UV Raman spectroscopy--a technique for biological and mineralogical in situ planetary studies.

We report on the great advantages of using deep UV Raman system for in situ planetary applications. Among them are to be mentioned: (I) higher scattering efficiency compared to VIS-IR Raman excitation wavelengths, (II) electronic resonance effects which increase the intrinsically weak Raman signal thus improving the S/N ratio of the detected Raman signals and (III) spectral separation of Raman and fluorescence signals. All these advantages are making UV Raman a valuable technique for in situ planetary applications.

UV Raman imaging--a promising tool for astrobiology: comparative Raman studies with different excitation wavelengths on SNC Martian meteorites.

The great capabilities of UV Raman imaging have been demonstrated on the three Martian meteorites: Sayh al Uhaymir, Dar al Gani, and Zagami. Raman spectra without disturbing fluorescence and with high signal-to-noise-ratios and full of spectral features were derived. This result is of utmost importance for the development of powerful instruments for space missions.

On-line monitoring and identification of bioaerosols.

Fast analysis of bioaerosols in clean room environments is necessary in order to prevent contamination of pharmaceutical products, minimize machine downtimes, or both. The detection and identification of microbes will be carried out in several steps: After impaction of the aerosol on a surface, the particles are presorted with glancing light illumination and fluorescence imaging in order to distinguish between abiotic and biotic particles. Since only the biotic particles are of interest, the analysis time can be minimized due to reduction of the data set.

Design and characterization of a tunable polarization-independent resonant grating filter.

We present the design, analysis and characterization of a polarization-independent tunable resonant grating filter. Polarization independence is achieved by setting the plane of incidence parallel to the grating grooves and optimizing the fill factor to obtain a strong reflection peak for all incident polarization states. Experimental measurements show that approximate angular insensitivity to the input polarization orientation concurrent with tunability over a wavelength range of roughly 1530 nm to 1560 nm is achieved.

Chemotaxonomic identification of single bacteria by micro-Raman spectroscopy: application to clean-room-relevant biological contaminations.

Microorganisms, such as bacteria, which might be present as contamination inside an industrial food or pharmaceutical clean room process need to be identified on short time scales in order to minimize possible health hazards as well as production downtimes causing financial deficits. Here we describe the first results of single-particle micro-Raman measurements in combination with a classification method, the so-called support vector machine technique, allowing for a fast, reliable, and nondestructive online identification method for single bacteria.

Tunable, oblique incidence resonant grating filter for telecommunications.

We have designed a tunable, oblique-incidence resonant grating filter that covers the C band as an add-drop device for incident TE-polarized light. We tune the filter by tilting a microelectromechanical systems platform onto which the filter is attached. The fabrication tolerances as well as the role of finite incident-beam size and limited device size were addressed.

The control of larval hibernation and of adult aestivation in the Carabid beetlesNebria brevicollis F. andPatrobus atrorufus stroem.

1. Nebria brevicollis andPatrobus atrorufus have hibernating larvae and adults that breed in autumn. The young adults hatch in spring and early summer and undergo an aestivation diapause before maturation and reproduction.