GUIDE to the Zarelabmay 2008 Department of Chemistry, Stanford University Welcome to the ZARELAB

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

GUIDE to the Zarelabmay 2008 Department of Chemistry, Stanford University Welcome to the ZARELAB GUIDE TO THE ZARELABMay 2008 Department of Chemistry, Stanford University Welcome to the ZARELAB. This booklet has been prepared to make your visit with us more rewarding by presenting a survey of our recent research activities. Each section was written by those members pursuing the work described therein. Please feel free to ask my lab manager, Dick Zare and the rocket test. Dr. David Leahy, or any other members of my group to discuss any project. INSIDE THIS GUIDE On page 19 is a list of all members of the Table of Contents 2 Zare group as of May 15, 2007 and Research Activities 3 information on how to contact them. On Reaction Dynamics pages 20 and 21 are floor plans of offices Absorption Spectroscopy and labs in Mudd. On page 22 is the Mass Spectroscopy Capillary Electrophoresis floor plan of the East wing at the Clark Microfluidics and SPR Imaging Center, which is across the street from Biosensors Mudd. The last pages show maps of the Single-Molecule Fluorescence Stanford campus and its vicinity. Supercritical Fluids Selected Recent Publications 17 Do enjoy your visit! Group Members 19 Floor Plans of Offices and Labs 20 Maps of Stanford Campus & Vicinity 23 TABLE OF CONTENTS Reaction Dynamics 3 H + H2 Reaction Dynamics Noah Goldberg, Jianyang Zhang, Dan Miller, Nate Bartlett Absorption Spectroscopy 4 Rayleigh Scattering Measurements Using Cavity-Ring Down Spectroscopy Doug Kuramoto 5 Cavity-Ring down Spectroscopy as Applied to Complex Organic Molecules Christa Haase Mass Spectroscopy 6 Two-step Laser Mass Spectrometry of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Materials Maegan Spencer, Matthew Hammond, Amy Morrow 7 Hadamard Transform Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Ignacio Zuleta, Oh Kyu Yoon, Matthew Robbins, Griffin Barbula 8 The Development of New Methodologies for the Selective Binding of Phosphopeptides and The Discovery of Potential Biomarkers Songyun Xu, Harvey Cohen Capillary Electrophoresis 9 Photopolymerized Sol-Gel as Chromatographic Media and Chemical Reactors Maria T. Dulay Microfluidics 10 Microfluidic Device for Coupling Capillary Electrophoresis With Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry Yiqi Luo 11 Microfluidic Device Coupled with Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging Yiqi Luo, Logan Leslie, Wing Li 12 Method for Fabricating Three-Dimensional Polydimethylsiloxane Microfluidic Devices Yiqi Luo Biosensors 13 Designing a Capillary Flow System for Impedance Spectroscopy of Individual Cells David Altman Single-Molecule Fluorescence 14 Single Molecule Fluorescence Spectroscopy Spectroscopy Samuel Kim 15 Single-cell Analysis on a Microfluidic Platform Bor-han Chueh, Eric Hall, Samuel Kim Supercritical Fluids 16 Nanoparticle Formation Using Supercritical Fluids Technology Gunilla B.J. Andrews Selected Publications 17 Zare Group Member 19 Office/Lab Floor Plans 20 Maps of Stanford & Vicinity 23 2 H + H2 REACTION DYNAMICS Noah Goldberg, Jianyang Zhang, Dan Miller, Nate Bartlett The simplest of all bimolecular reactions, the H + H2 reaction has been studied since the dawn of modern quantum mechanics. The Zarelab has contributed much to these studies over the last twenty years and was among the first labs to provide experimental results sufficiently refined to compare with accurate quantum mechanical calculations. Using the photoloc technique (photoinitiated reaction analyzed with the law of cosines), we continue this tradition by providing state-to-state differential cross sections (DCSs) for both the reactively and inelastically scattered products. We co-expand a mixture of HBr and D2 through a single nozzle into the extraction region of a Wiley- McLaren time-of-flight mass spectrometer. There, the HBr is photolyzed by a tunable, polarized laser, producing fast H atoms with a well-defined speed and spatial distribution. After waiting approximately 20 ns to allow the buildup of products from single collisions between H atoms and D2 molecules, the HD(v',j') or D2(v',j') products of interest are ionized via (2+1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) using a second laser. These ions are accelerated toward a time and position sensitive detector, and