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Lyons A, Zickus V, Álvarez-Mendoza R, Triggiani D, Tamma V, Westerberg N, Tassieri M, Faccio D. Fluorescence lifetime Hong-Ou-Mandel sensing. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8005. [PMID: 38049423 PMCID: PMC10696080 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43868-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy in the time domain is typically performed by recording the arrival time of photons either by using electronic time tagging or a gated detector. As such the temporal resolution is limited by the performance of the electronics to 100's of picoseconds. Here, we demonstrate a fluorescence lifetime measurement technique based on photon-bunching statistics with a resolution that is only dependent on the duration of the reference photon or laser pulse, which can readily reach the 1-0.1 picosecond timescale. A range of fluorescent dyes having lifetimes spanning from 1.6 to 7 picoseconds have been here measured with only ~1 s measurement duration. We corroborate the effectiveness of the technique by measuring the Newtonian viscosity of glycerol/water mixtures by means of a molecular rotor having over an order of magnitude variability in lifetime, thus introducing a new method for contact-free nanorheology. Accessing fluorescence lifetime information at such high temporal resolution opens a doorway for a wide range of fluorescent markers to be adopted for studying yet unexplored fast biological processes, as well as fundamental interactions such as lifetime shortening in resonant plasmonic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley Lyons
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
| | - Vytautas Zickus
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
- Department of Laser Technologies, Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, LT-10257, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | | | - Danilo Triggiani
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3QL, UK
| | - Vincenzo Tamma
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3QL, UK
- Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UK
| | - Niclas Westerberg
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Manlio Tassieri
- James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Daniele Faccio
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
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2
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Terasawa E, Satoh D, Maru S, Shibuya T, Moriai Y, Ogawa H, Tanaka M, Sakaue K, Washio M, Kobayashi Y, Kuroda R. Ultrafast time-resolved single-shot birefringence microscopy for laser-induced anisotropy. OPTICS LETTERS 2022; 47:3728-3731. [PMID: 35913300 DOI: 10.1364/ol.454524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and materials in the ultrafast time domain, especially regarding the effect of laser polarization, has attracted much attention. In this study, ultrafast time-resolved single-shot birefringence microscopy is performed to observe laser-induced anisotropy. The birefringences of the optical Kerr effect and laser-induced anisotropic nanostructures by femtosecond laser pulses in silica glass are measured, and their slow axis is confirmed to correspond to the linear polarization angle of the pump light. We discuss the time variations of these birefringences in the picosecond time domain.
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3
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High-Transmittance Femtosecond Optical Kerr Gate with Double Gate Pulses Based on Birefringence Effect. PHOTONICS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/photonics9020071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
An optical Kerr gate (OKG) is an ultrafast optical switch based on the optical Kerr effect. The performance of a conventional OKG depends mainly on Kerr materials. Traditional Kerr materials do not demonstrate both large optical nonlinearity and an ultrafast response time. Therefore, the performance of a conventional OKG is limited by an inherent trade-off between high signal transmittance and fast switching time, which limits its application in many fields. We propose an improved femtosecond OKG with double gate pulses, based on the use of a birefringent crystal to realize an ultrashort switching time, even with a slow-response optical Kerr medium. We assessed the dependence of the double gate pulsed OKG (D-OKG)’s performance on the intensity ratio of the double gate pulses. A transmittance of 50% and a switching time of 142 fs were achieved. The D-OKG is convenient to construct, and its integrated performance is superior to that of a conventional OKG.
