Submicrometer Objects Research Articles

Optimal in-depth trapping by tuning the correction collar of a dry objective lens

Optical tweezers are proven and indispensable micro-manipulation tools. It is very common to use an immersion-assisted high NA objective for optical trapping of micrometer-sized beads. However, such objectives suffer from low working depth range. Here we show, both by theory and experiment, that a dry objective can be utilized for optimal trapping of even sub-micrometer objects. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, we were able to stably trap polystyrene beads with radii of 270 and 175 nm in 3D using an objective with numerical aperture of 0.9.

Inverse propagation method for evaluation of super-resolution granted by dielectric microparticles.

In this work we report a theoretical study of the lateral resolution granted by a simple glass microcylinder. In this 2D study, we had in mind the 3D analogue-a microsphere whose ability to form a deeply subwavelength and strongly magnified image of submicrometer objects has been known since 2011. Conventionally, the microscope in which such an image is observed is tuned to see the areas behind the microsphere. This corresponds to the location of the virtual source formed by the microsphere at a distance longer than the distance of the real source to the miscroscope. Recently, we theoretically found a new scenario of super-resolution, when the virtual source is formed in the wave beam transmitted through the microsphere. However, in this work we concentrated on the case when the super-resolution is achieved in the impractical imaging system, in which the microscope objective lens is replaced by a microlens located at a distance smaller than the Rayleigh range. The present paper theoretically answers an important question: Which scenario of far-field nanoimaging by a microsphere grants the finest spatial resolution at very large distances? We found that the novel scenario (corresponding to higher refractive indices) promises further enhancement of the resolution.

AC electrokinetic immobilization of influenza virus.

The use of alternating current (AC) electrokinetic forces, like dielectrophoresis and AC electroosmosis, as a simple and fast method to immobilize sub-micrometer objects onto nanoelectrode arrays is presented. Due to its medical relevance, the influenza virus is chosen as a model organism. One of the outstanding features is that the immobilization of viral material to the electrodes can be achieved permanently, allowing subsequent handling independently from the electrical setup. Thus, by using merely electric fields, we demonstrate that the need of prior chemical surface modification could become obsolete. The accumulation of viral material over time is observed by fluorescence microscopy. The influences of side effects like electrothermal fluid flow, causing a fluid motion above the electrodes and causing an intensity gradient within the electrode array, are discussed. Due to the improved resolution by combining fluorescence microscopy with deconvolution, it is shown that the viral material is mainly drawn to the electrode edge and to a lesser extent to the electrode surface. Finally, areas of application for this functionalization technique are presented.

Understanding and Controlling Spatial Resolution, Sensitivity, and Surface Selectivity in Resonant-Mode Photothermal-Induced Resonance Spectroscopy

Photothermal-induced resonance (PTIR) is increasingly used in the measurement of infrared absorption spectra of submicrometer objects. The technique measures IR absorption spectra by relying on the photothermal effect induced by a rapid pulse of light and the excitation of the resonance spectrum of an AFM cantilever in contact with the sample. In this work, we assess the spatial resolution and depth response of PTIR in resonant mode while systematically varying the pulsing parameters of the excitation laser. We show that resolution is always much better than predicted by existing theoretical models. Higher frequency, longer pulse length, and shorter interval between pulses improve resolution, eventually providing values that are comparable to or even better than tip size. Pulsing parameters also affect the intensity of the signal and the surface selectivity in PTIR images, with higher frequencies providing increased surface selectivity. The observations confirm a difference in signal generation between resonant PTIR and other photothermal techniques that we ascribe to nonlinearity in the PTIR signal. In analogy with optical imaging, we show that PTIR takes advantage of such nonlinearity to perform photothermal measurements that are super-resolved when compared to the resolution allowed by the thermal wavelength. Finally, we show that by controlling the pulsing parameters of the laser we can devise high resolution surface sensitive measurements that do not rely on the use of optical enhancement effects.

Selective Epitaxial Growth of III–N Structures Using Ion-Beam Nanolithography

The selective epitaxial growth of GaN by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy combined with ion-beam etching is investigated. To this end, partially masked GaN epitaxial layers are fabricated by depositing a thin Si3N4 layer onto the surface in a single technological process with the growth of GaN and the subsequent opening of windows of different shapes in this layer by an ion beam. Selective epitaxial growth regimes are studied. It is shown that, in a situation where the total area of the windows in the mask is small relative to the total area of the sample, the required epitaxy duration should be 5–10 s, which impairs the reproducibility of the parameters of the epitaxial process. It is also shown that the mechanism of the selective growth of submicrometer objects differs significantly from that for planar layers and selectively grown layers with dimensions of ~1 μm or greater. The effect of precursor (trimethylgallium and ammonia) fluxes on the character of selective epitaxy is examined. To investigate the possibilities of varying mask topology for fabricating model objects with regard to photonic crystals, the impact of the shape and orientation of the windows in the Si3N4 mask on the character of selective epitaxy is studied.

