scholarly journals Single molecules and single nanoparticles as windows to the nanoscale

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-17
Author(s):  
Martín Caldarola ◽  
Michel Orrit

Since the first optical detection of single molecules, they have been used as nanometersized optical sensors to explore the physical properties of materials and light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. Understanding nanoscale properties of materials is fundamental for the development of new technology that requires precise control of atoms and molecules when the quantum nature of matter cannot be ignored. In the following lines, we illustrate this journey into nanoscience with some experiments from our group.

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilawar Hassan ◽  
Hadi Bakhsh ◽  
Asif M. Khurram ◽  
Shakeel A. Bhutto ◽  
Nida S. Jalbani ◽  
...  

Background: The optical properties of nanomaterials have evolved enormously with the introduction of nanotechnology. The property of materials to absorb and/or emit specific wavelength has turned them into one of the most favourite candidates to be effectively utilized in different sensing applications e.g organic light emission diodes (OLEDs) sensors, gas sensors, biosensors and fluorescent sensors. These materials have been reported as a sensor in the field of tissue and cell imaging, cancer detection and detection of environmental contaminants etc. Fluorescent nanomaterials are heling in rapid and timely detection of various contaminants that greatly impact the quality of life and food, that is exposed to these contaminants. Later, all the contaminants have been investigated to be most perilous entities that momentously affect the life span of the animals and humans who use those foods which have been contaminated. Objective: In this review, we will discuss about various methods and approaches to synthesize the fluorescent nanoparticles and quantum dots (QDs) and their applications in various fields. The application will include the detection of various environmental contaminants and bio-medical applications. We will discuss the possible mode of action of the nanoparticles when used as sensor for the environmental contaminants as well as the surface modification of some fluorescent nanomaterials with anti-body and enzyme for specific detection in animal kingdom. We will also describe some RAMAN based sensors as well as some optical sensing-based nanosensors. Conclusion: Nanotechnology has enabled to play with the size, shape and morphology of materials in the nanoscale. The physical, chemical and optical properties of materials change dramatically when they are reduced to nanoscale. The optical properties can become choosy in terms of emission or absorption of wavelength in the size range and can result in production of very sensitive optical sensor. The results show that the use of fluorescent nanomaterials for the sensing purposes are helping a great deal in the sensing field.


Author(s):  
Alexey V. Kavokin ◽  
Jeremy J. Baumberg ◽  
Guillaume Malpuech ◽  
Fabrice P. Laussy

In this chapter we study with the tools developed in Chapter 3 the basic models that are the foundations of light–matter interaction. We start with Rabi dynamics, then consider the optical Bloch equations that add phenomenologically the lifetime of the populations. As decay and pumping are often important, we cover the Lindblad form, a correct, simple and powerful way to describe various dissipation mechanisms. Then we go to a full quantum picture, quantizing also the optical field. We first investigate the simpler coupling of bosons and then culminate with the Jaynes–Cummings model and its solution to the quantum interaction of a two-level system with a cavity mode. Finally, we investigate a broader family of models where the material excitation operators differ from the ideal limits of a Bose and a Fermi field.


Nanophotonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 975-982
Author(s):  
Huanhuan Su ◽  
Shan Wu ◽  
Yuhan Yang ◽  
Qing Leng ◽  
Lei Huang ◽  
...  

AbstractPlasmonic nanostructures have garnered tremendous interest in enhanced light–matter interaction because of their unique capability of extreme field confinement in nanoscale, especially beneficial for boosting the photoluminescence (PL) signals of weak light–matter interaction materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides atomic crystals. Here we report the surface plasmon polariton (SPP)-assisted PL enhancement of MoS2 monolayer via a suspended periodic metallic (SPM) structure. Without involving metallic nanoparticle–based plasmonic geometries, the SPM structure can enable more than two orders of magnitude PL enhancement. Systematic analysis unravels the underlying physics of the pronounced enhancement to two primary plasmonic effects: concentrated local field of SPP enabled excitation rate increment (45.2) as well as the quantum yield amplification (5.4 times) by the SPM nanostructure, overwhelming most of the nanoparticle-based geometries reported thus far. Our results provide a powerful way to boost two-dimensional exciton emission by plasmonic effects which may shed light on the on-chip photonic integration of 2D materials.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 596
Author(s):  
Christian Jorgensen ◽  
Matthieu Simon

Joint-on-a-chip is a new technology able to replicate the joint functions into microscale systems close to pathophysiological conditions. Recent advances in 3D printing techniques allow the precise control of the architecture of the cellular compartments (including chondrocytes, stromal cells, osteocytes and synoviocytes). These tools integrate fluid circulation, the delivery of growth factors, physical stimulation including oxygen level, external pressure, and mobility. All of these structures must be able to mimic the specific functions of the diarthrodial joint: mobility, biomechanical aspects and cellular interactions. All the elements must be grouped together in space and reorganized in a manner close to the joint organ. This will allow the study of rheumatic disease physiopathology, the development of biomarkers and the screening of new drugs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomin Zhao ◽  
Chenglin Du ◽  
Rong Leng ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Weiwei Luo ◽  
...  

Plasmon resonances with high-quality are of great importance in light emission control and light-matter interaction. Nevertheless, the inherent Ohmic and radiative losses usually hinder the plasmon performance of the metallic...


2021 ◽  
Vol 154 (10) ◽  
pp. 104109
Author(s):  
Derek S. Wang ◽  
Tomáš Neuman ◽  
Johannes Flick ◽  
Prineha Narang

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (21) ◽  
pp. eabf8049
Author(s):  
Rui Su ◽  
Sanjib Ghosh ◽  
Timothy C. H. Liew ◽  
Qihua Xiong

Strong light-matter interaction enriches topological photonics by dressing light with matter, which provides the possibility to realize active nonlinear topological devices with immunity to defects. Topological exciton polaritons—half-light, half-matter quasiparticles with giant optical nonlinearity—represent a unique platform for active topological photonics. Previous demonstrations of exciton polariton topological insulators demand cryogenic temperatures, and their topological properties are usually fixed. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a room temperature exciton polariton topological insulator in a perovskite zigzag lattice. Polarization serves as a degree of freedom to switch between distinct topological phases, and the topologically nontrivial polariton edge states persist in the presence of onsite energy perturbations, showing strong immunity to disorder. We further demonstrate exciton polariton condensation into the topological edge states under optical pumping. These results provide an ideal platform for realizing active topological polaritonic devices working at ambient conditions, which can find important applications in topological lasers, optical modulation, and switching.


Author(s):  
Rico Gutzler ◽  
Manish Garg ◽  
Christian R. Ast ◽  
Klaus Kuhnke ◽  
Klaus Kern

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