the lack of inversion symmetry, these materials have been shown to display interesting physical properties such as negative index of refraction and giant optical activity. However, the biosensing capabilities of these chiral metamaterials have not been fully explored. Ultrasensitive detection and structural characterization of proteins adsorbed on chiral plasmonic substrates was demonstrated recently using UV-visible circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Second harmonic generation microscopy is an extremely sensitive nonlinear optical probe to investigate the chirality of biomaterials. In this study, we characterize the chiral response of chiral plasmonic metamaterials using second harmonic generation microscopy and CD spectroscopy. These planar chiral metamaterials, fabricated by electron-beam lithography, consist of right-handed and left-handed gold gammadions of length 400 nm and thickness 100nm, deposited on a glass substrate and arranged in a square lattice with a periodicity of 800nm.

Raman micro-spectroscopy analysis of human lens epithelial cells exposed to a low-dose-range of ionizing radiation

Recent findings in populations exposed to ionizing radiation (IR) indicate dose-related lens opacification occurs at much lower doses (<2 Gy) than indicated in radiation protection guidelines. As a result, research efforts are now being directed towards identifying early predictors of lens degeneration resulting in cataractogenesis. In this study, Raman micro-spectroscopy was used to investigate the effects of varying doses of radiation, ranging from 0.01 Gy to 5 Gy, on human lens epithelial (HLE) cells which were chemically fixed 24 h post-irradiation. Raman spectra were acquired from the nucleus and cytoplasm of the HLE cells. Spectra were collected from points in a 3  ×  3 grid pattern and then averaged. The raw spectra were preprocessed and principal component analysis followed by linear discriminant analysis was used to discriminate between dose and control for 0.25, 0.5, 2, and 5 Gy. Using leave-one-out cross-validation accuracies of greater than 74% were attained for each dose/control combination. The ultra-low doses 0.01 and 0.05 Gy were included in an analysis of band intensities for Raman bands found to be significant in the linear discrimination, and an induced repair model survival curve was fit to a band-difference-ratio plot of this data, suggesting HLE cells undergo a nonlinear response to low-doses of IR. A survival curve was also fit to clonogenic assay data done on the irradiated HLE cells, showing a similar nonlinear response.

Determining optimum operating conditions of the polarization-maintaining fiber with two far-lying zero dispersion wavelengths for CARS microscopy

Single femtosecond laser-based coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy, using a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) pumped in the near-IR to generate a supercontinuum for the Stokes source, is rapidly being adopted as a cost-effective approach. A PCF with two closely-lying zero dispersion wavelengths is a popular choice for the Stokes source, but it is often limited to imaging lipids. A polarization-maintaining PCF with two far-lying zero dispersion wavelengths offers important advantages for polarization CARS microscopy, and for CARS imaging in the fingerprint region. This PCF fiber, though commercially available, has limited use for CARS microscopy in the C-H bond region. The main problem is that the supercontinuum from this fiber is typically noisier than that from a standard PCF with two closely-lying zero dispersion wavelengths. To overcome this, we determined the optimum operating conditions for generating a low-noise supercontinuum out of a PCF with two far-lying zero dispersion wavelengths, in terms of the input parameters of the excitation pulse. We measured the relative intensity noise (RIN) of the Stokes and the corresponding CARS signal as a function of the input laser parameters in this fiber. We showed that the results of CARS imaging using this alternate fiber are comparable to those achieved using the standard fiber, for input laser pulse conditions of low average power, narrow pulse width with slightly positive chirp, and polarization direction parallel to the slow axis of the selected fiber.

Development of a slow-light spectrometer on a chip

We discuss the design and development of a slow-light spectrometer on a chip with the particular example of an arrayed waveguide grating based spectrometer. We investigate designs for slow-light elements based on photonic crystal waveguides and grating structures. The designs will be fabricated using electron-beam lithography and UV photolithography on a silicon-on-insulator platform. We optimize the geometry of these structures by numerical simulations to achieve a uniform and large group index over the largest possible wavelength range.