Near-membrane and trans-membrane proteins and their interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM) can yield valuable information about cell dynamics. However, advances in the field of nanoscale cellular processes have been hindered, in part, due to limits imposed by current technology. In this work, a novel evanescent field (EF) imaging technique is designed, modeled, created and tested for near-field imaging in the apical surface of cells. This technique and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) were used to investigate interactions between integrins on the cell surface and the ECM protein, fibronectin. The goal was to monitor changes in the integrin density at the cell surface as a function of clustering after binding to fibronectin on the microsphere surface. For the EF technique, quantum dot (QD)-embedded polystyrene microspheres were used to couple light into whispering gallery modes (WGMs) inside the microspheres; the resulting EF at the surface of the microsphere was used as a near-field excitation source with ~50 nm axial resolution for exciting fluorescently-labeled integrins. For FRET measurements (~10 nm axial resolution), QDs (donors) were coated on the surface of microspheres and energy transfer to red fluorescent protein (RFP)-integrin constructs (acceptors) studied. In both techniques, the QD-modified microspheres were mounted on atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilevers, functionalized with fibronectin, and brought into contact with fluorescently-labeled HeLa or vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells. The results obtained from both methods show the clustering and activity of the integrins and are in good agreement with each other. Amsterdam discrete dipole approximation (ADDA) was used to study the effects of inhomogeneous surrounding refractive index on the quality factor and position of the WGMs due to the attachment of a microsphere to an AFM cantilever. WGMs of various QD-embedded microspheres mounted on AFM cantilevers were experimentally measured and shown to be consistent with the model.

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2000. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-77).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2000. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-77).

xi, 125 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation presents experimental and theoretical studies of radiation pressure cooling in silica optomechanical microresonators where whispering gallery modes (WGMs) are coupled to thermal mechanical vibrations. In an optomechanical system, circulating optical fields couple to mechanical vibrations via radiation pressure, inducing Stokes and anti-Stokes scattering of photons. In analogy to laser cooling of trapped ions, the mechanical motion can in principle be cooled to its ground state via the anti-Stokes process in the resolved-sideband limit, in which the cavity photon lifetime far exceeds the mechanical oscillation period. Our optomechanical system is a slightly deformed silica microsphere (with a diameter 25-30 μm ), featuring extremely high Q -factors for both optical ( Q o ∼ 10 8 ) and mechanical ( Q m ∼ 10 4 ) systems. Exploiting the unique property of directional evanescent escape in the deformed resonator, we have developed a free-space configuration for the excitation of WGMs and for the interferometric detection of mechanical displacement, for which the part of input laser that is not coupled into the microsphere serves as a local oscillator. Measurement sensitivity better than 5 × 10 -18 m /[Special characters omitted.] has been achieved. The three optically active mechanical modes observed in the displacement power spectrum are well described by finite element analysis. Both radiation pressure cooling and parametric instabilities have been observed in our experiments. The dependence of the mechanical resonator frequency and linewidth on the detuning as well as the intensity of the input laser show excellent agreement with theoretical calculations with no adjustable parameters. The free-space excitation technique has enabled us to combine resolved sideband cooling with cryogenic cooling. At a cryogenic temperature of 1.4 K, the sideband cooling leads to an effective temperature as low as 210 m K for a 110 MHz mechanical oscillator, corresponding to an average phonon occupation of 37, which is one of the three lowest phonon occupations achieved thus far for optomechanical systems. The cooling process is limited by ultrasonic attenuation in fused silica, which should diminish when bath temperature is further lowered, with a 3 He cryostat, to a few hundred millikelvin. Our experimental studies thus indicate that we are tantalizingly close to realizing the ground-state cooling for the exploration of quantum effects in an otherwise macroscopic mechanical system. / Committee in charge: Michael Raymer, Chairperson, Physics; Jens Noeckel, Member, Physics; Hailin Wang, Member, Physics; Paul Csonka, Member, Physics; Jeffrey Cina, Outside Member, Chemistry