the data are analyzed to obtain the three-dimensional velocities [Vx, Vy, Vz] of individual product molecules. For the reactive channel, we have measured HD(v'=1, j') scattering angle distributions for collision energies in the range 1.48 – 1.94 eV. These experiments agree nearly perfectly with fully converged quantum mechanical calculations. Products with low rotational excitation are predominantly back scattered, and as j' increases the distribution shifts toward side scattering. For most product quantum states the DCS depends very weakly on the collision energy. These observations are consistent with the expectation that most reactive collisions involve a direct recoil mechanism. For HD(v'=1, j'=2) we observe a second peak which grows as the collision energy increases. This peak is believed to originate from one or more indirect mechanisms involving scattering from the conical intersection. Nonreactive collisions can transfer large amounts of energy into D2 vibration. The standard wisdom has been that this process occurs via hard collisions at low impact parameters, resulting in backward scattering of the products. We have studied D2(v'=1–4, j') products over the collision energy range 1.58 – 1.94 eV. Surprisingly, the products are dominantly scattered in the forward direction! In most cases the DCS is essentially independent of the product vibrational state even though the differences in internal energy are large: each quantum of vibration is roughly equal in energy to the reaction barrier on the minimum energy path. By comparing our experimental results with quasi-classical trajectory calculations, we have explained this behavior with a new tug-of-war mechanism in which attractive forces dominate the inelastic scattering process. The incoming H atom pulls on the nearest D atom but fails to capture it and form the HD product; instead, the H atom departs and the stretched D-D molecule snaps back together with increased vibrational energy. 3 RAYLEIGH SCATTERING MEASRUMENTS USING CAVITY RING-DOWN SPECTROSCOPY Doug Kuramoto Cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) is an ultrasensitive absorption technique that is capable of measuring absorption changes of 10-10 cm-1. In the simplest form of CRDS, two highly reflective mirrors face one another to form an optical cavity. A laser pulse enters the cavity through the back of one mirror and oscillates back and forth inside the cavity, leaking out a small amount of light. The rate constant for the exponential decay of the light intensity depends upon all losses of light within the optical cavity. These losses include mirror transmissions, absorption by the chemical sample, and reflection and scattering caused by the sample. In most CRDS experiments, the absorbance of the sample is determined to measure a trace amount of a species or to resolve a weak absorption peak that is below the detection limit of traditional absorption techniques. We are interested in using CRDS to look at losses caused by the sample other than absorption, more specifically losses caused by Rayleigh scattering. Much of the theory of Rayleigh scattering was developed over 100 years ago. It has been difficult, however, to make direct measurements in the laboratory owing to the small cross section. The extended path length of CRDS makes it possible to measure the total loss caused by atoms or molecules in the gas phase within the cavity. By operating in regions where there are no absorption peaks, the total loss observed is caused primarily by Rayleigh scattering from which the Rayleigh scattering cross section can be determined. Our recent focus has been on the development of a three-mirror cavity in the ring configuration (Figure 1). Although this configuration adds more complexity to the setup, we hope to use this design to our benefit. One advantage of this configuration is it provides a small amount of optical feedback to the laser that can used to affect the properties of the laser. Once this instrument is set up, measurements of the Rayleigh scattering cross section of molecules in the gas phase should be possible. Figure 1. Three-Mirror Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy Cavity 4 CAVITY RING-DOWN SPECTROSCOPY (CRDS) AS APPLIED TO COMPLEX ORGANIC MOLECULES Christa Haase It is important to be able to analyze complex organic mixtures, and in particular their isotope ratios, for many applications. These range from environmental