Physics Commons^™

Spectroscopic End Point Detection With An Electron Beam Evaporator, Ryan Mcgraw

University Honors Theses

Spectroscopic end point detection is a common tool used for measuring slope changes in wavelength intensity. Using algorithms able to apply this concept, coatings will be able to be dynamically measured in real time and stopped at the appropriate level to ensure process uniformity. It is currently applied to reductive processes such as etching, where the surface will start to be eaten away, creating a plasma. When the entire amount of a material on a substrate has been eaten away, the plasma will change color as it is beginning to etch a different material. Using a spectrometer, this point where …

System Design For The Quantification Of Microbial Motility In Extreme Environments, Megan Marie Dubay

Dissertations and Theses

Motility of microorganisms is understudied but provides useful insights into their behavior. Organisms' ability to move autonomously changes how they interact with their environment--finding nutrients, interacting with other organisms, and avoiding unfavorable conditions. Understanding motility features can also be used to identify specific species, such as the identification of Vibrio cholerae in human samples. Motility might also be used as evidence of life existing in even the most extreme environments on Earth, and possibly beyond. Specialized microscopy systems can be required to examine the motility of microorganisms due to the nature of the environments to which the instruments are exposed. …

Observation And Control Of Photoemission And Electric Field Enhancement Of Plasmonic Antennas Through Photoemission Electron Microscopy, Christopher M. Scheffler

Dissertations and Theses

Photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) is an imaging method which uses electrons excited through the photoelectric effect to characterize a sample surface with nanometer-level resolution. In PEEM, a high intensity laser excites electrons from the surface of the material and electron optics are used to form an image from the intensity and spatial distribution of the photoemission from the sample. The goal of this research was to study and maximize light confinement, which was accomplished using plasmonic nanostructures. Surface plasmons represent oscillations in the electron density of a material and can occur along the transition interface between a metal and a …

Simulation Of Light Propagation Captured By Photoemission Electron Microscopy (Peem), Nabila Islam

Dissertations and Theses

The Photoemission electron microscopes (PEEM) is a powerful tool capable of synchronously imaging wave nature of light manifested by interference patterns as well as its particle nature through the energy exchange between the incident photons and the photoemitted imaging electrons. PEEM offers a non-invasive high-resolution approach for studying light propagation and interaction phenomena within a nanophotonic waveguide [7,8]. The electric field intensity variation of the interference pattern yielded by the interaction between the incident light and the guided mode coupled into the waveguide produces varying photoemission yields creating contrast in PEEM image. The guided modes cannot be excited simply by …

Photoemission Electron Microscopy For Analysis Of Dielectric Structures And The Goos-Hänchen Shift, Theodore Axel Stenmark

Dissertations and Theses

Photoemission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) is a versatile tool that relies on the photoelectric effect to produce high-resolution electron images. Ultrafast pulse lasers allow for multi-photon PEEM where multiple visible or IR photons excite a single electron in a nonlinear process. The photoelectron yield in both cases is related to the near-field region of electromagnetic fields at the surface of the sample. We use this ability here to analyze wave propagation in a linear dielectric waveguide with wavelengths of 410 nm and 780 nm. The propagation constant of the waveguide can be extracted from interference patterns created by light propagating in …

Determination Of The Goos-Hänchen Shift In Dielectric Waveguides Via Photo Emission Electron Microscopy In The Visible Spectrum, Theodore Stedmark, Robert Campbell Word, Rolf Kӧnenkamp

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Photoemission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) is a versatile tool that relies on the photoelectric effect to produce high-resolution images. Pulse lasers allow for multi-photon PEEM where multiple photons are required excite a single electron. This non-linear process can directly image the near field region of electromagnetic fields in materials. We use this ability here to analyze wave propagation in a linear dielectric waveguide with wavelengths of 410nm and 780nm. The propagation constant of the waveguide can be extracted from the interference pattern created by the coupled and incident light and shows distinct polarization dependence. The electromagnetic field interaction at the boundaries …

Modeling The Optical Response To A Near-Field Probe Tip From A Generalized Multilayer Thin Film, A.J. Lawrence

Dissertations and Theses

The contrast mechanism in Kerr imaging is the apparent angle through which the plane of polarization is rotated upon reflection from a magnetic surface. This can be calculated for a well characterized surface given the polarization state of the incident light. As in traditional optical microscopy, the spatial resolution is limited by diffraction to roughly half the wavelength of the illumination light.

