Les milieux diffusants épais et absorbant sont présents dans un grand nombre de domaine : peintures, jets,crèmes et produits cosmétiques, tissus biologiques, etc. L’étude in situ et non invasive de tels milieux est de la plus haute importance car l’enjeu est de pouvoir mesurer les propriétés physiques à l’intérieur même du système sans le perturber. L’utilisation d’un laser femtoseconde permet de sonder ces milieux en profondeur tout en effectuant des mesures de temps de vol des photons. L’objectif de cette thèse est de modéliser l’interaction entre une impulsion femtoseconde et un milieu à la fois diffusant et absorbant.L’effet principal des processus d’absorption est d’accélérer le temps de vol des photons. En effet, plus un photon reste longtemps dans le milieu, plus il aura de chance d’être absorbé. Les processus d’absorption ont en effet la propriété de « tuer » les trajectoires les plus longues, qui correspondent aux retards les plus conséquents. Une étude fine des signatures temporelles peut donc renseigner quant à la taille des particules, au coefficient d’absorption du liant, des particules ou d’autres paramètres microphysiques du milieu. Une partie conséquente du travail de thèse a consisté à étendre les modèles de diffusion temporelle au cas d'un milieu absorbant. Nous avons enfin réalisé plusieurs applications numériques à l’aide d’un code de Monte-Carlo modélisant la diffusion multiple temporelle dans un milieu absorbant. Deux cas particuliers exhibant une modification des signatures temporelles très sensibles à l’absorption ont été étudiés et illustrés de cas concret. Tout d’abord, nous montrons qu’une très faible absorption dans de grosses particules se répercute sur la signature temporelle en diffusion avant. Une application pour la détermination de la température d’alumine dans un jet de propulseur est envisagée. Ensuite, l’absorption du liant réduit les temps de vol en rétrodiffusion. Une mise en évidence expérimentale de ce phénomène ainsi qu’une comparaison avec nos modèles sont présentées. / Thick scattering and absorbing media are present in a great variety of domain such as paints, jets,cosmetics, biological tissues, etc. In situ and non invasive studies of such media are very importan tbecause the issue is to measure physical properties inside the medium without perturbations. The use of a femtosecond laser can both probe these media in depth and make photons time of flight measurement.The aim of this thesis is to model interaction between a femtosecond pulse and a scattering and absorbing medium. The main effect of absorption is to increase the time of flight of photons. Indeed, the absorption processes have the property to “kill” the longer trajectory, which corresponds to more important delays.An extended study of temporal profiles can give information about the size of the particles, the absorption coefficients of the surrounding medium and of particles or other microphysical properties of the medium.A substantial part of the thesis consists in extension of temporal scattering models to the case of absorbing medium. We have finally realized several numerical applications with the help of a Monte-Carlo code,which simulates temporal multiple scattering processes in an absorbing medium. Two particular cases exhibit a neat modification of the temporal profile with absorption. We have studied and illustrated them with practical cases. First, we show that small absorption in large particles modifies the temporal profile inforward scattering. Application such as temperature determination of alumina particles in a rocket jet is considered. Then, absorption in the surrounding medium decreases the time of flight of backscattering temporal profile. An experimental illustration of this phenomenon and a comparison with our models are presented.