chemistry (for example, the study of volatile organic compounds) to medicinal chemistry (for example, in the application of non-radioactive, stable isotope labeled tracers). For a number of these applications, Gas Chromatography-Combustion-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) is the method of choice. The basic principle behind this method is to use a gas chromatograph to separate an organic mixture into its various components. These are catalytically decomposed into carbon dioxide and water. After removing the 13 12 water, the isotope ratio of the carbon dioxide ( CO2 to CO2) is measured. The advantage of using such a simple molecule for isotope ratio measurements is that it allows increased sensitivity. However, GC-C-IRMS instruments are expensive and complex, in part because of the necessity to remove solvents, water (which is created during the combustion process) and other gases because they lead to interferences in the mass spectra. Therefore, it is important to find less expensive (and possibly
Recommended publications
  • Self Amplified Lock of a Ultra-Narrow Linewidth Optical Cavity
    Self Amplified Lock of a Ultra-narrow Linewidth Optical Cavity Kiwamu Izumi,1, ∗ Daniel Sigg,1 and Lisa Barsotti2 1LIGO Hanford Observatory, PO Box 159 Richland, Washington 99354, USA 2LIGO laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachussetts 02139, USA compiled: January 8, 2016 High finesse optical cavities are an essential tool in modern precision laser interferometry. The incident laser field is often controlled and stabilized with an active feedback system such that the field resonates in the cavity. The Pound-Drever-Hall reflection locking technique is a convenient way to derive a suitable error signal. However, it only gives a strong signal within the cavity linewidth. This poses a problem for locking a ultra-narrow linewidth cavity. We present a novel technique for acquiring lock by utilizing an additional weak control signal, but with a much larger capture range. We numerically show that this technique can be applied to the laser frequency stabilization system used in the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) which has a linewidth of 0.8 Hz. This new technique will allow us to robustly and repeatedly lock the LIGO laser frequency to the common mode of the interferometer. OCIS codes: (140.3425), (140.3410) http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/XX.99.099999 High finesse optical cavities have been an indispens- nonlinear response [8, 9] dominant and thus hinder the able tool for precision interferometry to conduct rela- linear controller. tivistic experiments such as gravitational wave detection Gravitational wave observatories deploy kilometer [1{3] and optical clocks [4]. The use of a high finesse cav- scale interferometers with extremely narrow linewidth.
    [Show full text]
  • Power Build-Up Cavity Coupled to a Laser Diode
    I POWER BUILD-UP CAVITY COUPLED I TO A LASER DIODE Daniel J. Evans I Center of Excellence for Raman Technology University of Utah I Abstract combination of these elements will emit photons at different frequencies. The ends of these semiconductor In many Raman applications there is a need to devices are cleaved to form mirrors that bounce the I detect gases in the low ppb range. The desired photons back and forth within the cavity. The photons sensitivity can be achieved by using a high power laser excite more electrons, which form more photons source in the range of tens of watts. A system (referred to as optical pumping). 2 A certain portion of I combining a build-up cavity to enhance the power and the photons emit through the front and back cleaved an external cavity laser diode setup to narrow the surfaces of the laser diode. The amount of photons that bandwidth can give the needed power to the Raman get through the cleaved surfaces can be adjusted by I spectroscopy system. coating the surface or installing other mirrors. Introduction to Laser Diodes The planar cleaved surfaces of the laser diode form a Fabry-Perot cavity with set resonance frequencies I An important characteristic of all lasers is the (vp).3 The typical laser diode has a spacing of 150 f.1I11 mode structure. The mode structure refers to both the with an index of refraction of 3.5, yielding a resonance lasing frequency and the spatial characteristics of the frequency of 285 GHz. The wavelength spacing (~A.) I laser.
