Fabrication of uniform-aperture multi-focus microlens array by curving microfluid in the microholes with inclined walls.

A variety of techniques have been proposed for fabricating high-density, high-numerical-aperture microlens arrays. However, a microlens array with a uniform focal length has a narrow depth of field, limiting the ability of depth perception. In this paper, we report on a fabrication method of multi-focus microlens arrays. The method for the preparation of the mold of the microlens array is based on 3D printing and microfluidic manipulation techniques. In the preparation of the mold, curved surfaces of the photo-curable resin with different curvatures are formed in the 3D printed microholes whose walls are inclined with different angles. The replicated microlens array consists of hundreds of lenslets with a uniform diameter of 500 µm and different focal lengths ranging from 635 µm to 970 µm. The multi-focus microlens array is capable of extending the depth of field for capturing clear images of objects at different distances ranging from 14.3 mm to 45.5 mm. The multi-focus microlens array has the potential to be used in a diversity of large-depth-of-field imaging and large-range depth perception applications.

Photocatalytic water splitting properties of Cu2+ exchanged Beta zeolites.

Photocatalytic water splitting with solar energy is the most promising and environmentally friendly hydrogen production method. Having an efficient and cost-effective photocatalyst is key to hydrogen production. Cu dopant has been shown to greatly enhance photocatalytic activities. In this work, Cu2+ ions were doped into Beta zeolite powders (Cu-Beta) by the ion exchange method. The hydrogen evolution efficiency of Cu-Beta was much higher than the raw Beta zeolites without Cu loading. After solid phase reaction, the band gap of Cu-Beta reduced from 3.48 eV to less than 2 eV, and as a result enhanced the optical absorption intensity, particularly in the visible region. The best hydrogen evolution efficiency was 102.12 µmol · g-1 · h-1 when the treated temperature was 900 °C (Cu-Beta-900). The temperature of the solid phase reaction had an important influence on the photocatalytic performance of Cu-Beta; a suitable reaction temperature can greatly improve its photocatalytic performance.

Separation of subcellular fluorescent microspheres by capillary electrophoresis.

Fluorescent microspheres (FMs) are widely employed in diagnostics and life sciences research; here, we investigated the effect of capillary coating, polymer concentration, electric field strength, and sample concentration on the separation performance of 1.0 µm FMs in hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Results showed that (1) capillary coating could enhance the fluorescence signal. (2) For HEC with the same molecular weight, the higher HEC concentration is, the later the first peak appears in the electropherogram. (3) When FMs are diluted, increasing the electric field strength can enhance the migration speed and reduce the aggregation of FMs. (4) The number of FMs calculated is close to the theoretical value when it is diluted 10,000 times. The optimum conditions for CE were as follows: 6 cm/8 cm of effective length and total length of the coated capillary, 0.3% HEC (1300 k), and 300 V/cm of electric field strength. Such a study is helpful for the development of a FM counting system. Graphical abstract.

The effect of electrophoretic parameters on separation performance of short DNA fragments.

Effective separation of short DNA fragments is important for the identification of PCR or LAMP products. We investigated the effect of electric field strength, sample plug width, effective length of the capillary, concentration and molecular weight of polymer on the separation performance of small DNA. Results demonstrated that the sample plug played a non-negligible role in the peak broadening. The migration time of DNA was exponentially decreased with the increase of electric field strength. Increasing effective length of capillary, concentration or molecular weight of HEC may improve the separation performance, but it was at the cost of long migration time.

Thickness-dependent surface plasmon resonance of ITO nanoparticles for ITO/In-Sn bilayer structure.

Tuning the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in doped semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs), which represents an important characteristic in LSPR sensor applications, still remains a challenge. Here, indium tin oxide/indium tin alloy (ITO/In-Sn) bilayer films were deposited by electron beam evaporation and the properties, such as the LSPR and surface morphology, were investigated by UV-VIS-NIR double beam spectrophotometer and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. By simply engineering the thickness of ITO/In-Sn NPs without any microstructure fabrications, the LSPR wavelength of ITO NPs can be tuned by a large amount from 858 to 1758 nm. AFM images show that the strong LSPR of ITO NPs is closely related to the enhanced coupling between ITO and In-Sn NPs. Blue shifts of ITO LSPR from 1256 to 1104 nm are also observed in the as-annealed samples due to the higher free carrier concentration. Meanwhile, we also demonstrated that the ITO LSPR in ITO/In-Sn NPs structures has good sensitivity to the surrounding media and stability after 30 d exposure in air, enabling its application prospects in many biosensing devices.

Size and distance dependent fluorescence enhancement of nanoporous gold.