Neste trabalho investigamos as modificações na morfologia superficial e estrutura de filmes finos de silício amorfo hidrogenado, resultantes da irradiação com pulsos ultracurtos de femtossegundos (150 fs, 775 nm e 1 kHz). Os processos de microfabricação foram conduzidos varrendo, a velocidade constante, um feixe laser com diferentes fluências (1,8 a 6,2 MJ/m2) sobre a amostra. Os espectros de transmissão apresentaram queda para amostras irradiadas, cujas imagens de microscopia eletrônica de varredura mostraram estruturas superficiais condizentes com o fenômeno de LIPSS (Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures). Uma análise estatística das imagens de microscopia de força atômica foi realizada com um programa que identifica e caracteriza os domínios (picos) produzidos pela microfabricação. O histograma de altura da amostra irradiada com uma fluência de 3,1 MJ/m2 mostrou que a altura média dos picos produzidos é de 15 nm, menor que o centro da distribuição de alturas para uma amostra não irradiada. Porém, para fluências acima de 3,7 MJ/m2 a morfologia é dominada pela formação de agregados. Medidas de espectroscopia Raman revelaram a formação de uma fração de silício cristalino, após a irradiação com pulsos de femtossegundos, de até 77% para 6,2 MJ/m2. Determinamos ainda uma diminuição da dimensão dos nanocristais produzidos com o aumento da fluência do laser de excitação. Portanto, nossos resultados mostram que há um compromisso entre as propriedades obtidas pela microfabricação (transmissão, distribuição de picos, fração de cristalização e tamanho dos nanocristais produzidos) que deve ser levado em conta ao aplicar a técnica de microestruturação com laser de femtossegundos. / In this work we investigated surface morphology and structural modification on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films, resulting from femtosecond laser irradiation (150 fs, 775 nm and 1 kHz). Microfabrication processes were carried out scanning sample´s surface, at constant speed, with distinct laser fluencies (from 1.8 to 6.2 MJ/m2). A decrease was observed in the transmission spectra of irradiated samples, whose scanning electron microscopy images revealed surface structures compatible with the Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structure (LIPSS) phenomenon. A statistical analyzes of Atomic Force Microcopy images was performed using a specially developed software, that identifies and characterizes the domains (spikes) produced by the laser irradiation. The height histogram for a sample irradiated with 3.1 MJ/m2 reveals that the average height of the produced spikes is at 15 nm, which is smaller than the center of height distribution for non-irradiated sample. For fluencies higher than 3.7 MJ/m2, however, aggregation of the produced spikes dominates the sample morphology. Raman spectroscopy revealed the formation of a crystalline fraction of 77% for laser fluence irradiation of 6.2 MJ/m2, as well as a decrease in size of the produced crystals as a function of fluence. Therefore, our results indicate that there is a compromise of the sample transmission, spikes distribution, crystallization fraction and size of nanocrystals obtained by fs-laser irradiation, which has to be taken into consideration when using this material processing method.

A terapia fotodinâmica (TFD) é uma promissora técnica para o tratamento de câncer e de outras patologias. O tratamento baseia-se na ação de uma fonte de luz com o agente fotossensibilizador (FS) e o oxigênio molecular presente nas células, gerando espécies reativas de oxigênio que causam a morte celular. Uma das limitações atuais da técnica é a penetração da luz no tecido biológico. Entre os fotossensibilizadores mais empregados, estão os derivados de hematoporfirina, que são excitados da região do vermelho do espectro eletromagnético. Fotossensibilizadores vêm sendo desenvolvidos para iluminação com comprimentos de onda maiores, com o potencial de aumentar a profundidade de penetração e em conseqüência, o volume tecidual tratado. Outra opção para aumentar o volume tecidual de resposta utilizando derivados de hematoporfirina é a utilização de fontes de luz pulsada que, em comparação com a contínua, vem apresentado resultados significativos no estudo da TFD. Neste estudo, foi realizada a fotodegradação in vitro do fotossensibilizador comercial Photogem® (Moscou, Rússia) com tempos variando entre 0 e 40 minutos. Como fonte de luz contínua foi utilizado um