    [Show full text]
  • Quantum Illumination at the Microwave Wavelengths
    Quantum Illumination at the Microwave Wavelengths 1 2 3 4 5 6, Shabir Barzanjeh, Saikat Guha, Christian Weedbrook, David Vitali, Jeffrey H. Shapiro, and Stefano Pirandola ∗ 1Institute for Quantum Information, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany 2Quantum Information Processing Group, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA 3QKD Corp., 60 St. George St., Toronto, M5S 3G4, Canada 4School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, Camerino, Macerata 62032, Italy 5Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA 6Department of Computer Science & York Centre for Quantum Technologies, University of York, York YO10 5GH, United Kingdom Quantum illumination is a quantum-optical sensing technique in which an entangled source is exploited to improve the detection of a low-reflectivity object that is immersed in a bright thermal background. Here we describe and analyze a system for applying this technique at microwave frequencies, a more appropriate spectral region for target detection than the optical, due to the naturally-occurring bright thermal background in the microwave regime. We use an electro-opto- mechanical converter to entangle microwave signal and optical idler fields, with the former being sent to probe the target region and the latter being retained at the source. The microwave radiation collected from the target region is then phase conjugated and upconverted into an optical field that is combined with the retained idler in a joint-detection
    [Show full text]
  • Construction of a Flashlamp-Pumped Dye Laser and an Acousto-Optic
    ; UNITED STATES APARTMENT OF COMMERCE oUBLICATION NBS TECHNICAL NOTE 603 / v \ f ''ttis oi Construction of a Flashlamp-Pumped Dye Laser U.S. EPARTMENT OF COMMERCE and an Acousto-Optic Modulator National Bureau of for Mode-Locking Iandards — NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS 1 The National Bureau of Standards was established by an act of Congress March 3, 1901. The Bureau's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Bureau conducts research and provides: (1) a basis for the Nation's physical measure- ment system, (2) scientific and technological services for industry and government, (3) a technical basis for equity in trade, and (4) technical services to promote public safety. The Bureau consists of the Institute for Basic Standards, the Institute for Materials Research, the Institute for Applied Technology, the Center for Computer Sciences and Technology, and the Office for Information Programs. THE INSTITUTE FOR BASIC STANDARDS provides the central basis within the United States of a complete and consistent system of physical measurement; coordinates that system with measurement systems of other nations; and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform physical measurements throughout the Nation's scien- tific community, industry, and commerce. The Institute consists of a Center for Radia- tion Research, an Office of Measurement Services and the following divisions: Applied Mathematics—Electricity—Heat—Mechanics—Optical Physics—Linac Radiation 2—Nuclear Radiation 2—Applied Radiation 2—Quantum Electronics 3— Electromagnetics 3—Time and Frequency 3 —Laboratory Astrophysics3—Cryo- 3 genics .
    [Show full text]
  • Ophthalmic Laser Therapy: Mechanisms and Applications
    1 Ophthalmic Laser Therapy: Mechanisms and Applications Daniel Palanker Department of Ophthalmology and Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA Definition The term LASER is an abbreviation which stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The laser is a source of coherent, directional, monochromatic light that can be precisely focused into a small spot. The laser is a very useful tool for a wide variety of clinical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Principles of Light Emission by Lasers Molecules are made up of atoms, which are composed of a positively charged nucleus and negatively charged electrons orbiting it at various energy levels. Light is composed of individual packets of energy, called photons. Electrons can jump from one orbit to another by either, absorbing energy and moving to a higher level (excited state), or emitting energy and transitioning to a lower level. Such transitions can be accompanied by absorption or spontaneous emission of a photon. “Stimulated Emission” is a process in which photon emission is stimulated by interaction of an atom in excited state with a passing photon. The photon emitted by the atom in this process will have the same phase, direction of propagation and wavelength as the “stimulating photon”. The “stimulating photon” does not lose energy during this interaction- it simply causes the emission and continues on, as illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 1: LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation For such stimulated emission to occur more frequently than absorption (and hence result in light amplification), the optical material should have more atoms in excited state than in a lower state.
