Physics and Engineering Student Works
Submissions from 2023
High-Speed Spectral Characterization of Single-Molecule SERS Fluctuations, Makayla M. Schmidt, Emily A. Farley, Marit A. Engevik, Trey N. Adelsman, Ariadne Teckmantel Bido, Nathan D. Lemke, Alexandre G. Brolo, and Nathan C. Lindquist
The concept of plasmonic “hotspots” is central to the broad field of nanophotonics. In surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), hotspots can increase Raman scattering efficiency by orders of magnitude. Hotspot dimensions may range from a f...
Submissions from 2022
Measurement of Optical Rubidium Clock Frequency Spanning 65 Days, Nathan D. Lemke, Kyle W. Martin, River Beard, Benjamin K. Stuhl, Andrew J. Metcalf, and John D. Elgin
Optical clocks are emerging as next-generation timekeeping devices with technological and scientific use cases. Simplified atomic sources such as vapor cells may offer a straightforward path to field use, but suffer from long-term frequency...
Developing optical devices and projects for teaching engineering, Nathan D. Lemke, John McCauley, Tristan E. Noble, Grace Riermann, Ellesa St. George, Nathan C. Lindquist, Keith R. Stein, and Karen Irene Rogers
We are creating a suite of tools and techniques based on optics to be used for teaching a variety of engineering topics. Each tool is intended for non-expert use and without the need for high-end equipment such as vibration-free optical tab...
Submissions from 2021
Front Cover Artwork: Nano-Optical Tweezers: Methods and Applications for Trapping Single Molecules and Nanoparticles, Joshua D. Kolbow, Nathan C. Lindquist, Christopher T. Ertsgaard, Daehan Yoo, and Sang Hyun Oh
The front cover artwork is provided by Prof. Sang-Hyun Oh's group at the University of Minnesota. The image shows the optical trapping of chiral nanoparticles using coaxial nano-optical tweezers, devices capable of harnessing light to manip...
Nano-Optical Tweezers: Methods and Applications for Trapping Single Molecules and Nanoparticles, Joshua D. Kolbow, Nathan C. Lindquist, Christopher T. Ertsgaard, Daehan Yoo, and Sang Hyun Oh
Optical tweezers were developed in 1970 by Arthur Ashkin as a tool for the manipulation of micron-sized particles. Ashkin's original design was then adapted for a variety of purposes, such as trapping and manipulation of biological material...
Digital plasmonic holography with iterative phase retrieval for sensing, Ryan M. Spies, Grace H. Cole, Marit A. Engevik, Britta G. Nordberg, Evan A. Scharnick, Isaac M. Vliem, Alexandre G. Brolo, and Nathan C. Lindquist
Propagating surface plasmon waves have been used for many applications including imaging and sensing. However, direct in-plane imaging of micro-objects with surface plasmon waves suffers from the lack of simple, two-dimensional lenses, mirr...
Submissions from 2020
High-Speed Fluctuations in Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Intensities from Various Nanostructures, Ariadne T. Bido, Britta G. Nordberg, Marit A. Engevik, Nathan C. Lindquist, and Alexandre G. Brolo
The observation of single molecule events using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a well-established phenomenon. These events are characterized by strong fluctuations in SERS intensities. High-speed SERS intensity fluctuations (in...
Dynamic Imaging of Multiple SERS Hotspots on Single Nanoparticles, Carlos Diego L. De Albuquerque, Kallai M. Hokanson, Sarah R. Thorud, Regivaldo G. Sobral-Filho, Nathan C. Lindquist, and Alexandre G. Brolo
Signal intensity fluctuations are a ubiquitous characteristic of single-molecule surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). In this work, we observed SERS intensity fluctuations (SIFs) from single nanoparticles fully coated with an adsorbate...
Developing a Portable, Smartphone-Based Schlieren Imaging System, Grace Riermann and Keith R. Stein
Schlieren imaging is a technique for visualizing fluid flows that are characterized by spatial variations in density or refractive index. Because schlieren imaging is commonly performed with expensive equipment in a lab setting, we sought c...