laser de diodo (Eagle Heron Quantum Tech, Brasil), e como fonte de luz pulsada, foi utilizado um laser em regime de femtossegundos emitindo em 630 nm, 1 kHz, pulso < 70 fs (Ti:Sapphire Libra-S, Opera-VIS Coherent, USA). Para a coleta dos dados, foi utilizado um sistema de espectroscopia por fluorescência portátil composto por um espectrometro USB 2000, um laptop e sonda em Y para excitação e coleta da fluorescência do FS. Também foi realizada a TFD em fígados normais de ratos. Foram utilizados 18 animais, pesando entre 180 e 250g. Os animais foram divididos em 2 grupos. Ambos os grupos receberam 1,5 mg/kg de FS, e após 30 minutos foram iluminados com dose de energia de 150 J/cm2 e intensidade de 74 mW/cm2. Também foi realizado o estudo da penetração da luz utilizando macerado de figado de rato, e o mapeamento térmico durante a TFD com a fonte de luz CW e o laser pulsado. O estudo da taxa de fotodegradação do FS nos mostrou uma maior eficiência da fonte de luz pulsada para a degradação da molécula de Photogem®, enquanto que a taxa de degradação para o CW foi 6 vezes menor. O macerado mostrou que o coeficiente de penetração da luz CW e a luz pulsado são praticamente os mesmos, o que sustenta a análise com a intensidade média. O estudo in vivo mostra, através de uma análise histológica do perfil de necrose, que a fonte de luz pulsada alcança uma profundidade de necrose cerca de 2 vezes maior, em comparação com a fonte em regime contínuo, além de um melhor resultado em uma avaliação qualitativa da morfologia da região de necrose. Isto está relacionado com a alta intensidade dos pulsos emitidos pela fonte de luz pulsada com o tecido e o FS presente, promovendo o aumento na profundidade de necrose. / Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a useful technique for the treatment of cancer lesions and other diseases. The treatment is based on the interaction of light with a photosensitizer agent (PS) and with molecular oxygen that is present in cells, which generates reactive oxygen species that promote cell death. One of the limitation factors of this technique is limited light penetration in biological tissue. Hematoporphyrin derivatives are among the most used photosensitizers. They are excited on the red region of the electromagnetic spectrum. New photosensitizers has been developed for the use with longer wavelengths, potentializing the increase of penetration depth and, hence, the volume of treated tissue. Another option to increase the volume of responding tissue in PDT studies is to use pulsed light sources, which has presented satisfactory results when compared to continuous (CW) light sources. In this study, in vitro photodegradation of Photogem® (commercial photosensitizer, Moscow, Russia) was performed, during irradiation times between 0 and 40 minutes. A diode laser (Eagle Heron Quantum Tech, Brazil) was used as CW light source, and a femtosecond laser (Ti:Sapphire Libra-S, Opera-VIS Coherent, USA) emitting in 630 nm (1 kHz, < 70 fs pulse) was used as a pulsed light source. Data collection was performed using a portable fluorescence spectroscopy system, including a spectrometer USB 2000 (Ocean Optics®, Palo Alto, CA), a laptop and a Y-type optical fiber probe for PS fluorescence excitation and collection. Photodynamic response was investigated in eighteen animals, weighting between 180 g and 250 g, which were divided in two groups. Both groups received 1.5 mg/kg of body mass of PS, and after thirty minutes were irradiated with light dose of 150 J/cm2 and 74 mW/cm2 for fluence rate. Light penetration was also investigated using rat liver macerate, and thermal monitoring during PDT as well, for both pulsed and CW light sources. The photodegradation rate study allowed us to observe a greater efficiency in Photogem® molecules degradation for the pulsed light source. For the CW irradiation, the degradation rate was 6 times lower. Macerate study showed that light penetration coefficient values for CW and pulsed were similar, which corroborates with the average intensity analysis. The depth of necrosis histological analysis showed that the pulsed light source allows depth of necrosis to be about 2x deeper when compared to CW source. Additionally, the pulsed source showed a better result in the qualitative evaluation of necrotic tissue morphology. This is related to the high intensity of the pulses emitted from the pulsed light source on the photosensitized tissue, promoting an increase in depth of necrosis.