Nanoporous gold (NPG) has been reported to provide remarkable fluorescence enhancement of adjacent fluorophores due to the metal-enhanced fluorescence phenomenon (MEF), and the enhancement is related with the characteristic length of nanoporosity. To fully understand the effect of NPG on nearby fluorophores, it is desirable to study systems with well-defined metal-fluorophore distances. In this study we investigated the distance effect by using silica as the spacing layer between fluorophores and NPG. Originating from competition between plasmonic amplifying and metallic quenching, the dye molecule rhodamine 6G was best enhanced by 20-nm SiO2 coated nanoporous gold with the pore size of 36 nm, while the protein phycoerythrin was best enhanced by 15-nm SiO2 coated nanoporous gold with the pore size of 42 nm and the quantum dots were best enhanced by 20-nm SiO2 coated nanoporous gold with the pore size of 42 nm.

Tunable guided-mode resonant filter with wedged waveguide layer fabricated by masked ion beam etching.

A compact, tunable guided-mode resonant (GMR) filter whose spectral reflectance wavelength varies as a function of the spatial position on the device is experimentally demonstrated. The filter incorporates a wedge-shaped waveguide layer that is fabricated using masked ion beam etching (MIBE) technology. A ceramic plate mask consisting of an isosceles triangular window is placed between the ion source and the sample to achieve different etching times at difference locations on the film. The increment in the magnitude of the film thickness is approximately 50 nm over a length of 33 mm, which results in a primary reflectance peak whose spectral location spans the range of 684.2-725.3 nm. The device is designed using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method, and the proposed device is directed toward the practical application of GMR tunable filters.

[Study on the Structural, Optical an Surface Plasmon Characteristics of Mo-Doped ZnO Thin Film].

Mo-doped zinc oxide (ZnO∶Mo) films were deposited with direct current magnetron sputtering on quartz substrates at room temperature. The effects of Mo doping content on the crystal structure, surface microstructure，optical properties and plasmon characteristics of the ZnO films were investigated with X-ray diffraction(XRD),atomic force microscopy (AFM),Spectrophotometer and Raman spectrometer. The XRD pattern reveals that pure ZnO film exhibits good crystallization and c-axis oriented while heavy doping leads to increasing film defects. That results decline the film crystalline quality. When Mo doping content exceeds 3.93 Wt%, the ZnO films transform c-axis oriented into amorphous. The AFM pattern indicates that the surface of amorphous MZO film is extraordinarily flat. The Rq is 498 pm. The transmittance spectra reveal that all samples have an average transmittance of 80% in the visible light range. The optical band gap energy (Eg) increases from 3.28 to 3.60 eV as the Mo doping content increase. The absorbance spectrum indicates that ZnO surface plasmon resonance absorbance perk moves to short-wavelength as the Mo doping content increase. The Raman spectrum suggests that heavy Mo doping make the Raman scattering intensity decrease significantly. This paper obtains amorphous ZnO thin film by Mo doping. That broadens the application field of ZnO thin film materials. Meanwhile, we study the effect of Mo doping concentration on ZnO thin films surface plasmon, which provides important reference value for the preparation of oxidized zinc base photonic devices.

Electrically driving bandwidth tunable guided-mode resonance filter based on a twisted nematic liquid crystal polarization rotator.

A novel bandwidth-tunable filter is proposed based on nonpolarizing guided-mode resonance effect. The compact, electrically driving bandwidth-tunable optical filter is realized by taking advantage of the effect of bandwidth-to-polarization sensitivity and using a twisted nematic liquid crystal polarization rotator for simple and precise polarization control. The operation principle and the design of the device are presented. The center wavelength is fixed at 623.1 nm with a relatively symmetric line shape. The full-width at half-maximum bandwidth is tuned from 12 to 44.8 nm by controlling the voltage in the polarization rotator.

Stroboscopic Surface Thermal Lensing for Fast Detection of Thermal Defects in Large-Scaled Coating Films.

A stroboscopic surface thermal lensing (SSTL) system for the fast detection of thermal-induced defects in large-scaled optical coating films was constructed. The SSTL signal was generated by a set of double-modulators and captured by a high speed matrix camera, respectively. The spot size of both pump laser and probe laser expanded for larger detection area was finished in a single step. Based on the STL technique, both the mapping of amplitude and the phase of SSTL signal on the whole area of the coatings can be achieved simultaneously.

[Study of Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy on Copper Films Modified by Ion Beam].

Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) was a rapid non-destructive testing. It was based on detecting molecule vibrational spectrum which was adsorbed on the metallic surface. Now it was widely used in surface adsorption, electrochemical catalysis, sensors, bio-medical testing, trace amount analysis and other fields. In our experiment, copper metallic films were deposited 50 nm on BK7 glass substrates by direct current magnetron sputtering. And then the films were employed for the Ar ion beam etching modification. The structure, morphology and optical properties was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), spectrophotometer and Raman spectroscopy. In the XRD graph, the peak value of modify copper film were the same with the untreated film. So the structure of copper film was not change. With increasing the power of Ar ion, the surface roughness was changed, and scattered spectrum intensity was increased by surface roughness added. With Rhodamine B (Rh B) as a probe molecule, Raman scattered spectrum was detected on modify copper film. Compared with the different samples, we can find the Raman signal was enhanced by surface roughness added. It will have some value on study the principles of SERS.