Ce travail de thèse a consisté à mettre en place toute une filière de fabrication de microtores en silice sur silicium (étapes de lithographie et de gravure en salle blanche pour la réalisation de microdisques, installation d'un banc optique permettant la transformation du résonateur en microtore par un procédé de recuit laser CO2), à installer un banc optique permettant de mesurer la largeur spectrale de leurs résonances optiques à 1.55 µm et enfin, à explorer l'intégration d'émetteurs de lumière composés d'éléments de la colonne IV comme du silicium et du germanium, dans ces cavités. Des microtores supportant des résonances de facteur de qualité Q proche de 10^8 à 1.55 µm ont été fabriqués. Ces réalisations sont très proches de l'état de l'art et valident à la fois la fabrication des cavités et le banc optique permettant les mesures spectrales des modes de galerie (WGM). Grâce à un contrôle fin des différentes étapes de fabrication, de nouveaux résonateurs ont également été réalisés, des microsphères de silice sur puce de petits rayons (entre 5 et 14 µm). Une étude détaillée de ces résonateurs est présentée. Des Q proches de 10^8 ont également été mesurés. Des cavités WGM comportant une couche de nanoclusters de silicium dans une matrice de silice avec des ions erbium (SiOx : Er) sont étudiées en photoluminescence. Un couplage des ces émetteurs à des WGM est observé à température ambiante dans le visible et dans l'infrarouge. Un travail de couplage du germanium aux WGM a commencé et semble prometteur. / This work consisted in developing a fabrication process of silica microtoroids on a silicon chip (steps of lithography and etching in clean room for the realization of microdisks, set up of an optical bench to form a microtoroid with a reflow treatment of a silica microdisk by a CO2-laser), setting up an optical bench to measure the linewidth of their optical resonances at 1.55 µm and finally, exploring light emitters integration in these cavities such as silicon and germanium. Very high quality-factors (Q) close to 10^8 at 1.55µm have been measured on microtoroids. These realizations are very close to the State of the art and validate both the fabrication of these cavities and the optical bench to measure the linewidth of their Whispering Gallery Modes (WGM). With a precise control of the fabrication steps, new resonators have also been fabricated, silica microspheres on a chip with small radii (5 < r < 14µm). An in-depth study of these last ones is presented. Q-factors close to 10^8 have also been measured on microspheres. WGM cavities with a SiOx: Er layer (silicon nanoclusters in silica with erbium ions) are studied by photoluminescence. Coupling of these light emitters to WGM is observed in visible and near infrared at room temperature. A work of coupling of germanium to WGM began and seems promising.

I advanced the understanding of particle morphology and its implications for the behavior and effects of atmospheric aerosol particles. I have developed new experimental methods for the Aerosol Optical Tweezers (AOT) system and expanded the AOT’s application into studying realistic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particle phases. The AOT is a highly accurate system developed to study individual particles in real-time for prolonged periods of time. While previous AOT studies have focused on binary or ternary chemical systems, I have investigated complex SOA, and how they interact with other chemical phases, and the surrounding gas-phase. This work has led to new insights into liquid-liquid phase separation and the resulting particle morphology, the surface tension, solubility, and volatility of SOA, and diffusion coefficients of SOA phases. I designed a new aerosol optical tweezers chamber for delivering a uniformly mixed aerosol flow to the trapped droplet’s position. I used this chamber to determine the phase-separation morphology and resulting properties of complex mixed droplets. A series of experiments using simple compounds are presented to establish my ability to use the cavity enhanced Raman spectra to distinguish between homogenous single-phase, and phase-separated core-shell or partially-engulfed morphologies. I have developed a new algorithm for the analysis of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) present in the cavity enhanced Raman spectra retrieved from droplets trapped in the AOT. My algorithm improves the computational scaling when analyzing core-shell droplets (i.e. phase-separated or biphasic droplets) in the AOT, making it computationally practical to analyze spectra collected over many hours at a few Hz. I then demonstrate for the first time the capture and analysis of SOA on a droplet suspended in an AOT. I examined three initial chemical systems of aqueous NaCl, aqueous glycerol, and squalane at ~ 75% relative humidity. For each system I added α-pinene SOA – generated directly in the AOT chamber – to the trapped droplet. The resulting morphology was always observed to be a core of the initial droplet surrounded by a shell of the added SOA. By combining my AOT observations of particle morphology with results from SOA smog chamber experiments, I conclude that the α-pinene SOA shell creates no major diffusion limitations for water, glycerol, and squalane under humid conditions. My AOT experiments highlight the prominence of phase-separated core-shell morphologies for secondary organic aerosols interacting with a range of other chemical phases. The unique analytical capabilities of the aerosol optical tweezers provide a new approach for advancing the understanding of the chemical and physical evolution of complex atmospheric particulate matter, and the important environmental impacts of aerosols on atmospheric chemistry, air quality, human health, and climate change.