A terapia fotodinâmica (TFD) é uma modalidade de tratamento para o câncer baseado na interação da luz com um agente fotossensibilizador (FS) e o oxigênio molecular presente na célula alvo. A TFD apresenta vantagens sobre os métodos tradicionais de tratamentos como o dano seletivo às células neoplásicas, ausência de intervenção cirúrgica, possibilidade de repetição do procedimento e efeitos colaterais controlados. Uma das limitações da técnica é a profundidade de pouca penetração da luz no tecido biológico e consequentemente o volume tecidual tratado. Uma alternativa para superar esta limitação é o emprego de fonte de luz pulsada que comparativamente a irradiação com luz contínua (CW), apresenta maior potência de pico levando a uma maior profundidade de penetração e maior formação de espécies reativas de oxigênio. O objetivo deste trabalho é a avaliação da TFD utilizando fonte de luz pulsada no regime de femtossegundos através de ensaios in vitro da fotodegradação de dois tipos de FSs e da necrose induzida em fígado sadio de ratos (estudos in vivo). Nos estudos in vitro foram avaliadas a fotodegradação do Photogem (PG - 8&mu;g/mL) e do Photodithazine (PDZ - 6&mu;g/mL), para as irradiâncias de 280, 340 e 400 mW/cm2 com PG, e 15, 56 e 112 mW/cm2 para o PDZ. Nos estudos in vivo foram avaliados o perfil de necrose induzida com as fontes de luz CW e pulsado em modelo animal, que receberam PG e PDZ nas concentrações de 1,5 mg/kg e 1,0 mg/kg, respectivamente. Foram irradiados com 74 mW/cm2 (PG) e 102 mW/cm2(PDZ) e dose total de energia de 150 J/cm2. Posteriormente foi avaliada a dependência de profundidade de necrose com a irradiância (60, 80, 107, 127, 138, 188 e 229 mW/cm2) utilizando PG e com dose total entregue de 150 J/cm2. As fontes de luz empregadas foram um laser de diodo 630 nm (PG), um laser de diodo emitindo em 660 nm (PDZ) e um laser de Ti:Safira, taxa de repetição de 1 kHz, comprimento de onda 800 nm e largura de pulso de 75 fs em associação com amplificador paramétrico óptico (APO) para conversão de comprimentos de onda na região de 400 - 1150 nm. Os experimentos in vitro mostraram que taxa de fotodegradação para o PG foi maior utilizando o laser pulsado do que para o laser CW. Quando utilizado o PDZ, o laser CW promoveu uma taxa de fotodegradação maior do que o pulsado. Nos estudos in vivo, foi observada a necrose induzida com laser pulsado cerca de duas vezes mais profunda do que a induzida pelo laser CW, enquanto necrose induzida pelo laser pulsado com PDZ foi maior do que a do laser CW. No estudo da dependência da profundidade de necrose em função da irradiância, o laser pulsado induziu profundidade de necrose maior do que o laser CW para irradiâncias abaixo de 80 mW/cm2, acima desta irradiância, o laser CW e o pulsado não mostraram diferença significativa. Estes resultados mostram que a combinação da fonte de luz pulsada e PG podem ser consideradas como alternativa para aumentar o volume tecidual tratado, porém, devem-se observar os parâmetros empregados para se obter o maior volume tecidual tratado. O mesmo resultado não foi observado para o PDZ como fotossensibilizador, o que indica uma forte dependência dos mecanismos da TFD com o FS e o regime de iluminação empregado. / Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a therapeutic modality for cancer based on light, a photosensitizer agent (PS) and molecular oxygen into the target cells. PDT has advantages over traditional treatments, such as, selective damage to tumor cells, absence of surgical intervention, possibility of repeated procedures and controlled side effects. One of the limitations of PDT is the low light penetration in biological tissues and hence the treated tissue volume. An alternative to overcome this limitation is the use of pulsed light sources that compared to continuous (CW) irradiation, present higher peak power leading to a greater penetration depth and enhancing the reactive oxygen species production. The aim of this study is to evaluate PDT using pulsed light source at femtosecond regime through in vitro photodegradation of two PSs types and in vivo induced necrosis in healthy rat liver. In the in vitro study we evaluated the photodegradation of Photogem (PG - 8&mu;g/mL) and Photodithazine (PDZ - 6&mu;g/mL), at different irradiances (280, 340, and 