    [Show full text]
  • Generation of a Flat-Top Laser Beam for Gravitational Wave Detectors By
    Generation of a flat-top laser beam for gravitational wave detectors by means of a nonspherical Fabry–Perot resonator Marco G. Tarallo,1,2,* John Miller,2,3 J. Agresti,1,2 E. D’Ambrosio,2 R. DeSalvo,2 D. Forest,4 B. Lagrange,4 J. M. Mackowsky,4 C. Michel,4 J. L. Montorio,4 N. Morgado,4 L. Pinard,4 A. Remilleux,4 B. Simoni,1,2 and P. Willems2 1Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56100 Pisa, Italy 2LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, California, USA 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK 4Laboratoire des Matèriaux Avancès, 22 Boulevard Niels Bohr, Villeurbanne, France *Corresponding author: [email protected] Received 23 February 2007; revised 6 July 2007; accepted 11 July 2007; posted 13 July 2007 (Doc. ID 80265); published 7 September 2007 We have tested a new kind of Fabry–Perot long-baseline optical resonator proposed to reduce the thermal noise sensitivity of gravitational wave interferometric detectors—the “mesa beam” cavity—whose flat top beam shape is achieved by means of an aspherical end mirror. We present the fundamental mode intensity pattern for this cavity and its distortion due to surface imperfections and tilt misalignments, and contrast the higher order mode patterns to the Gauss–Laguerre modes of a spherical mirror cavity. We discuss the effects of mirror tilts on cavity alignment and locking and present measurements of the mesa beam tilt sensitivity. © 2007 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 140.4780, 120.2230, 230.0040.
    [Show full text]
  • 3-5 Development of an Ultra-Narrow Line-Width Clock Laser
    3-5 Development of an Ultra-Narrow Line-Width Clock Laser LI Ying, NAGANO Shigeo, MATSUBARA Kensuke, KOJIMA Reiko, KUMAGAI Motohiro, ITO Hiroyuki, KOYAMA Yasuhiro, and HOSOKAWA Mizuhiko An optical lattice clock and a single ion optical clock are being developed in National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). Diode lasers are used for the develop- ment of extremely narrow linewidth clock lasers for optical frequency standards. Using the Pound- Drever-Hall technique, the required reduction of linewidth was achieved by locking the laser to an ultrahigh-fi nesse ultralow-expansion glass (ULE) reference cavity, which is set in the high vacuum chamber with a constant temperature and isolated against environmental noise and vibration. As a result, the laser linewidth is decreased down to several Hz. The Allan deviation is less than 4×10−15 at an averaging time over 100 s. A vibration-insensitive optical cavity has been designed, aiming the linewidth below 1 Hz. In this chapter, we report the present status of development of the clock lasers at NICT. Keywords Laser frequency stabilization, Diode laser, Optical reference cavity, Optical clock, Optical frequency standard 1 Introduction an uncertainty of 10−17 or less is divided into two types. The fi rst is the “optical lattice The second, the current time and frequency clock” [4] [5], neutral atoms are trap in the opti- standard unit, is defi ned according to the hy- cal lattice “magic wave length” and the second perfi ne structure transition of cesium atoms by is the “single ion clock” [6], single ion is con- the General Conference of Weights and Mea- fi ned to the Lamb-Dick regime.