Optofluidic sensing utilizes the advantages of both microfluidic and optical science to achieve tunable and reconfigurable high-performance sensing purpose, which has established itself as a new and dynamic research field for exciting developments at the interface of photonics, microfluidics, and the life sciences. With the trend of developing miniaturized electronic devices and integrating multi-functional units on lab-on-a-chip instruments, more and more desires request for novel and powerful approaches to integrating optical elements and fluids on the same chip-scale system in recent years. By taking advantage of the electrowetting phenomenon, the wettability of liquid droplet on micro/nano-structured surfaces and the Leidenfrost effect, this doctoral research focuses on developing high-performance optofluidic sensing systems, including optical beam adaptive steering, whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical sensing, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensing. A watermill-like beam steering system is developed that can adaptively guide concentrating optical beam to targeted receivers. The system comprises a liquid droplet actuation mechanism based on electrowetting-on-dielectric, a superlattice-structured rotation hub, and an enhanced optical reflecting membrane. The specular reflector can be adaptively tuned within the lateral orientation of 360°, and the steering speed can reach ~353.5°/s. This work demonstrates the feasibility of driving a macro-size solid structure with liquid microdroplets, opening a new avenue for developing reconfigurable components such as optical switches in next-generation sensor network. Furthermore, the WGM sensing system is demonstrated to be stimulated along the meridian plane of a liquid microdroplet, instead of equatorial plane, resting on a properly designed nanostructured chip surface. The unavoidable deformation along the meridian rim of the sessile microdroplet can be controlled and regulated by tailoring the nanopillar structures and their associated hydrophobicity. The nanostructured superhydrophobic chip surface and its impact on the microdroplet morphology are modeled by Surface Evolver (SE), which is subsequently validated by the Cassie-Wenzel theory of wetting. The influence of the microdroplet morphology on the optical characteristics of WGMs is further numerically studied using the Finite-Difference Time-Domain method (FDTD) and it is found that meridian WGMs with intrinsic quality factor Q exceeding 104 can exist. Importantly, such meridian WGMs can be efficiently excited by a waveguiding structure embedded in the planar chip, which could significantly reduce the overall system complexity by eliminating conventional mechanical coupling parts. Our simulation results also demonstrate that this optofluidic resonator can achieve a sensitivity as high as 530 nm/RIU. This on-chip coupling scheme could pave the way for developing lab-on-a-chip resonators for high-resolution sensing of trace analytes in various applications ranging from chemical detections, biological reaction processes to environmental protection. Lastly, this research reports a new type of high-performance SERS substrate with nanolaminated plasmonic nanostructures patterned on a hierarchical micro/nanostructured surface, which demonstrates SERS enhancement factor as high as 1.8 x 107. Different from the current SERS substrates which heavily relies on durability-poor surface structure modifications and various chemical coatings on the platform surfaces which can deteriorate the SERS enhancement factor (EF) as the coating materials may block hot spots, the Leidenfrost effect-inspired evaporation approach is proposed to minimize the analyte deposition area and maximize the analyte concentration on the SERS sensing substrate. By intentionally regulating the temperature of the SERS substrate during evaporation process, the Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules inside a droplet with an initial concentration of 10-9 M is deposited within an area of 450 μm2, and can be successfully detected with a practical detection time of 0.1 s and a low excitation power of 1.3 mW. / Doctor of Philosophy / Over the past two