400 mW/cm2 for PG and 15, 56 and 112 mW/cm2 for PDZ). In the in vivo studies the induced necrosis profile with CW laser and Pulsed Laser were evaluated in animal model which received PG (1,5 mg/kg) and PDZ (1,0 mg/kg) and were irradiated with 74 mW/cm2 and 102 mW/cm2, respectively, and the fluence was 150 J/cm2. After that, the dependence of depth of necrosis with irradiance (60, 80, 107, 127, 138, 188 and 229 mW/cm2) with PG and 150 J/cm2 of fluence was evaluated. The light source used in those studies were a 630 and 660 nm diode laser (PG and PDZ excitation light, respectively) and a Ti:Sapphire Regenerative Amplifier laser, 1 kHz repetition rate, 800 nm wavelength and 75 fs pulse width in association with an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) to convert 400-1150 wavelengths. The in vitro results showed that the PG photodegratation rates were greater to pulsed laser when compared with CW laser. When PDZ was used, the photodegradarion rates with pulsed laser were lower than CW laser. In the in vivo studies, the induced necrosis with pulsed laser was twice the induced by CW laser with PG as photosensitizer. When PDZ was used, the induced necrosis was greater for CW laser than for pulsed laser. For different irradiances, the depth of necrosis induced by CW laser was greater than for pulsed laser below 80 mW/cm2, above this, the pulsed and CW laser did not show difference. These results demonstrated that pulsed light and PG can be considered an alternative to enhance the treated tissue volume. The same was not observed to PDZ, which indicate the strong dependence of PDT mechanisms with PS and the light regime applied.

Le poly-aryl-éther-éther-cétone (PEEK) est un polymère thermoplastique qualifié de haute performance. Celui-ci suscite l’intérêt de la recherche et de l’industrie pour ses propriétés mécaniques remarquables et sa grande stabilité chimique. Cependant, le PEEK reste relativement sensible à l’usure. Le dépôt d’un revêtement dur à la surface d’un matériau sujet à l’usure est un moyen de protéger ce dernier de l’usure. Les revêtements de type diamond-like carbon (DLC) sont des matériaux connus pour avoir une très bonne résistance à l’usure permettant de protéger efficacement les substrats sur lesquels ils sont déposés. La génération d’une texturation à la surface du matériau d’intérêt est un autre moyen de contrôler son usure. Les lasers femtosecondes se révèlent être des dispositifs très intéressants pour réaliser rapidement des texturations de grande précision. Les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire ont pour objectif de combiner le dépôt d’un revêtement de surface de type DLC et la texturation de surface par laser femtoseconde afin d’améliorer les performances tribologiques du PEEK. La démarche employée a consisté, dans un premier temps, à élaborer un revêtement DLC permettant de protéger efficacement le PEEK de l’usure et ayant une excellente adhérence avec celui-ci puis, à étudier l’influence de la texturation de surface, et plus précisément l’influence des paramètres géométriques de la texturation, sur le comportement tribologique du PEEK revêtu de DLC. / Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) is a thermoplastic polymer which is often described as a high performance polymer. It is a material subjected to intensive academic and industrial researches for its remarkable bulk mechanical properties and its high chemical stability. However, PEEK is relatively sensitive to wear. The deposition of hard coatings onto materials subjected to wear is a means of protecting them from wear. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are known to be highly resistant to wear allowing to efficiently protect the substrate onto which they are deposited. Surface texturing is another means of controlling wear. Femtosecond lasers have proven to be very interesting devices in order to quickly produce high-precision textured surfaces. The work presented in this thesis aims at combining the deposition of a DLC coating and laser surface texturing in order to improve the tribological properties of PEEK. The approach was first to develop a highly adherent DLC coating able to efficiently protect the PEEK substrate from wear and then to study the influence of surface texturing, and more precisely the influence of some geometrical parameters, on the tribological behavior of the DLC-coated PEEK. Tt