The diffraction limit can be circumvented through the use of near-field scanning optical microscopy, in which the illumination source is an evanescent field at the tip of a tapered optical fiber. A novel probe design for near-field optical …

Modifications To A Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer To Improve Data Acquisition Rates, Gregory Alan Bostrom

Dissertations and Theses

Cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) makes use of light retention in an optical cavity to enhance the sensitivity to absorption or extinction of light from a sample inside the cavity. When light entering the cavity is stopped, the output is an exponential decay with a decay constant that can be used to determine the quantity of the analyte if the extinction or absorption coefficient is known. The precision of the CRDS is dependent on the rate at which the system it acquires and processes ringdowns, assuming randomly distributed errors. We have demonstrated a CRDS system with a ringdown acquisition rate of …

Slm-Based Fourier Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy, Sahand Noorizadeh

Dissertations and Theses

Optical phase microscopy provides a view of objects that have minimal to no effect on the detected intensity of light that are unobservable by standard microscopy techniques. Since its inception just over 60 years ago that gave us a vision to an unseen world and earned Frits Zernike the Nobel prize in physics in 1953, phase microscopy has evolved to find various applications in biological cell imaging, crystallography, semiconductor failure analysis, and more. Two common and commercially available techniques are phase contrast and differential interference contrast (DIC). In phase contrast method, a large portion of the unscattered light that accounts …

Optical Injection Unlocking For Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy, Gregory A. Bostrom, Andrew L. Rice, Dean B. Atkinson

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Continuous wave cavity ringdown spectroscopy requires a rapid termination of the injection of light into the cavity to initiate the decay (i.e., ringdown) event. We demonstrate a technique that accomplishes this through pulsed optical injection of a second laser into the main laser, resulting in 20-100 MHz frequency shifts in the otherwise cavity-locked main laser sufficient to create ringdown events at 3.5 kHz. Data on the frequency shift as a function of both main laser current and relative wavelength are presented, 88 well 88 a demonstration that single exponential decays are maintained in the process.

Zinc Oxide Random Laser Threshold Enhancement Via Addition Of Passive Scatterers, Zachariah M. Peterson, Rolf Könenkamp, Robert Campbell Word

Student Research Symposium

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide bandgap n-type semiconductor with a variety of optical and electrical applications and many methods of fabrication. Strong optical scattering and photoluminescence from ZnO nanoparticles and films makes the material an ideal candidate for a random laser. Previous studies have shown both incoherent and coherent random lasing from ZnO films and particles agglomerations. When used as a passive scatterer in a laser dye gain medium, the addition of ZnO has been shown to improve the threshold for lasing. By combining active scattering ZnO with a passive scatterer, MgO, we show here that the lasing threshold …

Direct Coupling Of Photonic Modes And Surface Plasmon Polaritons Observed In 2-Photon Peem, Robert Campbell Word, Joseph Fitzgerald, Rolf Könenkamp

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the direct microscopic observation of optical energy transfer from guided photonic modes in an indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film to surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) at the surfaces of a single crystalline gold platelet. The photonic and SPP modes appear as an interference pattern in the photoelectron emission yield across the surface of the specimen. We explore the momentum match between the photonic and SPP modes in terms of simple waveguide theory and the three-layer slab model for bound SPP modes of thin metal films. We show that because the gold is thin (30- 40 nm), two SPP …

Molecular Fluorescence In The Vicinity Of A Charged Metallic Nanoparticle, H. Y. Chung, P. T. Leung, D. P. Tsai

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The modified fluorescence properties of a molecule in the vicinity of a metallic nanoparticle are further studied accounting for the possible existence of extraneous charges on the particle surface. This is achieved via a generalization of the previous theory of Bohren and Hunt for light scattering from a charged sphere, with the results applied to the calculation of the various decay rates and fluorescence yield of the admolecule. Numerical results show that while charge effects will in general blue-shift all the plasmonic resonances of the metal particle, both the quantum yield and the fluorescence yield can be increased at emission …