decades, optofluidics has emerged and established itself as a new and exciting research field for novel sensing technique development at the intersection of photonics, microfluidics and the life sciences. The strong desire for developing miniaturized lab-on-a-chip devices and instruments has led to novel and powerful approaches to integrating optical elements and fluids on the same chip-scale systems. By taking advantage of the electrowetting phenomenon, the wettability of liquid droplet on micro/nano-structured surfaces and the Leidenfrost effect, this doctoral program focuses on developing high-performance optofluidic sensing systems, including optical beam adaptive steering, whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical sensing, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensing. During this doctoral program, a rotary electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) beam steering system was first fabricated and developed with a wide lateral steering range of 360° and a fast steering speed of 353.5°/s, which can be applied in telecommunication systems or lidar systems. Next, the meridian WGM optical sensing system was optically simulated using finite difference time domain (FDTD) method and was numerically validated to achieve a high quality-factor Q exceeding 104 and a high refractive index sensitivity of 530 nm/RIU, which can be applied to the broad areas of liquid identification or single molecule detection. Lastly, a SERS sensing platform based on a hierarchical micro/nano-structured surface was accomplished to exhibit a decent SERS enhancement factor (EF) of 1.81 x 107. The contact angle of water droplet on the SERS substrate is 134° with contact angle hysteresis of ~32°. Therefore, by carefully controlling the SERS surface temperature, we employed Leidenfrost evaporation to concentrate the analytes within an extremely small region, enabling the high-resolution detection of analytes with an ultra-low concentration of ~10-9 M.

Optical resonators, which confine light by resonant recirculation, serve as the basis for a wide variety of optical components. Though they appear in many geometric forms, the most effective of optical resonators show axial symmetry in at least one dimension. A popular variation that finds broad application is the dielectric sphere. Acclaimed for their high quality (Q) factor and small modal volume, spheres owe credit of these attractive features to their support of whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonances. The sensitivity of a resonance's frequency and Q to strain, temperature, and other parameters of the surrounding medium can be the basis for ultracompact modulators and sensors. Physically, WGMs are special optical modes which can be understood as light rays that orbit the equator of the sphere guided by total internal reflection. Like a smooth stone can be skipped along the surface of a pond, light can be confined to the inside of a sphere by successive reflections. To best excite WGMs, the source light should initially trace a line tangent to the sphere's circumference. But incorporating a tiny sphere with such nanometric tolerances into a practical sensor structure has its challenges and the prospects for microsphere applications have suffered because of the plight of this problem. The work in this dissertation details the fabrication and function of three new "press fit" spherical resonators. These etched fiber micro-devices were developed to meet the demand for a robust, self-integrated means of coupling light between an optical fiber and WGMs in a microsphere resonator. The etching processes have been tuned to enable secure storage of a microsphere while also providing efficient excitation and interrogation of WGMs. Furthermore, the methods have been designed to be staightforward, quick, and repeatable. Using standard etchants on common polarization-maintaining fiber with readily purchased microspheres, the press fit resonators demonstrated here can be batch-fabricated and assembled. The press fit spherical resonator offers an alignment-free and conveniently pigtailed WGM coupler that has great potential for bio-science sensing applications and studies of resonant bispheres. / Ph. D.

