399 research outputs found
Flow rate--pressure drop relation for deformable shallow microfluidic channels
Laminar flow in devices fabricated from soft materials causes deformation of
the passage geometry, which affects the flow rate--pressure drop relation. For
a given pressure drop, in channels with narrow rectangular cross-section, the
flow rate varies as the cube of the channel height, so deformation can produce
significant quantitative effects, including nonlinear dependence on the
pressure drop [{Gervais, T., El-Ali, J., G\"unther, A. \& Jensen, K.\ F.}\ 2006
Flow-induced deformation of shallow microfluidic channels.\ \textit{Lab Chip}
\textbf{6}, 500--507]. Gervais et. al. proposed a successful model of the
deformation-induced change in the flow rate by heuristically coupling a Hookean
elastic response with the lubrication approximation for Stokes flow. However,
their model contains a fitting parameter that must be found for each channel
shape by performing an experiment. We present a perturbation approach for the
flow rate--pressure drop relation in a shallow deformable microchannel using
the theory of isotropic quasi-static plate bending and the Stokes equations
under a lubrication approximation (specifically, the ratio of the channel's
height to its width and of the channel's height to its length are both assumed
small). Our result contains no free parameters and confirms Gervais et. al.'s
observation that the flow rate is a quartic polynomial of the pressure drop.
The derived flow rate--pressure drop relation compares favorably with
experimental measurements.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures; v2 minor revisions, accepted for publication in
the Journal of Fluid Mechanic
Giant Quantum Reflection of Neon Atoms from a Ridged Silicon Surface
The specular reflectivity of slow, metastable neon atoms from a silicon
surface was found to increase markedly when the flat surface was replaced by a
grating structure with parallel narrow ridges. For a surface with ridges that
have a sufficiently narrow top, the reflectivity was found to increase more
than two orders of magnitude at the incident angle of 10 mRad from the surface.
The slope of the reflectivity vs the incident angle near zero was found to be
nearly an order of magnitude smaller than that of a flat surface. A grating
with 6.5% efficiency for the first-order diffraction was fabricated by using
the ridged surface structure.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. To be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Photothermal heterodyne imaging of individual nonfluorescent nanoclusters and nanocrystals
We introduce a new, highly sensitive, and simple heterodyne optical method
for imaging individual nonfluorescent nanoclusters and nanocrystals. A 2 order
of magnitude improvement of the signal is achieved compared to previous
methods. This allows for the unprecedented detection of individual small
absorptive objects such as metallic clusters (of 67 atoms) or nonluminescent
semiconductor nanocrystals. The measured signals are in agreement with a
calculation based on the scattering field theory from a photothermal-induced
modulated index of refraction profile around the nanoparticle
Resolved diffraction patterns from a reflection grating for atoms
We have studied atomic diffraction at normal incidence from an evanescent
standing wave with a high resolution using velocity selective Raman
transitions. We have observed up to 3 resolved orders of diffraction, which are
well accounted for by a scalar diffraction theory. In our experiment the
transverse coherence length of the source is greater than the period of the
diffraction grating.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Single NanoParticle Photothermal Tracking (SNaPT) of 5 nm gold beads in live cells
Tracking individual nano-objets in live cells during arbitrary long times is
an ubiquitous need in modern biology. We present here a method for tracking
individual 5 nm gold nanoparticles on live cells. It relies on the photothermal
effect and the detection of the Laser Induced Scattering around a NanoAbsorber
(LISNA). The key point for recording trajectories at video rate is the use of a
triangulation procedure. The effectiveness of the method is tested against
Single fluorescent Molecule Tracking in live COS7 cells on subsecond time
scales. We further demonstrate recordings for several minutes of AMPA receptors
trajectories on the plasma membrane of live neurons. SNaPT has the unique
potential to record arbitrary long trajectory of membrane proteins using
non-fluorescent nanometer sized labels
Structure-Dependent Fluorescence Efficiencies of Individual Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Single-nanotube photometry was used to measure the product of absorption
cross-section and fluorescence quantum yield for 12 (n,m) structural species of
semiconducting SWNTs in aqueous SDBS suspension. These products ranged from 1.7
to 4.5 x 10(-19) cm2/C atom, generally increasing with optical band gap as
described by the energy gap law. The findings suggest fluorescent quantum
yields of ~8% for the brightest, (10,2) species and introduce the empirical
calibration factors needed to deduce quantitative (n,m) distributions from bulk
fluorimetric intensities
Using atomic interference to probe atom-surface interaction
We show that atomic interference in the reflection from two suitably
polarized evanescent waves is sensitive to retardation effects in the
atom-surface interaction for specific experimental parameters. We study the
limit of short and long atomic de Broglie wavelength. The former case is
analyzed in the semiclassical approximation (Landau-Zener model). The latter
represents a quantum regime and is analyzed by solving numerically the
associated coupled Schroedinger equations. We consider a specific experimental
scheme and show the results for rubidium (short wavelength) and the much
lighter meta-stable helium atom (long wavelength). The merits of each case are
then discussed.Comment: 11 pages, including 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. A, RevTeX
sourc
Stepwise Quenching of Exciton Fluorescence in Carbon Nanotubes by Single Molecule Reactions
Single-molecule chemical reactions with individual single-walled carbon
nanotubes were observed through near-infrared photoluminescence microscopy. The
emission intensity within distinct submicrometer segments of single nanotubes
changes in discrete steps after exposure to acid, base, or diazonium reactants.
The steps are uncorrelated in space and time, and reflect the quenching of
mobile excitons at localized sites of reversible or irreversible chemical
attack. Analysis of step amplitudes reveals an exciton diffusional range of
about 90 nanometers, independent of nanotube structure. Each exciton visits
approximately 104 atomic sites during its lifetime, providing highly efficient
sensing of local chemical and physical perturbations
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