Examining individual molecules at the atomic scale is one of the most challenging problems of modern science. When crystallization of a molecule is difficult or impossible, an X-ray, electron, or positron micro-beam can act as a probe that enables the scientist to determine the structure of a single molecule. However, the beam itself can damage the molecule, in which case the molecule becomes f...

We suggest a new approach for selective trapping of light absorbing particles in gases by multiple optical bottle-beam-like traps created by volume speckle field. We demonstrate stable simultaneous confinement of a few thousand micro-particles in air with a single lowpower laser beam. The size distribution of trapped particles exhibits a narrow peak near the average size of an optical speckle. ...

A Gaussian model of the radius measurement of micro-optics has been developed and tested using simulations. The model is based on the propagation distances in the interferometer, a heretofore uninvestigated effect. The goal of the model is to determine the bias error in the radius due to the Gaussian Beam propagation model. After testing the model with varying conditions, we have concluded the ...

Surface plasmon waveguides (SPW’s) are metal ridges featuring widths in the micrometre range and thicknesses of a few tens of nanometres. A focused ion beam (FIB) has been used to carve micro–scatterers into gold SPW’s and the near–field distributions around these micro-structures are observed by means of a Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope (PSTM). On the basis of near-field images, we show ...

Micro-scale optical components play a crucial role in imaging and display technology, biosensing, beam shaping, optical switching, wavefront-analysis, and device miniaturization. Herein, we demonstrate liquid compound micro-lenses with dynamically tunable focal lengths. We employ bi-phase emulsion droplets fabricated from immiscible hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon liquids to form responsive micro-...

In x-ray micro-CT applications, it is useful to increase the field of view by offsetting a two-dimensional (2D) detector array. In this technical note, we briefly review the methods for image reconstruction with an asymmetric 2D detector array, elaborate on the use of an associated weighting scheme in the case of helical/spiral cone-beam scanning, and perform a series of numerical tests to demo...

We show a diffraction-based coupling scheme that allows a micro-resonator to directly manipulate a free-space optical beam at normal incidence. We demonstrate a high-Q micro-gear resonator with a 1.57-um radius whose vertical transmission and reflection change 40% over a wavelength range of only 0.3 nm. Without the need to be attached to a waveguide, a dense 2D array of such resonators can be i...

We analyze the strain state of GaN nanowire ensembles by x-ray diffraction. The nanowires are grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a Si(111) substrate in a self-organized manner. On a macroscopic scale, the nanowires are found to be free of strain. However, coalescence of the nanowires results in micro-strain with a magnitude from ± (0.015)% to ± (0.03)%. This micro-strain contributes to the line...

We discuss the Stark deflectometry of micro-modulated molecular beams for the enrichment of biomolecular isomers as well as single-wall carbon nanotubes, and we demonstrate the working principle of this idea with fullerenes. The sorting is based on the species-dependent susceptibility-to-mass ratio χ/m. The device is compatible with a high molecular throughput, and the spatial micro-modulation ...

Current rapid development in MEMS area has opened up many possibilities in nano-technology such as nano-fabrication. Among them is nanoscale wiring by both AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) tip and laser beam. Being able to make a relatively small deflection, a micro thermal actuator can be used to control the near field optics of the beam minutely and accurately. In this project, we will investiga...