Multi-Level Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Using AgoX Thin Film, Ming Lun Tseng, Chia Min Chang, Bo Han Cheng, Pin Chieh Wu, K. S. Chung, M. K. Hsiao, H. W. Huang, D. W. Huang, Hai-Pang Chiang, P.T. Leung, D. P. Tsai

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ag nanostructures with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activities have been fabricated by applying laser-direct writing (LDW) technique on silver oxide (AgOx) thin films. By controlling the laser powers, multi-level Raman imaging of organic molecules adsorbed on the nanostructures has been observed. This phenomenon is further investigated by atomic-force microscopy and electromagnetic calculation. The SERS-active nanostructure is also fabricated on transparent and flexible substrate to demonstrate our promising strategy for the development of novel and low-cost sensing chip.

Optics And Spectroscopy In Massive Electrodynamic Theory, Adam Caccavano

Dissertations and Theses

The kinematics and dynamics for plane wave optics are derived for a massive electrodynamic field by utilizing Proca's theory. Atomic spectroscopy is also examined, with the focus on the 21 cm radiation due to the hyperfine structure of hydrogen. The modifications to Snell's Law, the Fresnel formulas, and the 21 cm radiation are shown to reduce to the familiar expressions in the limit of zero photon mass.

Fundamental Properties Of Functional Zinc Oxide Nanowires Obtained By Electrochemical Method And Their Device Applications, Athavan Nadarajah

Dissertations and Theses

We report on the fundamental properties and device applications of semiconductor nanoparticles. ZnO nanowires and CdSe quantum dots were used, prepared, characterized, and assembled into novel light-emitting diodes and solar cells. ZnO nanowire films were grown electrochemically using aqueous soluble chloride-based electrolytes as precursors at temperatures below 90° C. Dopants were added to the electrolyte in the form of chloride compounds, which are AlCl₃, CoCl₂, CuCl₂, and MnCl₂. The optical, magnetic, and structural properties of undoped and transition-metal-ion doped ZnO nanowires were explored. Our results indicate that the as-grown nanowire structures have …

The Reno Aerosol Optics Study: An Evaluation Of Aerosol Absorption Measurement Methods, Patrick J. Sheridan, W. Patrick Arnott, John A. Ogren, Elisabeth Andrews, Dean B. Atkinson, David S. Covert, Hans Moosmüller, Andreas Petzold, Beat Schmid, Anthony W. Strawa, Ravi Varma, Aki Virkkula

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Reno Aerosol Optics Study (RAOS) was designed and conducted to compare the performance of many existing and new instruments for the in situ measurement of aerosol optical properties with a focus on the determination of aerosol light absorption. For this study, simple test aerosols of black and white particles were generated and combined in external mixtures under low relative humidity conditions and delivered to each measurement system. The aerosol mixing and delivery system was constantly monitored using particle counters and nephelometers to ensure that the same aerosol number concentration and amount reached the different instruments. The aerosol light-scattering measurements …

Crystal Structure Determination Of Β-Lactoglobulin From Electron Micrographs, Richard Roeter

Dissertations and Theses

Often electron micrographs exhibit a repeating structure. Sometimes this repeating structure satisfies the definition of a crystal in that it has a three dimensional repeating structure. If the unit cell structure of this repeating structure can be determined it can be used to help categorize different sections of a particular sample. In some cases, the use of optical diffraction analysis of electron micrographs with repeating structure is a method of determining the unit cell structure.

Samples of β-Lactoglobulin were prepared for viewing in the electron microscope using both the crystalline material and carbon replicas of the crystal surface. Because the …

Electron Optical Study Of A Secondary Electron Multiplier, Chang Min Shen

Dissertations and Theses

Electron orbital theory was applied to the design of the geometrical structure of an electron multiplier for an image intensifier. A special structure satisfying production requirements was studied. Electron optical calculations consisted of determining the potential distribution and tracing the electron trajectories. Liebmann's procedure was used to solve Laplace's equation with constant potentials on the multiplier electrodes as boundary conditions. The trajectories were determined by solving the equation of motion in an electrostatic field using a Runge-Kutta procedure. The initial conditions for the trajectories were the initial energies, initial positions, and the initial directions of the secondary electrons. The plotted …