Ces travaux de thèses portent sur l’étude de la dynamique du laser à mode de galerie dans le but de réaliser une source micro-onde en utilisant un laser à mode de galerie doublement monomode. Nous montrons ici les résultats expérimentaux sur le bruit relatif d’intensité (RIN) d’un laser à mode de galerie en verre ZBLALiP dopé aux ions Er3+. Outre l’aspect performances d’utilisation du laser, le spectre de RIN donne un certain nombre d’informations sur la dynamique du laser (temps de vie des photons, taux de pompage effectif, sources de bruit, ...).Les très forts facteur de qualités de ces résonateurs ainsi que leurs propriétés de confinement spatial amène un couplage non-linéaire etre les photons et les atomes du milieu amplificateur, faisant apparaitre dans le spectre de RIN des harmoniques de la fréquence de relaxation du laser. Le modèle harmonique développé permet d’estimer le volume de mode du mode de galerie en régime laser, quantité difficilement estimable dans ce régime d’émission. D’autre part, les mesures de RIN réalisées sur un verre industriel IOG-1 codopé Yb3+/Er3+ montrent la signature d’un couplage modal, induit par la diffusion Rayleigh, où les deux modes couplés fonctionnent au dessus du seuil laser. La dynamique de ce laser est également étudié et les comportements obtenus sont mis en parallèle avec les études réalisées sur le gyro-Laser à l’état solide. / This thesis presents the studies of whispering gallery mode laser dynamics in order to realize a micro-wave source using simultaneous oscillations in a unique whispering gallery mode micro-laser. We show experimental results on the relative intensity noise (RIN) of a Whispering Gallery Mode Laser in ZBLALiP glass doped with Er3+ ions. Besides the pure laser specifications, the RIN spectrum gives informations about the dynamics inside the cavity, such as photon lifetime, effective pumping rate and noise sources. Moreover, we have shown that a single-mode emission comes with the presence of multiple harmonics of the relaxation frequency. The theoretical model taking account the non-linear coupling between photons and atoms allows us to determine the mode volume of the whispering gallery mode in laser regime, which is quite difficult to evaluate in this regime. On the other hand, we have studied the laser dynamics in an industrial IOG-1 glass codoped with Yb3+/Er3+ ions where the signature of a modal coupling, induced by Rayleigh scattering, lies in the RIN spectrum. In this particular case, the two coupled modes operate above threshold. The observed behavior is compared with thoses of a solid state gyro-laser.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T18:47:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Geisa Maria Emilia Lima Moreira.pdf: 2029888 bytes, checksum: 3b6bda02b9e6a1f7464a3bc51248cb4c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present work is a study about the speech listening, of elderly women coordinators of elderly acquaintance groups, with the objective of capturing what they think about the groups, about their trajectory of political participation as well as, the main demands and actions taken by them in the struggle to secure their rights and carry out the elderly s policy care. With a qualitative basis, this study is suported by methodology of ethnographic research and anthropology Geertz Hermeneutics, and by methodology of action research THIOLENT. This interdisciplinary research establishes dialogues between the historical social psychology, anthropology, gerontology and philosophy to transcribe the speech of the subject. The research involved the hearing of 10 coordinators at two different moments. In the first moment, through interviews and direct observation, and in the second, with observation and appropriation of speeches in a political action organized by the coordinators to take their demands to parliamentarians. They point out the groups such: as home, a place of friendship, and space of solidarity, care and citizenship, and School of Life. The main liability claims: demands for education; proper support for the groups; social security income; cultural changes with structural politics of inclusion and training program, both for coordinators and technicians. Among the main observations on political participation, the coordinators do not feel they are listened in their demands, and conclude that the elderly women s participation, although intense, is still not effectively or appropriately considered by governmental sectors, and monitoring of public politics / O presente trabalho é um estudo sobre a escuta das falas de mulheres idosas coordenadoras de grupos de convivência de idosos, com o objetivo de capturar o que pensam sobre os grupos e sobre sua trajetória de participação política e conhecer suas principais demandas e ações na luta para garantir os seus direitos e consolidar a política pública de atenção à pessoa idosa. Com base qualitativa, o estudo fez uso do método etnográfico de pesquisa e da descrição densa proposta na antropologia Hermenêutica de Geertz (1989), e também da pesquisa-ação proposta por Thiolent (2011). De forma interdisciplinar, o trabalho dialoga com a psicologia, na perspectiva sócio histórica, a antropologia, a gerontologia e a filosofia para transcrever a fala dos sujeitos. Foram escutadas 10 coordenadoras de grupos, na cidade de Belo Horizonte, em dois momentos diferentes. No primeiro momento, por meio de entrevistas, observações e registros das atividades em campo. No segundo, por meio de observação e apropriação de suas falas ao participarem de uma ação política organizada para levar suas demandas diretamente aos parlamentares. As coordenadoras apontam os grupos como sua casa, espaço de amizade, solidariedade e cidadania, e como uma escola Entre as principais reinvindicações apontam a educação, o suporte para os grupos, renda e seguridade social e mudanças culturais com políticas de inclusão, e capacitação para coordenadores. Acerca de sua participação política, as coordenadoras não se sentem escutadas nas suas demandas e contribuições, e afirmam que apesar de intensa, sua participação ainda não é efetivada e considerada devidamente nas instâncias governamentais e de monitoramento das políticas públicas