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4
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Rossi TC, Dykstra CP, Haddock TN, Wallick R, Burke JH, Gentle CM, Doumy G, March AM, van der Veen RM. Charge Carrier Screening in Photoexcited Epitaxial Semiconductor Nanorods Revealed by Transient X-ray Absorption Linear Dichroism. NANO LETTERS 2021; 21:9534-9542. [PMID: 34767364 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the electronic structure and dynamics of semiconducting nanomaterials at the atomic level is crucial for the realization and optimization of devices in solar energy, catalysis, and optoelectronic applications. We report here on the use of ultrafast X-ray linear dichroism spectroscopy to monitor the carrier dynamics in epitaxial ZnO nanorods after band gap photoexcitation. By rigorously subtracting out thermal contributions and conducting ab initio calculations, we reveal an overall depletion of absorption cross sections in the transient X-ray spectra caused by photogenerated charge carriers screening the core-hole potential of the X-ray absorbing atom. At low laser excitation densities, we observe phase-space filling by excited electrons and holes separately. These results pave the way for carrier- and element-specific probing of charge transfer dynamics across heterostructured interfaces with ultrafast table-top and fourth-generation X-ray sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C Rossi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Conner P Dykstra
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Tyler N Haddock
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Rachel Wallick
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - John H Burke
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Cecilia M Gentle
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Gilles Doumy
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Anne Marie March
- Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Renske M van der Veen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
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5
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Kumar V, Holtum T, Voskuhl J, Giese M, Schrader T, Schlücker S. Prospects of ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy in supramolecular chemistry on proteins. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2021; 254:119622. [PMID: 33743304 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2021.119622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Ultraviolet resonance Raman scattering (UVRR) has been frequently used for studying peptide and protein structure and dynamics, while applications in supramolecular chemistry are quite rare. Since UVRR offers the additional advantages of chromophore selectivity and high sensitivity compared with conventional non-resonant Raman scattering, it is ideally suited for label-free probing of relatively small artificial/supramolecular ligands exhibiting electronic resonances in the UV. In this perspective article, we first summarize results of UVRR spectroscopy in supramolecular chemistry in the context of peptide/protein recognition. We focus on selected artificial ligands which were rationally designed as selective carboxylate binders (guanidiniocarbonyl pyrrole, GCP, and guanidiniocarbonyl indole, GCI) and selective lysine binder (molecular tweezer, CLR01), respectively, via a combination of non-covalent interactions involving electrostatics, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic effects/van der Waals forces. Current limitations of applying UVRR as a universally applicable method for label-free and site-specific probing of molecular recognition between supramolecular ligands and proteins are highlighted. We then propose solutions to overcome these limitations for transforming UVRR spectroscopy into a generic tool in supramolecular chemistry on proteins, with an emphasis on mono- and multivalent GCP- and GCI-based ligands. Finally, we outline specific cases of supramolecular ligands such as molecular tweezers where alternative approaches such as laser-based mid-IR spectroscopy are required since UVRR can intrinsically not provide the required molecular information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Kumar
- Department of Chemistry (Physical Chemistry), Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE) and Center for Medical Biotechnology (ZMB), University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45141 Essen, Germany.
| | - Tim Holtum
- Department of Chemistry (Physical Chemistry), Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE) and Center for Medical Biotechnology (ZMB), University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Jens Voskuhl
- Department of Chemistry (Organic Chemistry) and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 7, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Michael Giese
- Department of Chemistry (Organic Chemistry) and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 7, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Thomas Schrader
- Department of Chemistry (Organic Chemistry) and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 7, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Schlücker
- Department of Chemistry (Physical Chemistry), Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE) and Center for Medical Biotechnology (ZMB), University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45141 Essen, Germany.
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6
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Holtum T, Kumar V, Sebena D, Voskuhl J, Schlücker S. UV resonance Raman spectroscopy of the supramolecular ligand guanidiniocarbonyl indole (GCI) with 244 nm laser excitation. Beilstein J Org Chem 2020; 16:2911-2919. [PMID: 33299489 PMCID: PMC7705883 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.16.240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Ultraviolet resonance Raman (UVRR) spectroscopy is a powerful vibrational spectroscopic technique for the label-free monitoring of molecular recognition of peptides or proteins with supramolecular ligands such as guanidiniocarbonyl pyrroles (GCPs). The use of UV laser excitation enables Raman binding studies of this class of supramolecular ligands at submillimolar concentrations in aqueous solution and provides a selective signal enhancement of the carboxylate binding site (CBS). A current limitation for the extension of this promising UVRR approach from peptides to proteins as binding partners for GCPs is the UV-excited autofluorescence from aromatic amino acids observed for laser excitation wavelengths >260 nm. These excitation wavelengths are in the electronic resonance with the GCP for achieving both a signal enhancement and the selectivity for monitoring the CBS, but the resulting UVRR spectrum overlaps with the UV-excited autofluorescence from the aromatic binding partners. This necessitates the use of a laser excitation <260 nm for spectrally separating the UVRR spectrum of the supramolecular ligand from the UV-excited autofluorescence of the peptide or protein. Here, we demonstrate the use of UVRR spectroscopy with 244 nm laser excitation for the characterization of GCP as well as guanidiniocarbonyl indole (GCI), a next generation supramolecular ligand for the recognition of carboxylates. For demonstrating the feasibility of the UVRR binding studies without an interference from the disturbing UV-excited autofluorescence, benzoic acid (BA) was chosen as an aromatic binding partner for GCI. We also present the UVRR results from the binding of GCI to the ubiquitous RGD sequence (arginylglycylaspartic acid) as a biologically relevant peptide. In the case of RGD, the more pronounced differences between the UVRR spectra of the free and complexed GCI (1:1 mixture) clearly indicate a stronger binding of GCI to RGD compared with BA. A tentative assignment of the experimentally observed changes upon molecular recognition is based on the results from density functional theory (DFT) calculations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Holtum
- Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Vikas Kumar
- Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Daniel Sebena
- Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 7, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Jens Voskuhl
- Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 7, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Schlücker
- Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstrasse 5, 45141 Essen, Germany
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7
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Fenwick KL, England DG, Bustard PJ, Fraser JM, Sussman BJ. Carving out configurable ultrafast pulses from a continuous wave source via the optical Kerr effect. OPTICS EXPRESS 2020; 28:24845-24853. [PMID: 32907016 DOI: 10.1364/oe.399878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Wavelength-tunable, time-locked pairs of ultrafast pulses are crucial in modern-day time-resolved measurements. We demonstrate a simple means of generating configurable optical pulse sequences: sub-picosecond pulses are carved out from a continuous wave laser via pump-induced optical Kerr switching in 10 cm of a commercial single-mode fiber. By introducing dispersion to the pump, the near transform-limited switched pulse duration is tuned between 305-570 fs. Two- and four-pulse signal trains are also generated by adding birefringent α-BBO plates in the pump beam. These results highlight an ultrafast light source with intrinsic timing stability and pulse-to-pulse phase coherence, where pulse generation could be adapted to wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to infrared.
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8
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Blake JC, Nieto-Pescador J, Li Z, Gundlach L. Femtosecond Luminescence Imaging for Single Nanoparticle Characterization. J Phys Chem A 2020; 124:4583-4593. [PMID: 32427477 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.0c01775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Defects naturally abound in semiconductor crystal structures and their presence either debilitates or improves device functionality. The increasing trend to strategically implant or remove specific defects to tailor the properties in materials via defect engineering has made it imperative to not only quantify these defects in nanostructures but to do so via efficient contactless techniques. Here we report the use of an ultrafast Kerr-gated microscope system to quantify the defect density at different locations on a single nanowire. By measuring the evolution of nonlinear luminescence dynamics from a nanowire, we are able to extract the individual nonradiative recombination constants and obtain the defect density at locations along the nanowire length. This new method promises fast, reliable, and contactless characterization of single nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolie C Blake
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Jesus Nieto-Pescador
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Zhengxin Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Lars Gundlach
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
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9
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Kupchak C, Erskine J, England D, Sussman B. Terahertz-bandwidth switching of heralded single photons. OPTICS LETTERS 2019; 44:1427-1430. [PMID: 30874666 DOI: 10.1364/ol.44.001427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Optically induced ultrafast switching of single photons is demonstrated by rotating the photon polarization via the Kerr effect in a commercially available single-mode fiber. A switching efficiency of 97% is achieved with a ∼1.7 ps switching time and signal-to-noise ratio of ∼800. Preservation of the single-photon properties is confirmed by measuring no significant increase in the second-order autocorrelation function g(2)(0). These values are attained with only nanojoule-level pump energies that are produced by a laser oscillator with 80 MHz repetition rate. The results highlight a simple device capable of both high-bandwidth operations and preservation of single-photon properties for applications in photonic quantum processing and ultrafast time-gating or switching.
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10
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Dmitruk I, Shynkarenko Y, Dmytruk A, Aleksiuk D, Kadan V, Korenyuk P, Zubrilin N, Blonskiy I. Efficiency estimates and practical aspects of an optical Kerr gate for time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. Methods Appl Fluoresc 2016; 4:044007. [PMID: 28192300 DOI: 10.1088/2050-6120/4/4/044007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
We report experience of assembling an optical Kerr gate setup at the Femtosecond Laser Center for collective use at the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. This offers an inexpensive solution to the problem of time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. Practical aspects of its design and alignment are discussed and its main characteristics are evaluated. Theoretical analysis and numerical estimates are performed to evaluate the efficiency and the response time of an optical Kerr gate setup for fluorescence spectroscopy with subpicosecond time resolution. The theoretically calculated efficiency is compared with the experimentally measured one of ~12% for Crown 5 glass and ~2% for fused silica. Other characteristics of the Kerr gate are analyzed and ways to improve them are discussed. A method of compensation for the refractive index dispersion in a Kerr gate medium is suggested. Examples of the application of the optical Kerr gate setup for measurements of the time-resolved luminescence of Astra Phloxine and Coumarin 30 dyes and both linear and nonlinear chirp parameters of a supercontinuum are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Dmitruk
- Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed
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