Resonant dielectric multilayer with controlled absorption for enhanced total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy.

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF-M) is widely used in biological imaging. Evanescent waves, generated at the glass-sample interface, theoretically strongly improve the axial resolution down to a hundred of nanometers. However, objective based TIRF-M suffers from different limitations such as interference fringes and uneven illumination, mixing both propagating and evanescent waves, which degrade the image quality.

Influence of force volume indentation parameters and processing method in wood cell walls nanomechanical studies.

Since the established correlations between mechanical properties of a piece of wood at the macroscopic scale and those of the cell wall at the submicron scale, techniques based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) have become widespread. In particular Peak Force tapping, allowing the differentiation of various layers, has become the new standard for wood cell wall's nanomechanical characterization. However, its use requires fully elastic indentation, a good knowledge of stiffness of the probe and assumes a perfect tip shape of known radius (sphere) or angle (cone).

Nanomechanics and Raman Spectroscopy of in Situ Native Carbohydrate Storage Granules for Enhancing Starch Quality and Lignocellulosic Biomass Production.

Alternative energy strategies based on plant biomass-derived bioenergy and biofuels rely on understanding and optimization of plant structure, chemistry, and performance. Starch, a constitutive element of all green plants, is important to food, biofuels, and industrial applications. Models of carbohydrate storage granules are highly heterogeneous in representing morphology and structure, though a deeper understanding of the role of structure in functional behavior is emerging.

Sensitivity of resonance properties of all-dielectric multilayers driven by statistical fluctuations.

In photonics and emerging fields of quantum and topological materials, increasing demands are placed upon the state and control of electromagnetic fields. Dielectric multilayer materials may be designed and optimized to possess extremely sharp spectral and angular photonic resonances allowing for the creation of fields orders of magnitude larger than the exciting field. With enhancements of 10 and higher, the extreme nature of these resonances places high constraints on the statistical properties of the physical and optical characteristics of the materials.

Bandwidths limitations of giant optical field enhancements in dielectric multi-layers.

Dielectric multilayers, when properly optimized, have been shown to sustain giant optical field enhancement directly linked to the imaginary index of the materials. Such giant optical field is of great interests to increase tremendously the sensitivity of optoelectronic systems. Unfortunately, this ultra-sensitive system is also highly depending on the illumination conditions.