Les cellules endothéliales cornéennes (CEC) jouent un rôle essentiel pour le maintien de la transparence de la cornée. Cependant, chez l’homme, elles sont incapables de proliférer en raison d’un arrêt de leur cycle cellulaire en phase G1, ce qui rend la couche endothéliale cornéenne particulièrement vulnérable. La délivrance de molécules thérapeutiques (gènes ou médicaments) représente une solution prometteuse pour maintenir la viabilité des CEC. Néanmoins, la difficulté majeure de cette technique repose sur le fait de traverser la membrane cellulaire, normalement imperméable aux molécules de grande taille. Plusieurs techniques de délivrance de molécules ont déjà été testées sur le tissu cornéen mais aucune d’entre elles ne donnent de résultats suffisamment probants pour être utilisée en applications cliniques. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’adapter et de développer une nouvelle technique de délivrance intracellulaire de molécules, basé sur une perforation cellulaire via un phénomène photoacoustique induite par l’activation de nanoparticules de carbone par laser femtoseconde, sur un modèle d’endothélium cornéen in vitro et ex vivo / Corneal endothelial cells (CEC) are essential for corneal transparency. However, on humans, they are unable of proliferation owing to its arrest of G1 phase of the cell cycle, making corneal endothelial monolayer particularly vulnerable. The gene and drug delivery represents a promising solution to maintain CEC viability. Unfortunately, the major difficulty of this technique is the transport across the cell membrane, normally impermeable to high-size molecules. Several techniques of molecules delivery have already been tested on corneal tissue but none of them gives results sufficiently convincing to be used in clinical applications. The aim of this thesis is to adapt and develop a new technique of intracellular molecules delivery, based on cell perforation via photoacoustic effect induced by the activation of carbon nanoparticles by femtosecond laser, on in vitro and ex vivo models of corneal endothelium

Ce mémoire est consacré à l’étude expérimentale de deux procédés de bioimpression assistée par laser femtoseconde, fonctionnant à 1030 nm. En effet, les lasers femtosecondes constituent un choix intéressant pour la bioimpression: la versatilité des matériaux qui peuvent être déposés et la zone affectée thermiquement négligeable sont des atouts pour l’impression de structures biologiques complexes, sans compromettre la viabilité et la fonctionnalité des matériaux biologiques transférés. Tout d’abord, la bioimpression assistée par laser femtoseconde avec couche absorbante métallique a été étudiée sur une bioimprimante adaptée au transfert de cellules (MODULAB®). Une étude expérimentale a été menée par observation du jet induit par laser grâce à un système d’imagerie résolue en temps (TRI) et par impression sur receveur (puits de culture). La rhéologie de la bioencre, certains paramètres laser, ainsi que la position de focalisation laser ont été variés lors des expériences. Des tests de viabilité cellulaire après l’impression ont permis d’identifier une énergie optimale de 3 μJ. L’étude de la variation de la position de focalisation a permis de prédire la plage de tolérance de la position de focalisation du laser : pour une énergie de 3,5 μJ et une ON équivalente de 0,125, la tolérance maximale dans la direction « z » était de 60 μm pour pouvoir imprimer.Dans un second temps, la bioimpression assistée par laser femtoseconde sans couche absorbante a été étudiée sur un montage expérimental comprenant un réservoir de bioencre via des paramètres opératoires clés (position de focalisation, ouverture numérique de l’objectif de focalisation, diamètre de goutte imprimé, la hauteur du jet de l’impression par TRI, la distance de transfert limite pour imprimer). L’impression était reproductible pour une distance d’impression de 75 % hmax à 100 % hmax, hmax étant la hauteur maximale du jet d’impression pour une condition expérimentale. L’utilisation du réservoir de bioencre a permis de trouver une position de focalisation z tolérante: Δz a été calculée (Zernike et l’aberration sphérique) et mesurée. Expérimentalement, Δz