We report the direct femtosecond measurements of the electron transfer process from CdS to TiO2 particles in a coupled colloidal system. The electrons initially created in the conduction band and quickly trapped at the liquid–solid interface in aqueous CdS colloids are found to be transferred to the colloidal TiO2 particles with a time constant of 2 ps, resulting in significantly slower electron–hole recombination. These coupled semiconductor colloids provide a potentially useful system for achieving efficient charge separation, which is important for many chemical reactions involving heterogeneous electron transfer.

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We describe a novel instrument capable of acquiring, simultaneously, adaptive optics enhanced scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the human cone mosaic in vivo. The OCT system is based on transversal scanning of the sample with a line scan rate of 14 kHz, ϳ20 times faster than a previously reported instrument. We demonstrate the capability of this instrument with the measurement of the human cone spacing in perifoveal retina.

The contributions of optical and neural factors to age-related losses in spatial vision are not fully understood. We used closed-loop adaptive optics to test the visual benefit of correcting monochromatic high-order aberrations (HOAs) on spatial vision for observers ranging in age from 18 to 81 years. Contrast sensitivity was measured monocularly using a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) procedure for sinusoidal gratings over 6 mm and 3 mm pupil diameters. Visual acuity was measured using a spatial 4AFC procedure. Over a 6 mm pupil, young observers showed a large benefit of AO at high spatial frequencies, whereas older observers exhibited the greatest benefit at middle spatial frequencies, plus a significantly larger increase in visual acuity. When age-related miosis is controlled, young and old observers exhibited a similar benefit of AO for spatial vision. An increase in HOAs cannot account for the complete senescent decline in spatial vision. These results may indicate a larger role of additional optical factors when the impact of HOAs is removed, but also lend support for the importance of neural factors in age-related changes in spatial vision.