25,573 research outputs found
Optical reconfiguration and polarization control in semi-continuous gold films close to the percolation threshold
Controlling and confining light by exciting plasmons in resonant metallic
nanostructures is an essential aspect of many new emerging optical
technologies. Here we explore the possibility of controllably reconfiguring the
intrinsic optical properties of semi-continuous gold films, by inducing
permanent morphological changes with a femtosecond (fs)-pulsed laser above a
critical power. Optical transmission spectroscopy measurements show a
correlation between the spectra of the morphologically modified films and the
wavelength, polarization, and the intensity of the laser used for alteration.
In order to understand the modifications induced by the laser writing, we
explore the near-field properties of these films with electron energy-loss
spectroscopy (EELS). A comparison between our experimental data and full-wave
simulations on the exact film morphologies hints toward a restructuring of the
intrinsic plasmonic eigenmodes of the metallic film by photothermal effects. We
explain these optical changes with a simple model and demonstrate
experimentally that laser writing can be used to controllably modify the
optical properties of these semi-continuous films. These metal films offer an
easy-to-fabricate and scalable platform for technological applications such as
molecular sensing and ultra-dense data storage.Comment: Supplementary materials available upon request ([email protected]
Capsule-free fluid delivery and beam-induced electrodeposition in a scanning electron microscope
Gold coated borosilicate nanocapillaries are used to locally deliver aqueous, electrolytic CuSO4 solution into the low vacuum chamber of an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). Capillary flow of the liquid is induced by bringing a nanocapillary into contact with a substrate. A microscopic droplet is stabilized by controlling the droplet evaporation rate with the substrate temperature and the pressure of H2O vapor injected into the vacuum chamber. An electron beam is admitted to the droplet through a pressure limiting aperture. Electrochemical reduction of aqueous Cu2+ to solid, high purity, deposited Cu is achieved by biasing the nanocapillary and supplying current by the beam which acts as a virtual cathode and enables electrodeposition on both conductive and insulating substrates. Delivery of liquids into vacuum enables localized, capsule-free beam induced electrochemistry, opening new pathways for direct-write nano and micro-lithography via beam induced electrodeposition. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013
One-step deposition of nano-to-micron-scalable, high-quality digital image correlation patterns for high-strain in-situ multi-microscopy testing
Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is of vital importance in the field of
experimental mechanics, yet, producing suitable DIC patterns for demanding
in-situ mechanical tests remains challenging, especially for ultra-fine
patterns, despite the large number of patterning techniques in the literature.
Therefore, we propose a simple, flexible, one-step technique (only requiring a
conventional deposition machine) to obtain scalable, high-quality, robust DIC
patterns, suitable for a range of microscopic techniques, by deposition of a
low melting temperature solder alloy in so-called 'island growth' mode, without
elevating the substrate temperature. Proof of principle is shown by
(near-)room-temperature deposition of InSn patterns, yielding highly dense,
homogeneous DIC patterns over large areas with a feature size that can be tuned
from as small as 10nm to 2um and with control over the feature shape and
density by changing the deposition parameters. Pattern optimization, in terms
of feature size, density, and contrast, is demonstrated for imaging with atomic
force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy and
profilometry. Moreover, the performance of the InSn DIC patterns and their
robustness to large deformations is validated in two challenging case studies
of in-situ micro-mechanical testing: (i) self-adaptive isogeometric digital
height correlation of optical surface height profiles of a coarse, bimodal InSn
pattern providing microscopic 3D deformation fields (illustrated for
delamination of aluminum interconnects on a polyimide substrate) and (ii) DIC
on SEM images of a much finer InSn pattern allowing quantification of high
strains near fracture locations (illustrated for rupture of a Fe foil). As
such, the high controllability, performance and scalability of the DIC patterns
offers a promising step towards more routine DIC-based in-situ micro-mechanical
testing.Comment: Accepted for publication in Strai
Hybrid Group IV Nanophotonic Structures Incorporating Diamond Silicon-Vacancy Color Centers
We demonstrate a new approach for engineering group IV semiconductor-based
quantum photonic structures containing negatively charged silicon-vacancy
(SiV) color centers in diamond as quantum emitters. Hybrid SiC/diamond
structures are realized by combining the growth of nanoand micro-diamonds on
silicon carbide (3C or 4H polytype) substrates, with the subsequent use of
these diamond crystals as a hard mask for pattern transfer. SiV color
centers are incorporated in diamond during its synthesis from molecular diamond
seeds (diamondoids), with no need for ionimplantation or annealing. We show
that the same growth technique can be used to grow a diamond layer controllably
doped with SiV on top of a high purity bulk diamond, in which we
subsequently fabricate nanopillar arrays containing high quality SiV
centers. Scanning confocal photoluminescence measurements reveal optically
active SiV lines both at room temperature and low temperature (5 K) from
all fabricated structures, and, in particular, very narrow linewidths and small
inhomogeneous broadening of SiV lines from all-diamond nano-pillar arrays,
which is a critical requirement for quantum computation. At low temperatures (5
K) we observe in these structures the signature typical of SiV centers in
bulk diamond, consistent with a double lambda. These results indicate that high
quality color centers can be incorporated into nanophotonic structures
synthetically with properties equivalent to those in bulk diamond, thereby
opening opportunities for applications in classical and quantum information
processing
Electric field and tip geometry effects on dielectrophoretic growth of carbon nanotube nanofibrils on scanning probes
Single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) nanofibrils were assembled onto a variety
of conductive scanning probes including atomic force microscope (AFM) tips and
scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) needles using positive dielectrophoresis
(DEP). The magnitude of the applied electric field was varied in the range of
1-20 V to investigate its effect on the dimensions of the assembled SWNT
nanofibrils. Both length and diameter grew asymptotically as voltage increased
from 5 to 18 V. Below 4 V, stable attachment of SWNT nanofibrils could not be
achieved due to the relatively weak DEP force versus Brownian motion. At
voltages of 20 V and higher, low quality nanofibrils resulted from
incorporating large amounts of impurities. For intermediate voltages, optimal
nanofibrils were achieved, though pivotal to this assembly is the wetting
behaviour upon tip immersion in the SWNT suspension drop. This process was
monitored in situ to correlate wetting angle and probe geometry (cone angles
and tip height), revealing that probes with narrow cone angles and long shanks
are optimal. It is proposed that this results from less wetting of the probe
apex, and therefore reduces capillary forces and especially force transients
during the nanofibril drawing process. Relatively rigid probes (force constant
>= 2 N/m) exhibited no perceivable cantilever bending upon wetting and
de-wetting, resulting in the most stable process control
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