External cavity diode laser-based detection of trace gases with NICE-OHMS using current modulation.

We combine an external cavity diode laser with noise-immune cavity-enhanced optical heterodyne molecular spectroscopy (NICE-OHMS) using current modulation. With a finesse of 1600, we demonstrate noise equivalent absorption sensitivities of 4.1 x 10(-10) cm(-1) Hz(-1/2), resulting in sub-ppbv detection limits for Doppler-broadened transitions of CH(4) at 6132.3 cm(-1), C(2)H(2) at 6578.5 cm(-1) and HCN at 6541.7 cm(-1). The system is used for hydrogen cyanide detection from sweet almonds.

Characterization of background signals in wavelength-modulation spectrometry in terms of a fourier based theoretical formalism.

The detectability of wavelength-modulation (WM) diode-laser spectrometric techniques is frequently limited by various background signals. A new theoretical formalism for WM spectrometry, based on Fourier analysis and therefore capable of handling a variety of phenomena including the characterization and the analysis of analytical as well as background WM signals, was recently presented [Appl. Opt. 38, 5803 (1999)]. We report a detailed characterization of WM background signals from multiple reflections between pairs of surfaces in the optical system that act as etalons and from the associated intensity modulation in terms of this new formalism. The agreement between the background signals from a thin glass plate and those predicted by the formalism is good, which verifies the new Fourier analysis-based formalism.

Background signals in wavelength-modulation spectrometry with frequency-doubled diode-laser light. I. Theory.

Various types of background signals appear when wavelength-modulated (WM) diode-laser light is frequency doubled. We present a theoretical analysis of such background signals in terms of a previously derived formalism for WM spectrometry that is based on a Fourier series. Explicit expressions for various nf harmonics of the background signals are derived. The analysis shows that 2f detection will be plagued by significant background signals when frequency-doubled WM diode-laser light is used. It also demonstrates that 4f and 6f detection will experience background signals but not, however, to the same extent as 2f detection. The analysis illustrates clearly how the various nf harmonics of the background signals depend on entities such as modulation amplitude, associated intensity modulation, dispersion of the frequency-doubling material, laser power, and detuning. The background signals can take both positive and negative values, depending on the relation between these entities. Guidelines for how to minimize these background signals are given.

Background Signals in Wavelength-Modulation Spectrometry by use of Frequency-Doubled Diode-Laser Light. II. Experiment.

In an accompanying paper [Appl. Opt. 40, 783-793 (2001)], we predict the existence of background signals from a frequency-doubled wavelength-modulated diode-laser system. We now demonstrate and characterize various nf harmonics of such background signals from a system producing light in the 422-nm region by use of a single-pass KNbO(3) crystal with respect to the modulation amplitude, the laser center frequency, and the crystal temperature. It is demonstrated that 2f detection is plagued by considerably larger amounts of background signal than is detection at other higher, even harmonics. This result implies that 4f or 6f detection is often to be preferred in comparison with 2f detection when frequency-doubled wavelength-modulation spectrometry (WMS) is to be used. This preference is illustrated by the detection of Ca in an acetylene-air flame. It is also shown that the background signals have a much stronger dependence on the modulation amplitude than do the analytical signals. This difference implies that the optimum detectability for frequency-doubled WMS is often reached for modulation amplitudes lower than those normally used. An analysis of the effect of a finite temperature stability of the doubling crystal on the drift of the background signals as well as on the detectability is included. The results verify the theoretical description given in our accompanying paper.