[Real-Time Stability Monitoring of Photonic Crystal Sensing System Based on Guided-Mode Resonance Effect].

The detection limit of antibody content has reached level of nanograms per milliliter due to high sensitivity and extremely narrow band of photonic crystal (PC) filter. The PC filter based on guided-mode resonance (GIR) effect can also be applied to detecting the molecular interactions. As the transducing element, one-dimensional PC filters transform biological information to photoelectric signal on optical spectrum analyzer (OSA). The main sensing performance is the change of peak-wavelength of PC filter. The sensing system using PC filter is restricted to the system stability which determines the effectiveness of detecting data. So in this paper, a detecting system we designed is briefly addressed. The morphology and the spectrum of PC filter we fabricated are tested. Considering the coupling light loss and integration of the system, noise signal in spectrum is going to affect the detecting results. To monitor the influence, realization of real-time monitoring the changes of the peak wavelength of PC filter is mainly illustrated. The monitoring is realized by transferring detecting data to computer in time and the results can represent the stability of the system. The program is compiled by Lab VIEW. In our experiment, the shift of 0. 25 nm of the peak wavelength caused by vibration of platform or unsteadiness of light source is within the sensitivity of the PC filter obtained by simulation, so we proposed this system we mentioned can be used in sensing most kind of bulk reagents.

Optical bandpass/notch filter with independent tuning of wavelength and bandwidth based on a blazed diffraction grating.

We propose a multifunctional optical filter based on a blazed diffraction grating. The optical filter can function as a bandpass filter or a notch filter. A theoretical model of the filter is built for analysis. Both bandwidth and wavelength of the filter can be independently and continuously tuned. In the experimental demonstration, the wavelength can be linearly tuned within the entire C-band and partial L-band. The bandwidths of the filter can be tuned from 1.3 to 6.4 nm (-3 dB bandwidth) and from 2.4 to 11.3 nm (-10 dB bandwidth) for bandpass function and from 6.9 to 11.9 nm (-3 dB bandwidth) and from 5.1 to 8.8 nm (-10 dB bandwidth) for band-stop function, respectively. The extinction ratio of more than 35 dB is achieved.

[Performance comparison of coronene film for UV-CCD prepared by spin-coating and physical vapor deposition].

In the present paper, the methods of spin-coating and physical vapor deposition (PVD) were researched to prepare the coronene film for UV-CCD, and their properties were characterized and compared with each other. The results of the experiment show that the process of spin-coating is relatively simple, which takes advantage of materials and retains the inherent crystal structure of coronene. However, the roughness of the film is a little more than that of PVD method; the film prepared by PVD method can absorb ultraviolet more effectively and then emits fluorescence with more intensity. Compared with the method of spin-coating, the surface of PVD film is more smoothly, and the process of thermal evaporation changes the crystal structure of coronene and forms another new crystalline state according to the XRD graph. While the whole process of PVD is morecomplex and it needs larger cost of production than spin-coating method. Besides, the comparison research work provided theoretical direction for preparing the photoluminescence down-conversion film under different requirements, such as fluorescence intensity, surface roughness and cost of production.

[The research of UV-responsive sensitivity enhancement of fluorescent coating films by MgF2 layer].

A low cost and less complicated expansion approach of wavelength responses with a Lumogen phosphor coating was adopted, as they increased the quantum efficiency of CCD and CMOS detectors in ultra-violet by absorbing UV light and then re emitting visible light. In this paper, the sensitivity enhancement of fluorescence coatings was studied by adding an anti-reflection film or barrier film to reduce the loss of the scattering and reflection on the incident interface. The Lumogen and MgF2/Lumogen film were deposited on quartz glasses by physical vacuum deposition. The surface morphology, transmittance spectrum, reflectance spectrum and fluorescence emission spectrum were obtained by atomic force microscope (AFM), spectrophotometer and fluorescence spectrometer, respectively. The results indicated that MgF2 film had obvious positive effect on reducing scattering and reflection loss in 500-700 nm, and enhancing the absorption of Lumogen coating in ultraviolet spectrum. Meanwhile, the fluorescent emission intensity had a substantial increase by smoothing the film surface and thus reducing the light scattering. At the same time, the MgF2 layer could protect Lumogen coating from damaging and contamination, which give a prolong lifetime of the UV-responsive CCD sensors with fluorescent coatings.

Optical Temperature-Sensing Performance of La2Ce2O7:Ho3+ Yb3+ Powders.