Digital plasmonic holography with iterative phase retrieval for sensing, Ryan M. Spies, Isaac M. Vliem, Alexandre G. Brolo, and Nathan C. Lindquist
Digital holographic microscopy techniques are combined with leakage radiation microscopy and used for lens-less in-plane surface imaging with propagating surface plasmon waves. Using iterative phase retrieval techniques, applications in pla...
Search for bottom-type, vectorlike quark pair production in a fully hadronic final state in proton-proton collisions at s =13 TeV, The CMS Collaboration, A. M. Sirunyan, A. Tumasyan, W. Adam, F. Ambrogi, T. Bergauer, Julie M. Hogan, and S Johnson
A search is described for the production of a pair of bottom-type vectorlike quarks (VLQs), each decaying into a b or b¯ quark and either a Higgs or a Z boson, with a mass greater than 1000 GeV. The analysis is based on data from proton-pro...
Submissions from 2019
Real-Time Sensing with Patterned Plasmonic Substrates and a Compact Imager Chip, Spencer T. Seiler, Isabel S. Rich, and Nathan C. Lindquist
Optical sensing is an important research field due to its proven ability to be extremely sensitive, nondestructive, and applicable to sensing a wide range of chemical, thermal, electric, or magnetic phenomena. Beyond traditional optical sen...
Submissions from 2018
Digital plasmonic holography, Joseph W. Nelson, Greta R. Knefelkamp, Alexandre G. Brolo, and Nathan C. Lindquist
We demonstrate digital plasmonic holography for direct in-plane imaging with propagating surface-plasmon waves. Imaging with surface plasmons suffers from the lack of simple in-plane lenses and mirrors. Lens-less digital holography techniqu...
Submissions from 2017
Chemically imaging bacteria with super-resolution SERS on ultra-thin silver substrates, Aeli P. Olson, Kelsey B. Spies, Anna C. Browning, Paula A.G. Soneral, and Nathan C. Lindquist
Plasmonic hotspots generate a blinking Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) effect that can be processed using Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM) algorithms for super-resolved imaging. Furthermore, by imaging through...
Submissions from 2014
Fabrication and characterization of template-stripped plasmonic substrates for high-resolution chemical imaging, Sarah Elliott, Mark Turner, Isabel Rich, and Nathan C. Lindquist
Template-stripped plasmonic nanoholes are used as high-resolution chemical imaging substrates via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Chemical patterns created with microcontact printing show these surfaces to provide large and uniform enh...
Template fabricated plasmonic nanoholes on analyte-sensitive substrates for real-time vapor sensing, Nathan C. Lindquist, Mark A. Turner, and Benjamin P. Heppner
Sensing with nanostructured plasmonic devices has become an important research field due to their proven ability to be extremely sensitive, compact, multiplexed, and compatible with low-cost fabrication techniques. In this paper, we employ ...
Template fabricated plasmonic nanoholes on analyte-sensitive substrates for vapor sensing, Mark Turner, Benjamin Heppner, Isabel Rich, and Nathan C. Lindquist
Template-stripping is used to produce plasmonic nanoholes on chemically-patterned substrates for real-time, multiplex vapor sensing. The open-hole geometry allows simultaneous response from both sides of the chip during exposure to nitrogen...
Submissions from 2011
Increased Power and Detuning of Diode Lasers for Magneto-optical Trap of Lithium, Jami Johnson
Precision experiments such as laser cooling and trapping using diode laser systems are increasingly prevalent in the fields of modern atomic, molecular and optical physics. Multiple laser diodes of precise frequencies and significant output...
Phase Sensitive Detection: Frequency Locking of a Laser Diode for Lithium Cooling and Trapping, Brandon Peplinski
The frequency of a laser-diode can be locked by providing a negative feedback voltage to the piezo-electric transducer in the laser cavity. By phase-modulating the light and placing side bands on the carrier frequency, the fluorescence of t...