Elucidating the Effect of Etching Time Key-Parameter toward Optically and Electrically-Active Silicon Nanowires

In this work, vertically aligned silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with relatively high crystallinity have been fabricated through a facile, reliable, and cost-effective metal assisted chemical etching method. After introducing an itemized elucidation of the fabrication process, the effect of varying etching time on morphological, structural, optical, and electrical properties of SiNWs was analysed. The NWs length increased with increasing etching time, whereas the wires filling ratio decreased. The broadband photoluminescence (PL) emission was originated from self-generated silicon nanocrystallites (SiNCs) and their size were derived through an analytical model. FTIR spectroscopy confirms that the PL deterioration for extended time is owing to the restriction of excitation volume and therefore reduction of effective light-emitting crystallites. These SiNWs are very effective in reducing the reflectance to 9–15% in comparison with Si wafer. I–V characteristics revealed that the rectifying behaviour and the diode parameters calculated from conventional thermionic emission and Cheung’s model depend on the geometry of SiNWs. We deduce that judicious control of etching time or otherwise SiNWs’ length is the key to ensure better optical and electrical properties of SiNWs. Our findings demonstrate that shorter SiNWs are much more optically and electrically active which is auspicious for the use in optoelectronic devices and solar cells applications.

Optoacoustic brains stimulation at submillimeter spatial precision

Low-intensity ultrasound is an emerging modality for neuromodulation. Yet, piezo-based transducers offer poor spatial confinement of excitation volume, often bigger than a few millimeters in diameter. In addition, the bulky size limits their implementation in a wearable setting and prevents integration with other experimental modalities. Here, we report spatially confined optoacoustic neural stimulation through a novel miniaturized Fiber-Optoacoustic Converter (FOC). The FOC has a diameter of 600 μm and generates omnidirectional ultrasound wave locally at the fiber tip through the optoacoustic effect. We show that the optoacoustic wave can directly activate individual cultured neurons and generate intracellular Ca2+ transients. The FOC activates neurons within a radius of 500 μm around the fiber tip, delivering superior spatial resolution over conventional piezo-based low-frequency transducers. Combining FOC with electrophysiology, direct and spatially confined neural stimulation of mouse brain is achieved in vivo.

Quantitative SERS by hot spot normalization – surface enhanced Rayleigh band intensity as an alternative evaluation parameter for SERS substrate performance

The performance of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates is typically evaluated by calculating an enhancement factor (EF). However, it is challenging to accurately calculate EF values since the calculation often requires the use of model analytes and requires assumptions about the number of analyte molecules within the laser excitation volume. Furthermore, the measured EF values are target analyte dependent and thus it is challenging to compare substrates with EF values obtained using different analytes. In this study, we propose an alternative evaluation parameter for SERS substrate performance that is based on the intensity of the surface plasmon enhanced Rayleigh band (IRayleigh) that originates from the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) of the laser. Compared to the EF, IRayleigh reflects the enhancing capability of the substrate itself, is easy to measure without the use of any analytes, and is universally applicable for the comparison of SERS substrates. Six SERS substrates with different states (solid, suspended in liquid, and hydrogel), different plasmonic nanoparticle identities (silver and gold), as well as different nanoparticle sizes and shapes were used to support our hypothesis. The results show that there are excellent correlations between the measured SERS intensities and IRayleigh as well as between the SERS homogeneity and the variation of IRayleigh acquired with the six SERS substrates. These results suggest that IRayleigh can be used as an evaluation parameter for both SERS substrate efficiency and reproducibility.

Efficient second-harmonic imaging of collagen in histological slides using Bessel beam excitation

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is the most specific label-free indicator of collagen accumulation in widespread pathologies such as fibrosis, and SHG-based measurements hold important potential for biomedical analyses. However, efficient collagen SHG scoring in histological slides is hampered by the limited depth-of-field of usual nonlinear microscopes relying on focused Gaussian beam excitation. In this work we analyze theoretically and experimentally the use of Bessel beam excitation to address this issue. Focused Bessel beams can provide an axially extended excitation volume for nonlinear microscopy while preserving lateral resolution. We show that shaping the focal volume has consequences on signal level and scattering directionality in the case of coherent signals (such as SHG) which significantly differ from the case of incoherent signals (two-photon excited fluorescence, 2PEF). We demonstrate extended-depth SHG-2PEF imaging of fibrotic mouse kidney histological slides. Finally, we show that Bessel beam excitation combined with spatial filtering of the harmonic light in wave vector space can be used to probe collagen accumulation more efficiently than the usual Gaussian excitation scheme. These results open the way to SHG-based histological diagnoses.

Precision In X-Ray Data Computed By Monte Carlo Calculations

The analytical expressions used in ZAF and ϕ(ρz) calculations give single values for the composition of each element for a single set of intensity measurements from samples and standards. Confidence intervals in composition are established by looking at the variability of repeated measurements. They are usually attributed to x-ray counting statistics or experimental reproducibility factors such as sample repositioning. Uncertainty in the equations themselves or the parameters that go into them are rarely considered. The derivations of ZAF and ϕ(ρz) equations are primarily based on the case where flat single-phase regions, relative to the x-ray excitation volume, are examined using normal electron beam incidence. Use of these equations has been extended to non-normal electron beam incidence as well as the quantitative analysis of layered structures, but usually with less theoretical justification. Finally, special experimental cases including porous structures, rough surfaces, vertical interfaces and small particles are very difficult or impossible to model by the single application of a set of analytical equations to convert measured x-ray intensities to elemental composition.

Application of the Electron Probe Microanalyzer to the Analysis of Planetary and Geological Materials: a Historical Perspective.

Castaing first presented his idea to use secondary X-rays excited by a focused electron beam from a polished solid sample for microanalysis in 1949 at the First European Regional Conference on Electron Microscopy in Delft, Netherlands. As part of his dissertation, he then not only built the first electron probe microanalyzer (EPM), but also established many of the theoretical and analytical principles of the technique. This technique offered enormous analytical advantages to earth scientists over other analytical methods available at the time. For example, it allows qualitative and quantitative analysis of individual mineral grains a few microns in diameter; mineral grains can be viewed during analysis, thus ensuring accurate correlation between composition and grain morphology; for most purposes, the method is non-destructive; in situ analysis of minerals in polished thin sections results in retention of textural relationships among coexisting minerals; because of the small excitation volume, the technique is ideally suited for the study of zoned minerals, minute inclusions, exsolution lamellae, etc.; and once suitable standards are prepared and correction procedures are established, a large number of quantitative analyses can be obtained in a comparatively short time.