In this paper, La2Ce2O7 powders co-activated by Ho3+ and Yb3+ were synthesized by a high temperature solid-state reaction. Both Ho3+ and Yb3+ substitute the La3+ sites in the La2Ce2O7 lattice, where the Ho3+ concentration is 0.5 at.% and the Yb3+ concentration varies in the range of 10~18% at.%. Pumped by a 980 nm laser, the up-conversion (UC) green emission peak at 547 nm and the red emission at 661 nm were detected. When the doping concentration of Ho3+ and Yb3+ are 0.5 at.% and 14% at.%, respectively, the UC emission reaches the strongest intensity. The temperature-sensing performance of La2Ce2O7:Ho3+ with Yb3+ was studied in the temperature range of 303-483 K, where the highest relative sensitivity (Sr) is 0.0129 K-1 at 483 K. The results show that the powder La2Ce2O7:Ho3+, Yb3+ can be a potential candidate for remote temperature sensors.

Red Emitting Solid-State CDs/PVP with Hydrophobicity for Latent Fingerprint Detection.

Fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) are a new type of photoluminescent nanomaterial. Solid-state CDs usually undergo fluorescence quenching due to direct π-π* interactions and superabundant energy resonance transfer. Therefore, the preparation of solid-state fluorescent CDs is a challenge, especially the preparation of long wavelength solid-state CDs. In this research, long wavelength emission CDs were successfully synthesized by solvothermal methods, and the prepared CDs showed good hydrophobicity. The composite solid-state CDs/PVP (Polyvinyl pyrrolidone) can emit strong red fluorescence, and the quantum yield (QY) of the CDs/PVP powder reaches 18.9%. The prepared CDs/PVP solid-state powder was successfully applied to latent fingerprint detection. The results indicate that the latent fingerprints developed by CDs/PVP powder have a fine definition and high contrast visualization effect, which proves that the prepared CDs/PVP has great application potential in latent fingerprint detection. This study may provide inspiration and ideas for the design of new hydrophobic CDs.

ITO-Induced Nonlinear Optical Response Enhancement of Titanium Nitride Thin Films.

A series of TiN/ITO composite films with various thickness of ITO buffer layer were fabricated in this study. The enhancement of optical properties was realized in the composite thin films. The absorption spectra showed that absorption intensity in the near-infrared region was obviously enhanced with the increase of ITO thickness due to the coupling of surface plasma between TiN and ITO. The epsilon-near-zero wavelength of this composite can be tuned from 935 nm to 1895 nm by varying the thickness of ITO thin films. The nonlinear optical property investigated by Z-scan technique showed that the nonlinear absorption coefficient (ß = 3.03 × 10-4 cm/W) for the composite was about 14.02 times greater than that of single-layer TiN films. The theoretical calculations performed by finite difference time domain were in good agreement with those of the experiments.

Laser-induced the enhancement of Raman scattering performance in WO3-x/Ag composite films.

Non-stoichiometric tungsten oxide (WO3-x) has controllable defects, high charge density, and good synergy with other materials to exhibit good surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) properties. Its heterojunction structure provides an opportunity to develop high-quality and low-cost SERS substrates. This study obtained WO3-x/Ag composite thin films were obtained by Nd: YAG fiber pulsed laser modification at ambient conditions. The effects of interactions between heterojunctions and laser modification on the samples' morphology, composition, and optical properties were investigated. The absorption peaks exhibited a red shift by varying the laser scan speeds, and the SERS properties of the sample were evaluated by methylene blue (MB) dye. The results show that the laser-modified WO3-x/Ag films have good stability as SERS substrates. The characteristic peaks of MB can still be detected after 90 days in the air. The WO3-x/Ag films also have good homogeneity and a low detection limit, with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 10-7 M, and an enhancement factor as high as 1.34 × 104. The simulated results by the finite difference in time domain (FDTD) showed substantial agreement with those of the experimental ones.

High-throughput 3D microfluidic chip for generation of concentration gradients and mixture combinations.

Concentration gradient generation and mixed combinations of multiple solutions are of great value in the field of biomedical research. However, existing concentration gradient generators for single or two-drug solutions cannot simultaneously achieve multiple concentration gradient formations and mixed solution combinations. Furthermore, the whole system was huge, and required expensive auxiliary equipment, which may lead to complex operations. To address this problem, we devised a novel 3D microchannel network design, which is capable of creating all the desired mixture combinations and concentration gradients of given small amounts of the input solutions. As a proof of concept, the device we presented was verified by both colorimetric and fluorescence detection methods to test the efficiency. This can enable the implementation of one to three solutions with no driving pump and facilitate unique multiple types of more concentration gradients and mixture combinations in a single operation. We envision that this will be a promising candidate for the development of simplified methods for screening of the appropriate concentration and combination, such as various drug screening applications.