Deep nulling of visible laser light

Serabyn, Eugene; Wallace, J. Kent; Hardy, G.; Schmidtlin, Edouard; Nguyen, H. T.

doi:10.1364/ao.38.007128

Cited by 43 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To our knowledge, the best nulls in a tabletop setup reported in the literature were achieved by astronomers for the cancellation of star light to detect light from planets nearby. [27][28][29] Besides a special geometrical design, these nulls were achieved by actively controlling the optical path length difference, x OPD , using a piezotransducer attached to a mirror of one interferometer arm. When all optical elements are perfect, the nulling depth, D, as function of the optical pathway difference, x OPD , is Here, N 0 is the number of incident photons, N, the number of photons at the dark exit (D), λ, the wavelength of the incident …”

Section: Practical Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Correlational Analysis of Proteins and Nonmetallic Nanoparticles in a Deep-Nulling Microscope

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We present a method for label-free microscopic analysis of nonmetallic nanoparticles such as biopolymers or technical polymers diffusing freely in an aqueous environment. We demonstrate the principal feasibility of the approach with first measurements of 20-200 nm sized polystyrene spheres and of the ∼10 nm protein complex Photosystem I (PS I) of Thermosynechococcus elongatus. The approach is based on the combination of a microscope setup with a deep-nulling interferometer for measuring minute refractive index changes or absorptions in the focal area of the microscope. It is possible to obtain transient nulls in a microscope setup on the order of 10 -5 , corresponding to optical pathway differences of less than 0.6 nm and to stabilize the nulls to about 5‚10 -4 . With this level of stabilization it is possible to perform a fast (1 s) correlational analysis of aqueous solutions containing the protein complex PS I or 20 nm spheres and to detect in real time single diffusional transits of larger nanospheres through the focal area of the microscope. A modulated heating of the samples in the microscope focus is not necessary for detection. The interferometer correlation data correspond well to conventional two-photon excited fluorescence correlation (FCS) data measured in the same setup, providing evidence that the detection volumes are of a similar size (∼200 nm). We also conducted first nulling experiments using coherent near-field sources of about 30 nm diameter. Theoretical considerations indicate that this combination with nanometric near-field sources will even allow label-free single-protein analysis.

show abstract

Section: Practical Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This ensures that only the core of the output point-spread function is detected, thus largely eliminating the effect of wave front irregularities. 28 …”

Section: Practical Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlational Analysis of Proteins and Nonmetallic Nanoparticles in a Deep-Nulling Microscope

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[13][14][15] The advantage of this interferometer is that the residual light at the dark exit is diminished by a large factor of about 10 5 or better with respect to the incident light, thus allowing immediate measurements of disturbances in the optical pathway of less than 0.6 nm. As a consequence, particles or proteins that diffuse in an aqueous solution through the microscopic focus in deep-nulling microscopy cause photon-burst fluctuations at the otherwise completely dark exit of the interferometer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generation of Nanopores Down to 10 nm for Use in Deep‐Nulling Interferometry

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scanning electron microscope images show that it is easy to generate nanopores on polycarbonate membranes with well-defined pore diameters by ion-track perforation and subsequent magnetron sputtering with metal. The size reduction of the nanopores during sputtering with gold is a linear function of time. Images of different angles and from the bottom side of the membrane show that the channels are the smallest very close to the surface of the metal layer, have a conelike shape, and reach about half as much into the polymer membranes as the metal-layer thickness. This topographical pore shape is ideal for use as optically coherent near-field sources in deep-nulling microscopy. We present the first results of significantly improved nulling stabilization in the presence (<2 nm optical pathway difference) and the absence (<0.6 nm optical pathway difference) of the nanoapertures in the focal region of a deep-nulling microscope.

show abstract

“…These include fine path-length control, intensity balance and polarization matching between the incoming beams, the requirement of a broadband achromatic π phase shifter (Labèque et al 2004) and fine control of the wavefront errors. As a consequence, the experimental demonstration of a deep broadband nulling has been actively pursued during the last years, first in the visible range (Serabyn et al 1999;Wallace et al 2000;Haguenauer & Serabyn 2006) then at 10 µm Gappinger et al 2005), in order to validate critical technologies. Among the different mentioned instrumental issues, the control of the wavefront corrugations is of major importance since the null is greatly degraded either by low-order errors (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid-infrared laser light nulling experiment using single-mode conductive waveguides

Labadie¹,

Coarer²,

Maurand³

et al. 2007

A&A

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims. In the context of space interferometry missions devoted to the search for exo-Earths, this paper investigates the capabilities of new single mode conductive waveguides to provide modal filtering in an infrared and monochromatic nulling experiment Methods. A Michelson laser interferometer with a co-axial beam combination scheme at 10.6 µm is used. After introducing a π phase shift using a translating mirror, dynamic and static measurements of the nulling ratio are performed in the two cases where modal filtering is implemented and suppressed. No additional active control of the wavefront errors is involved. Results. We achieve on average a statistical nulling ratio of 2.5× 10 −4 with a 1-σ upper limit of 6× 10 −4 , while a best null of 5.6× 10is obtained in static mode. At the moment, the impact of external vibrations limits our ability to maintain the null to 10 to 20 s. Conclusions. A positive effect of SM conductive waveguide on modal filtering has been observed in this study. Further improvement of the null should be possible with proper mechanical isolation of the setup.

show abstract

Deep nulling of visible laser light

Cited by 43 publications

References 5 publications

Correlational Analysis of Proteins and Nonmetallic Nanoparticles in a Deep-Nulling Microscope

Correlational Analysis of Proteins and Nonmetallic Nanoparticles in a Deep-Nulling Microscope

Generation of Nanopores Down to 10 nm for Use in Deep‐Nulling Interferometry

Mid-infrared laser light nulling experiment using single-mode conductive waveguides

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About