Direct and sensitive detection of a human virus by rupture event scanning

We have developed a sensitive, economical method that directly detects viruses by making use of the interaction between type 1 herpes simplex virus (HSV1) and specific antibodies covalently attached to the oscillating surface of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The virions were detached from the surface by monotonously increasing the amplitude of oscillation of the QCM, while using the QCM to sensitively detect the acoustic noise produced when the interactions were broken. We term this process rupture event scanning (REVS). The method is quantitative over at least six orders of magnitude, and its sensitivity approaches detection of a single virus particle

Free-Space Nonlinear Beam Combining for High Intensity Projection

Abstract The controlled interaction of two high intensity beams opens new degrees of freedom for manipulating electromagnetic waves in air. The growing number of applications for laser filaments requires fine control of their formation and propagation. We demonstrate, experimentally and theoretically, that the attraction and fusion of two parallel ultrashort beams with initial powers below the critical value (70% P critical), in the regime where the non-linear optical characteristics of the medium become dominant, enable the eventual formation of a filament downstream. Filament formation is delayed to a predetermined distance in space, defined by the initial separation between the centroids, while still enabling filaments with controllable properties as if formed from a single above-critical power beam. This is confirmed by experimental and theoretical evidence of filament formation such as the individual beam profiles and the supercontinuum emission spectra associated with this interaction

Laser-Induced surface acoustic waves for material testing

Surface acoustic waves are elastic vibrations which propagate along the surface of the material. They are very sensitive to films and surface treatments, since the wave energy is concentrated near the surface. Therefore, there is a growing interest in using this acoustic wave mode for nondestructive testing. Whereas the wave velocity is constant for homogenous materials, the velocity c depends on frequency f for coated and surface-modified materials. This phenomenon, termed dispersion, can be used to determine important film parameters such as Young’s modulus, density, or film thickness. Especially, Young’s modulus is an interesting parameter for nondestructive characterization of film materials, since it depends on the bonding conditions and the microstructure. In order to determine the parameters of the film material, the dispersion curve c(f) is measured and fitted by a theoretical curve. Many experimental setups use pulse lasers to create surface acoustic waves. Short laser pulses can create wideband acoustic impulses. The laser is a non-contact acoustic source that can precisely be positioned on the material surface, which enables an accurate measurement of the dispersion. Five examples of application are presented which demonstrate that surface acoustic waves can be used for very different problems of surface characterization: diamond-like carbon films (ta-C) with thickness down to few nanometers, porous metal films of titanium with a thickness in the micrometer range, thermal-sprayed ceramic coatings with a thickness of some hundreds of micrometers, laser-hardened steels up to the depth of one millimeter, and subsurface damage in semiconductor materials