Bactericidal effect of pulsed 1,064 nm Nd:YAG laser light on Staphylococcus epidermidis is of photothermal origin: an in vitro study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the bactericidal effect of the 1,064 nm Nd:YAG laser on Staphylococcus epidermidis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: S. epidermidis was inoculated on agar plates and then exposed to pulsed laser light in three different modes: with an uninterrupted train of pulses, or with two different repeated cycles of fractionated trains of pulses. The agar temperature was measured directly after uninterrupted radiation. RESULTS: A bacterial growth inhibition area of 0.3 cm(2) and maximum temperature of approximately 80 degrees C was observed after uninterrupted radiation at 2,000 J cm(-2). The corresponding figures after an exposure of 5,000 J cm(-2) were 0.9 cm(2) and 100 degrees C, respectively. No bacterial inhibition was observed after exposure to repeated cycles of 20 seconds of radiation followed by 60 seconds of rest. CONCLUSION: The antimicrobial effect of the 1,064 nm Nd:YAG laser light is caused by a photothermal rather than a photochemical effect.

Inhibitory receptors alter natural killer cell interactions with target cells yet allow simultaneous killing of susceptible targets.

Inhibitory receptors expressed on natural killer (NK) cells abrogate positive signals upon binding corresponding major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules on various target cells. By directly micromanipulating the effector-target cell encounter using an optical tweezers system which allowed temporal and spatial control, we demonstrate that Ly49-MHC class I interactions prevent characteristic cellular responses in NK cells upon binding to target cells. Furthermore, using this system, we directly demonstrate that an NK cell already bound to a resistant target cell may simultaneously bind and kill a susceptible target cell. Thus, although Ly49-mediated inhibitory signals can prevent many types of effector responses, they do not globally inhibit cellular function, but rather the inhibitory signal is spatially restricted towards resistant targets.

Theoretical description based on Fourier analysis of wavelength-modulation spectrometry in terms of analytical and background signals.

A theoretical description of the wavelength-modulation (WM) spectrometry technique is given. The formalism is based on Fourier analysis and can therefore correctly handle arbitrary large frequency-modulation amplitudes. It can also deal with associated intensity modulations as well as wavelength-dependent transmission effects. It elucidates clearly how various Fourier components of these entities combine with those of the line-shape function to yield separately the final analytical and background nf WM signals. Explicit expressions are given for the 2f and the 4f signals. It is shown, among other things, that the 4f technique in general gives rise to smaller background signals (and therefore larger signal-to-background ratios) than does the 2f technique when the background is dominated by etalon effects from short cavities and that a finite intensity modulation necessarily leads to an out-of-phase nf WM signal. The formalism is also able to elucidate clearly that a linear intensity modulation is not sufficient to cause any 2f background residual-amplitude-modulation signals (as was the general consensus until recently in the literature) but that 2f background signals instead can exist only in systems with either wavelength-dependent transmission or a laser with nonlinear intensity modulation.

Design for fully steerable dual-trap optical tweezers.

A design for complete beam steering (in three dimensions) of one or two optical tweezers traps is presented. The two most important requirements for efficient and stable movement of an optical trap are identified. A detailed recipe for the construction of a movable optical tweezers trap that fulfills these requirements is given (exemplified with an inverted microscope). The system has been found to allow for precise and free movements of both traps in all three dimensions in a dual-trap optical tweezers configuration and to be robust and reliable, as well as forgiving of small misalignments in the optical system.

Degenerate four-wave mixing from laser-populated excited states.

Degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) from laser-populated excited states, i.e., two-step DFWM (2S-DFWM), has been performed to investigate the possibility of increasing signal quality (i.e., strength or signal-to-noise ratio) when species with low transition probabilities or far-UV transitions are to be detected or when large beam areas are used. Gold atoms, aspirated into an air-acetylene flame, were chosen as a suitable species for this investigation. The 2S-DFWM signal strength was found to be comparable to the ordinary (one-step) DFWM signals for moderately high UV-light intensities but substantially better for low UV-light intensities. This finding implies that DFWM detection of species with lower transition probabilities in the first step as compared with gold (<10(-8) s(-1)) can benefit from the 2S-DFWM technique when moderate or low UV-light intensities are available. Additional possible advantages of using 2S-DFWM are also discussed.

Resonant degenerate four-wave mixing in I(2): effect of buffer gas pressure.