    [Show full text]
  • Main Requirements of the Laser • Optical Resonator Cavity • Laser
    Main Requirements of the Laser • Optical Resonator Cavity • Laser Gain Medium of 2, 3 or 4 level types in the Cavity • Sufficient means of Excitation (called pumping) eg. light, current, chemical reaction • Population Inversion in the Gain Medium due to pumping Laser Types • Two main types depending on time operation • Continuous Wave (CW) • Pulsed operation • Pulsed is easier, CW more useful Optical Resonator Cavity • In laser want to confine light: have it bounce back an forth • Then it will gain most energy from gain medium • Need several passes to obtain maximum energy from gain medium • Confine light between two mirrors (Resonator Cavity) Also called Fabry Perot Etalon • Have mirror (M1) at back end highly reflective • Front end (M2) not fully transparent • Place pumped medium between two mirrors: resonator • Curved mirror will focus beam approximately at radius • However is the resonator stable? • Stability given by g parameters: g1 back mirror, g2 front mirror: L gi = 1 − ri • For two mirrors resonator stable if 0 < g1g2 < 1 • unstable if g1g2 < 0 g1g2 > 1 • at the boundary (g1g2 = 0 or 1) marginally stable Stability of Different Resonators Polarization and Lasers • Lasers often need output windows on gain medium in cavity • Output windows often produce polarized light • Polarized means light's electric and magnetic vectors at a particular angle • Normal windows lose light to reflection • Least loss for windows if light hits glass at Brewster Angle • Perpendicular polarization reflected • Parallel polarization transmitted with
    [Show full text]
  • CRDS) Work? CRDS: a Technology That Can Assess the Amount of Molecules in the Air by Measuring the Molecular Absorption of Laser Light in an Optical Cavity
    What Makes Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy (CRDS) Work? CRDS: A technology that can assess the amount of molecules in the air by measuring the molecular absorption of laser light in an optical cavity. Light (photons) and Molecules Molecules can absorb light and get “excited” at special frequencies. hν CH4 molecule These special frequencies are molecule specific. H H f = special frequencies 1 k k= spring constant C f = 2π m m = mass H H Each type of molecule absorb light only at its special frequencies. Light is absorbed at special frequencies specific to each molecule. hν 1 k f = Detector π absorption 2 m Ethylene, C2O2 Methane hν hν’ Ethylene Detector absorption wavelength Methane, CH4 At these special frequencies, the greater the distance the light travels through the sample the greater the total absorption. short hν’ Detector absorption Same number of molecules per unit volume wavelength hν’ Detector absorption Long wavelength CRDS’s optical cavity transforms 45,000 ft (8.5 miles) into 22,500 round trips in a ~1 ft long sample cell. High Reliability Laser Frequency Meter Pressure Gauge Outlet Gas Flow Temperature Gauge (to pump) Sample Gas Inlet Photo Detector Three Mirror Optical Cavity ~1 ft Resulting in parts-per-billion sensitivity Control of these four factors make CRDS ideally suited to perform scientific and industrial measurements all over the world. • Detecting low levels of trace gases • Measuring small changes in the concentration of gases • Ensuring measurement accuracy • Ensuring long-term reliability of the measurement Aircraft
    [Show full text]
  • Holmium-Co-Doped Fiber Lasers Using MAX Phase (Ti3alc2) H
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Generation of Q-switched Pulses in Thulium-doped and Thulium/ Holmium-co-doped Fiber Lasers using MAX phase (Ti3AlC2) H. Ahmad1,2 ✉ , A. A. Kamely1, N. Yusof1, L. Bayang1 & M. Z. Samion1 A MAX phase Ti3AlC2 thin flm is demonstrated as a saturable absorber (SA) to induce Q-switching in the 2.0 μm region. The Ti3AlC2 thin flm is sandwiched between two fber ferrules and integrated into thulium doped fber laser (TDFL) and thulium-holmium doped fber laser (THDFL) cavities. Stable Q-switched pulses are observed at 1980.79 nm and 1959.3 nm in the TDFL and THDFL cavities respectively, with repetition rates of 32.57 kHz and 21.94 kHz and corresponding pulse widths of 2.72 μs and 3.9 μs for both cavities. The performance of the Ti3AlC2 based SA for Q-switching operation indicates the high potential of other MAX phase materials to serve as SAs in future photonics systems. Q-switched fber lasers are highly desired laser sources for a wide number of applications due to their potential to produce high energy pulses for use in applications such as sensors1, micromachining2,3 and medical systems4–6. Recently, Q-switching in the 2 micron region has received increasing interest due to its various applications such as optical communications7, remote sensing8 and in particular for biological and medical applications9. Q-switched lasers operating at 2.0 µm have been demonstrated for various applications such as the treatment of skin discoloration due to melasma pigmentation10–12 by multiple passes with a large spot size laser13, as well as for the removal of tattoos14–19.