valait de 0 à 60 μm selon la bioencre et l’ON. Elle était maximale à l’ON 0,4. Cette tolérance est grande devant la profondeur de champs dans l’air (4 μm à l’ON 0,4) mais faible au regard de la tolérance sur la position du receveur qui peut subir une variation de 25% hmax, d’après la plage de reproductibilité. / This manuscript deals with the experimental study of two bioprinting processes assisted by femtosecond laser at a wavelength of 1030 nm. Indeed, femtosecond lasers are an interesting choice for bioprinting: the high versatility of materials which can be deposited and the negligible heat affected zone are advantages to print complex biological structures without compromising viability and functionality of the transferred biological materials. Firstly, femtosecond laser assisted bioprinting with a metallic absorbing layer was studied on a bioprinter adapted for cell printing (MODULAB®). An experimental study was conducted, observing the laser induced jet of liquid with a time-resolved imaging system (TRI) and printing on receiver substrates (cell culture well plate). The bioink rheology, some laser parameters, and the laser focus position were changed during the experiments. Cell viability assays after the printing enabled to identify an optimal energy of 3 μJ. The study of the laser focus position variation allowed predicting the tolerance range of the laser focus position: for 3.5 μJ and an equivalent numerical aperture (NA) of 0.125, the maximum tolerance in the “z” direction was of 60 μm in order to print. Secondly, femtosecond laser assisted bioprinting without an absorbing layer was studied on an experimental set-up comprising a reservoir of bioink. Some key operating parameters were studied (focalization position, NA of the focalization objective, printed drop diameter, printing jet height by TRI, maximum transfer distance for printing). The printing was reproducible for a printing distance from 75 % hmax to 100 % hmax, with hmax corresponding to the maximum printing jet height for a given experimental condition. Using the reservoir of bioink enabled to find a tolerant focalization position z: Δz was calculated (Zernike polynomial and the spherical aberration) and measured. Experimentally, Δz ranged from 0 to 60 μm depending on the bioink and the NA. It was maximal at NA 0.4. This tolerance is high compared to the depth of field in the air (4 μm at NA 0.4) but low compared to the tolerance of the receiver substrate position which can vary to 25 % hmax according to the reproducibility range.

Femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (fsTRPES) experiments have been used to study the photoelectron energy spectra of simple molecules since the 1980’s. Analysis of these spectra provides information about the ultrafast internal conversion dynamics of the parent ions. However, ultraviolet pulses must be used for these pump-probe experiments in order to ionize the molecules. Since current solid state lasers, such as the Ti:sapphire laser, typically produce pulses centered at 800nm, it is necessary to generate UV pulses with nonlinear frequency mixing techniques. I therefore constructed an optical setup to generate the 3rd and 4th harmonics, at 266.7nm and 200nm, respectively, of a Ti:sapphire (Ti:sa) chirped-pulse amplified (CPA) laser system that produces 35fs pulses centered at 800nm. Thin Beta-Barium Borate (β-BaB2O4 or BBO) crystals were chosen to achieve a compromise between short pulse durations and reasonable conversion efficiencies, since ultrashort pulses are quite susceptible to broadening from group velocity dispersion (GVD). Output energies of around 11μJ and 230nJ were measured for the 266.7nm and 200nm pulses, respectively. The transform limits of the 3rd and 4th harmonic pulse lengths were calculated from their measured spectral widths. We found that the 266.7nm bandwidth was large enough to support sub-30fs pulses, and due to cutting at the lower-wavelength end of the 200nm spectrum, we calculated an upper limit of 38fs. The pulses were compressed with pairs of CaF2 prisms to compensate for dispersion introduced by transmissive optics. Two-photon absorption (TPA) intensity autocorrelations revealed fully compressed pulse lengths of 36 ± 2 fs and 42 ± 4 fs for the 3rd and 4th harmonics, respectively.

