Dissection of the anti-Candida albicans mannan immune response using synthetic oligomannosides reveals unique properties of β-1,2 mannotriose protective epitopes.

Candida albicans mannan consists of a large repertoire of oligomannosides with different types of mannose linkages and chain lengths, which act as individual epitopes with more or less overlapping antibody specificities. Although anti-C. albicans mannan antibody levels are monitored for diagnostic purposes nothing is known about the qualitative distribution of these antibodies in terms of epitope specificity.

Plasmonic Layer as a Localized Temperature Control Element for Surface Plasmonic Resonance-Based Sensors.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing is a well-established high-sensitivity, label-free and real-time detection technique for biomolecular interaction study. Its primary working principle consists of the measurement of the optical refractive index of the medium that is in close vicinity of the sensor surface. Bio-functionalization techniques allow biomolecular events to be located in such a way.

3D Patterning of Si by Contact Etching With Nanoporous Metals.

Nanoporous gold and platinum electrodes are used to pattern n-type silicon by contact etching at the macroscopic scale. This type of electrode has the advantage of forming nanocontacts between silicon, the metal and the electrolyte as in classical metal assisted chemical etching while ensuring electrolyte transport to and from the interface through the electrode. Nanoporous gold electrodes with two types of nanostructures, fine and coarse (average ligament widths of ~30 and 100 nm, respectively) have been elaborated and tested.

Tunable Surface Structuration of Silicon by Metal Assisted Chemical Etching with Pt Nanoparticles under Electrochemical Bias.

An in-depth study of metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) of p-type c-Si in HF/HO aqueous solutions using Pt nanoparticles as catalysts is presented. Combination of cyclic voltammetry, open circuit measurements, chronoamperometry, impedance spectroscopy, and 2D band bending modeling of the metal/semiconductor/electrolyte interfaces at the nanoscale and under different etching conditions allows gaining physical insights into this system. Additionally, in an attempt to mimic the etching conditions, the modeling has been performed with a positively biased nanoparticle buried in the Si substrate.

Recent advances in the development of graphene-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) interfaces.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a powerful technique for measurement of biomolecular interactions in real-time in a label-free environment. One of the most common techniques for plasmon excitation is the Kretschmann configuration, and numerous studies of ligand-analyte interactions have been performed on surfaces functionalized with a variety of biomolecules, for example DNA, RNA, glycans, proteins, and peptides. A significant limitation of SPR is that the substrate must be a thin metal film.

Ultracompact optical filter based on a stub resonator in GaInAsP/InP optical wire technology.

We report on the fabrication and characterization of a very compact filtering structure based on a resonant stub fabricated using optical wire technology in the InP material line. The stub length is close to 1.6 microm and has been designed to get a resonance wavelength close to 1550 nm.

Potential of the polymer optical fibers deployed in a 10Gbps small office/home office network.

We have performed a detailed study of four Perfluorinated Graded Index Polymer Optical Fiber (50/490, 62.5/490 and 120/490) issued from several manufacturers and designed to be used in short length (100m) small office/home office network operating at 850nm. We have used commercially available 850nm low cost XFP transceivers and have compared the power dispersion penalties measurements with the ones realized using a photoreceiver including the Electronic Dispersion Compensation technology to increase the range of the transmission without impairments.

Wide electrical tunability of a GaInAsP/InP microdisk resonator.

We report on the characterization of an InP/InGaAsP-material-based microdisk resonator optical filter. The originality here is constituted by the use of a localized control electrode that is used for the tuning of the resonance wavelength of the filter via the injection of a driving current. Tuning of the resonance wavelength close to 8 nm has been experimentally achieved for a drive current of 80 mA.

Photonic devices based on preferential etching.

We introduce a design concept of optical waveguides characterized by a practical and reproducible process based on preferential etching of crystalline silicon substrates. Low-loss waveguides, spot-size converters, and power dividers have been obtained with polymers. We have also aligned liquid crystals in the waveguides and demonstrated guided propagation.