The influence of molecular collisions on the production of the degenerate four-wave mixing signal in I(2) is presented. Measurements were performed on gaseous molecular iodine, I(2), contained in a glass cell in which pressure, temperature, and species concentration are easily and independently varied. Frequencydoubled outputs from a seeded Nd:YAG laser and an excimer-pumped dye laser were used as excitation sources. We have studied the dependence of signal strength versus buffer gas pressure, with pump intensity as a third parameter. It is evident from our results that, for pump intensities of less than 1 MW/cm(2), the pressure dependence of the signal follows that given by a simple two-level model in the homogeneously broadened regime. In this regime collisional deexcitation becomes significant, leading to changes in saturation intensity. This is evidenced by a reduction in the signal with an increase in buffer gas pressure. This behavior is similar to that seen in laser-induced fluorescence. At higher pump intensities, the signal is seen to increase with pressure; this behavior cannot be described by the simple two-level model.

Detection of trace amounts of Cr by two laser-based spectroscopic techniques: laser-enhanced ionization in flames and laser-induced fluorescence in graphite furnace.

The detectability of Cr in water solutions by two-step laser-enhanced ionization (LEI) in flames and two-step excitation laser-induced fluorescence in graphite furnace (LIF-GF) with nonresonant detection is investigated for what is, to our knowledge, the first time. A thorough investigation of possible excitation and detection routes for Cr for both techniques is given. The detection limit of Cr in water by the LEI technique was found to be 2 ng/mL, while the LIF-GF technique showed a detection limit of 1.4 pg (which corresponds to 0.3 ng/mL, with a 5-microL sample volume), both of which are limited by contamination (from the burner head-nebulizer unit in the flame and from the graphite material in the furnace). A more sensitive two-step LEI excitation scheme than that used here is also proposed. A new technique for reducing fluctuations from blackbody radiation by using sequential detection of the blackbody radiation from one photomultiplier by two boxcar integrators is presented. A possible means of increasing the nonresonant signal in two-step excitation LIF-GF by adding small amounts of quenching enhancing N(2) to the Ar atmosphere gives no positive results. The influence of large amounts of Na on the detectability of Cr by LEI is investigated.

Laser-based spectroscopic technique for fast and reliable measurements of lifetimes of atomic metastable states in combustive situations.

A technique for a fast and reliable determination of the lifetime of atomic metastable states in combustive situations, based on the laser-enhanced ionization technique, is developed. The typical time required for a determination of the lifetime of an atomic metastable state in a given local position in a combustive situation ranges from some seconds to a minute (depending on the signal-to-noise ratio). The lifetime of the lowest metastable state in Au in an acetylene-air flame, which is used as the pilot metastable state in this paper, was found to vary over one order of magnitude (between 600 ns and 8.8 micros), depending on the local stoichiometric conditions in the probe volume (which, in turn, is a function of the probing position and the fuel-air ratio fed to the flame). It is demonstrated that the probing of the lifetime of atomic metastable states by this new technique can thus be used as a sensitive tool for mapping local stoichiometric conditions in a flame.

Detection of traces in semiconductor materials by two-color laser-enhanced ionization spectroscopy in flames.

In this paper we demonstrate that two-color laser-enhanced ionization (LEI) spectroscopy in flamescan be used for detecting impurities at a sub-ppm level in GaAs. Six elements were investigated(Co, Cr, Fe, In, Mn, Ni), and the content could be determined for three of them (Cr, Fe, Ni), while only an upperlimit below ppm could be given for the other three. The analysis was performed on the bulk material whichwas dissolved in acid and further diluted. In the diluted solution, the detection limits were of the same orderas in pure water solutions. Spectral interferences have been corrected for by using a background correctionmethod, which is performed without scanning the lasers. Furthermore, we discuss the applicability of LEI inflame and graphite furnace to samples with various impurity elements, matrices, and total amounts of sampleavailable for analysis.