La greffe lamellaire postérieure, ou greffe endothéliale, consiste à remplacer l’endothélium défectueux d’une cornée par un endothélium sain prélevé sur un donneur décédé, en laissant en place l’épithélium et le stroma du patient. La découpe du greffon lamellaire endothéliale est l’une des étapes critiques de la greffe de cornée postérieure. Supérieur au microkeratome pour la réalisation de capots cornéens peu profonds, le laser femtoseconde montre cependant des résultats plutôt décevant concernant les découpes cornéennes profondes. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier et d’optimiser les découpes lamellaires endothéliales cornéennes, réalisées au microkeratome et au laser femtoseconde. Ces optimisations passent par le développement d’un bioréacteur cornéen, ainsi que par l’amélioration des techniques d’estimation de la viabilité endothéliale cornéenne / Posterior lamellar graft, also named endothelial graft, consist in a replacement of a defective corneal endothelium by a healthy one take on a deceased donor. The epithelial and stromal layers of the patient stay untouched. A critical step of this technic is the preparation of the lamellar graft. Femtosecond lasers are better in comparison with microkeratome for low depth lamellar cut. However, femtosecond high depth corneal lamellar cuts show disappointing results. The aim of this thesis is to study and optimize corneal endothelial lamellar cuts, realized by microkeratome and femtosecond laser. Development of a corneal bioreactor and improve of corneal endothelial viability assessment are necessary for the realization of these objectives

Au delà du simple dépôt d’énergie obtenu par des lasers à impulsions longues, le laser femtoseconde conduit à la création de forces agissant sur la matière qui impriment une nanostructuration en volume dans la silice classée dans les dommages de type II. Si on s’avérait capable de maîtriser ces forces, on pourrait alors dépasser les applications actuelles des lasers et ouvrir de nouvelles possibilités en sciences des matériaux. Une partie de cette thèse vise à caractériser et à comprendre les transformations induites par le laser.Dans un premier temps, cette thèse contribue à l’amélioration de nos connaissances concernant la sensibilité de l’interaction à la direction d’écriture et de la polarisation. A travers l’étude des propriétés optiques de la biréfringence linéaire et de l’analyse fine des observations des traces d’interaction, on a pu mettre en évidence son origine dans l’asymétrie spatiale du faisceau et conforter le modèle de la biréfringence de forme à l’origine d’une forte biréfringence. L’ensemble des études a permis la détermination des mécanismes physiques mis en jeu lors de l’irradiation laser en volume.La seconde découverte, également à la base de cette thèse, est la présence d’une chiralité photo-induite. Dans ce sens, nous avons étudié les propriétés circulaires mais la caractérisation de celles-ci soulève des problèmes techniques : les mesures sont faussées en raison de la présence simultanée de fortes propriétés linéaires et de faibles propriétés circulaires. Néanmoins, l’interprétation des mesures mettent en évidence la présence d’une circularité sans pour autant la quantifié. / Beyond the simple deposit of energy with long pulse lasers, the femtosecond laser created forces acting on the matter, which print 3D nanostructuration in silica, classified as type II damage. If one proves to be able to control these forces, one could exceed the current applications of the lasers and open new possibilities in materials sciences. This thesis contributes to characterize and understand the transformation induced by the laser.At first, this thesis contributes to improve our knowledge about the sensitivity of the interaction to the writing and polarization directions. The study of the optical properties of linear birefringence and analysis of the observations of the laser/matter interaction highlight his origin to the beam asymmetry and consolidate the model of form birefringence at the origin of a strong birefringence. All studies have allowed the determination of possible physical mechanisms during the laser irradiation.Second discovery, also at the base of this thesis, is the presence of an photo-induced chirality. In this direction, we studied the circular properties but the characterization of those raises technical problems: measurements are distorted because of the simultaneous presence of strong linear properties and weak circular properties. Nevertheless, the interpretation of measurements highlights the presence of a circularity without revealing its amplitude.