Mobile nanotweezers for active colloidal manipulation.

An important goal in nanotechnology is to control and manipulate submicrometer objects in fluidic environments, for which optical traps based on strongly localized electromagnetic fields around plasmonic nanostructures can provide a promising solution. Conventional plasmonics based trapping occurs at predefined spots on the surface of a nanopatterned substrate and is severely speed-limited by the diffusion of colloidal objects into the trapping volume. As we demonstrate, these limitations can be overcome by integrating plasmonic nanostructures with magnetically driven helical microrobots and maneuvering the resultant mobile nanotweezers (MNTs) under optical illumination. These nanotweezers can be remotely maneuvered within the bulk fluid and temporarily stamped onto the microfluidic chamber surface. The working range of these MNTs matches that of state-of-the-art plasmonic tweezers and allows selective pickup, transport, release, and positioning of submicrometer objects with great speed and accuracy. The MNTs can be used in standard microfluidic chambers to manipulate one or many nano-objects in three dimensions and are applicable to a variety of materials, including bacteria and fluorescent nanodiamonds. MNTs may allow previously unknown capabilities in optical nanomanipulation by combining the strengths of two recent advances in nanotechnology.

Селективный эпитаксиальный рост III-N-структур с использованием ионной нанолитографии

AbstractThe selective epitaxial growth of GaN by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy combined with ion-beam etching is investigated. To this end, partially masked GaN epitaxial layers are fabricated by depositing a thin Si_3N_4 layer onto the surface in a single technological process with the growth of GaN and the subsequent opening of windows of different shapes in this layer by an ion beam. Selective epitaxial growth regimes are studied. It is shown that, in a situation where the total area of the windows in the mask is small relative to the total area of the sample, the required epitaxy duration should be 5–10 s, which impairs the reproducibility of the parameters of the epitaxial process. It is also shown that the mechanism of the selective growth of submicrometer objects differs significantly from that for planar layers and selectively grown layers with dimensions of ~1 μm or greater. The effect of precursor (trimethylgallium and ammonia) fluxes on the character of selective epitaxy is examined. To investigate the possibilities of varying mask topology for fabricating model objects with regard to photonic crystals, the impact of the shape and orientation of the windows in the Si_3N_4 mask on the character of selective epitaxy is studied.

Enriching Nanoparticles via Acoustofluidics.

Focusing and enriching submicrometer and nanometer scale objects is of great importance for many applications in biology, chemistry, engineering, and medicine. Here, we present an acoustofluidic chip that can generate single vortex acoustic streaming inside a glass capillary through using low-power acoustic waves (only 5 V is required). The single vortex acoustic streaming that is generated, in conjunction with the acoustic radiation force, is able to enrich submicrometer- and nanometer-sized particles in a small volume. Numerical simulations were used to elucidate the mechanism of the single vortex formation and were verified experimentally, demonstrating the focusing of silica and polystyrene particles ranging in diameter from 80 to 500 nm. Moreover, the acoustofluidic chip was used to conduct an immunoassay in which nanoparticles that captured fluorescently labeled biomarkers were concentrated to enhance the emitted signal. With its advantages in simplicity, functionality, and power consumption, the acoustofluidic chip we present here is promising for many point-of-care applications.

Characterization of silver nanoparticles-alginate complexes by combined size separation and size measurement techniques.

The detection and quantification of nanoparticles is a complex issue due to the need to combine "classical" identification and quantification of the constituent material, with the accurate determination of the size of submicrometer objects, usually well below the optical diffraction limit. In this work, the authors show that one of the most used analytical methods for silver nanoparticles, asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation, can be strongly influenced by the presence of dissolved organic matter (such as alginate) and lead to potentially misleading results. The authors explain the anomalies in the separation process and show a very general way forward based on the combination of size separation and size measurement techniques. This combination of techniques results in more robust AF4-based methods for the sizing of silver nanoparticles in environmental conditions and could be generally applied to the sizing of nanoparticles in complex matrices.

Application of surface plasmon resonance imaging technique for the detection of single spherical biological submicrometer particles

Recent proof-of-principle studies demonstrated the suitability of the surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) technique for the detection of individual submicrometer and nanoparticles in solutions. In the current study, we used the SPRi technique for visualization of the binding of round-shaped viruses (inactivated influenza A virus) and virus-like particles (human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-based virus-like particles) to the functionalized sensor surface. We show the applicability of the SPRi technique for the detection of individual virus-like particles in buffers without serum as well as in buffers containing different concentrations of serum. Furthermore, we prove the specificity of visualized binding events using two different pseudotypes of HIV virus-like particles. We also demonstrate the applicability of the SPRi technique for the determination of relative particle concentrations in solutions. Moreover, we suggest a technical approach, which allows enhancing the magnitude of binding signals. Our studies indicate that the SPRi technique represents an efficient research tool for quantification and characterization of biological submicrometer objects such as viruses or virus-like particles, for example.