    [Show full text]
  • Frontiers in Optics 2010/Laser Science XXVI
    Frontiers in Optics 2010/Laser Science XXVI FiO/LS 2010 wrapped up in Rochester after a week of cutting- edge optics and photonics research presentations, powerful networking opportunities, quality educational programming and an exhibit hall featuring leading companies in the field. Headlining the popular Plenary Session and Awards Ceremony were Alain Aspect, speaking on quantum optics; Steven Block, who discussed single molecule biophysics; and award winners Joseph Eberly, Henry Kapteyn and Margaret Murnane. Led by general co-chairs Karl Koch of Corning Inc. and Lukas Novotny of the University of Rochester, FiO/LS 2010 showcased the highest quality optics and photonics research—in many cases merging multiple disciplines, including chemistry, biology, quantum mechanics and materials science, to name a few. This year, highlighted research included using LEDs to treat skin cancer, examining energy trends of communications equipment, quantum encryption over longer distances, and improvements to biological and chemical sensors. Select recorded sessions are now available to all OSA members. Members should log in and go to “Recorded Programs” to view available presentations. FiO 2010 also drew together leading laser scientists for one final celebration of LaserFest – the 50th anniversary of the first laser. In honor of the anniversary, the conference’s Industrial Physics Forum brought together speakers to discuss Applications in Laser Technology in areas like biomedicine, environmental technology and metrology. Other special events included the Arthur Ashkin Symposium, commemorating Ashkin's contributions to the understanding and use of light pressure forces on the 40th anniversary of his seminal paper “Acceleration and trapping of particles by radiation pressure,” and the Symposium on Optical Communications, where speakers reviewed the history and physics of optical fiber communication systems, in honor of 2009 Nobel Prize Winner and “Father of Fiber Optics” Charles Kao.
    [Show full text]
  • Alignment of Resonant Optical Cavities
    Alignment of resonant optical cavities Dana Z. Anderson When an input Gaussian beam is improperly aligned and mode-matched to a stable optical resonator, the electric field in the resonator couples to off-axis spatial eigenmodes. We show that a translation of the input axis or a mismatch of the beam waist to the resonator waist size causes a coupling of off-axis modes which is inphase with the input field. On the other hand, a tilt of the input beam or a mismatch of the beam waist position to cavity waist position couples to these modes in quadrature phase. We also propose a method to measure these coupling coefficients and thereby provide a means to align and mode-match a resonant optical cavity in real time. 1. Introduction be maintained with respect to a single chosen refer- Proper alignment between an input laser beam and ence. Because the technique requires the laser fre- an optical cavity means exactly this: that the laser quency to be at a cavity resonant frequency, this scheme beam couples completely to the fundamental (longitu- finds its niche most naturally in applications where the dinal) spatial mode of the cavity and not at all to the laser frequency is already to be maintained on a cavity higher-order (off-axis) spatial modes. We show that resonance. Examples are cavity stabilized lasers, gra- a transverse displacement and mismatch of waist size vitational wave Fabry-Perot interferometers, and pas- of the input beam with respect to the cavity axis and sive ring laser gyroscopes. waist size give rise to inphase coupling to, respectively, For purposes of our discussion we will consider the the first- and second higher-order transverse modes of alignment of a two-mirrored optical cavity having the cavity.
    [Show full text]