Quantitative evaluation of sonophoresis efficiency and its dependence on sonication parameters and particle size.

Transdermal drug delivery makes a critical contribution to medical practice and some advantages over conventional oral administration and hypodermic injection. Enhancement of percutaneous absorption or penetration of therapeutic agents (ie, drugs and macromolecules) by ultrasound, termed sonophoresis, has been applied and studied for decades. In this study, the penetration percentage through porcine ear skin specimens was determined quantitatively by measuring the fluorescence from nanoparticles of 60, 220, and 840 nm in size in a receptor chamber at different sonication parameters (ie, duty cycle, 20%-100%; acoustic intensity, 0.3-1.0 W/cm(2); duration, 7-30 minutes; and frequency, 1 MHz). In general, the sonophoresis efficiency increased with the acoustic intensity, duty cycle, and sonication duration but decreased with the particle size (mean ± SD, 62.6% ± 5.4% for 60-nm versus 11.9% ± 1.1% for 840-nm polystyrene nanospheres after 30 minutes of sonication at 0.5 W/cm(2) and a 100% duty cycle; P < .05). On scanning electron microscopy the pore size remained the same (≈100 μm), but more flakes were observed with the progress of sonication. In summary, sonophoresis efficiency is dependent on the ultrasound parameters and particle size. Sufficient sonication would lead to satisfactory penetration of even submicrometer objects through the pores.

Optical sorting and detection of submicrometer objects in a motional standing wave

An extended interference pattern close to surface may result in both a transmissive or evanescent surface fields for large area manipulation of trapped particles. The affinity of differing particle sizes to a moving standing wave light pattern allows us to hold and deliver them in a bi-directional manner and importantly demonstrate experimentally particle sorting in the sub-micron region. This is performed without the need of fluid flow (static sorting). Theoretical calculations experimentally confirm that certain sizes of colloidal particles thermally hop more easily between neighboring traps. A new generic method is also presented for particle position detection in an extended periodic light pattern and applied to characterization of optical traps and particle behavior

디지털 홀로그래피 현미경과 위상 펼침을 이용한 3차원 측정

We have reconstructed 3-dimensional images by using the digital holographic microscope and the Mask-cut phase unwrapping algorithm. Off-axis holograms recorded with a magnified image of the microscopic object lens and reference beam are numerically reconstructed in amplitude and phase image by the Fresnel diffraction approximation. We have simultaneously reconstructed 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional images of the sub-micrometer objects.

Radiation forces on a Rayleigh dielectric sphere in a patterned optical near field

We report on the study of the radiation forces exerted on a Rayleigh dielectric particle by a patterned optical near-field landscape at an interface decorated with resonant gold nanostructures. This configuration allows for the generation of a large array of surface subwavelength optical traps from an extended collimated beam, which may be of interest for parallel optical manipulation and sorting of submicrometer objects.

Fabricating high-aspect-ratio sub-diffraction-limit structures on silicon with two-photon photopolymerization and reactive ion etching

We fabricated sub-micrometer objects with feature sizes about one third of the exposure wavelength using two-photon photopolymerization in an epoxy-based photoresist SU-8 . Owing to the high mechanical strength of this photoresist, an aspect ratio as high as nine was achieved with a 200–300 nm lateral dimension. A simple equation was used to estimate the feature size from the laser parameters such as spot size, exposure time, pulse width, pulse repetition rate, and the material properties including the two-photon absorption coefficient and the exposure threshold dose. Patterns in SU-8 were transferred onto silicon using reactive ion etching, preserving both the feature size and aspect ratio. Vertical sidewalls of the transferred patterns were achieved using the black silicon method.

Shape evolution of metals electrodeposited from binary electrolytes

Metal electrodeposition from a binary electrolyte produces irregular deposits with diverse shapes. In this paper we review several aspects of this phenomenon. We particularly focus on in situ experimental techniques, modelisation of the deposition and growth mechanisms, and applications to the fabrication of submicrometer objects.

General principles of scanning tunneling optical microscopy

A homogeneous propagating wave falling onto submicrometer objects is partially diffracted into evanescent waves. The use of a scattering probe of subwavelength size can convert the evanescent waves into homogeneous ones and make their detection possible. The resulting propagating waves can then provide information about the subwavelength object. Relations with preliminary experiments are discussed.