2020, Schroepfer, Michaela, Junghans, Frauke, Voigt, Diana, Meyer, Michael, Breier, Anette, Schulze-Tanzil, Gundula, Prade, Ina

For the regeneration or creation of functional tissues, biodegradable biomaterials including polylactic acid (PLA) are widely preferred. Modifications of the material surface are quite common to improve cell-material interactions and thereby support the biological outcome. Typical approaches include a wet chemical treatment with mostly hazardous substances or a functionalization with plasma. In the present study, gas-phase fluorination was applied to functionalize the PLA surfaces in a simple and one-step process. The biological response including biocompatibility, cell adhesion, cell spreading, and proliferation was analyzed in cell culture experiments with fibroblasts L929 and correlated with changes in the surface properties. Surface characterization methods including surface energy and isoelectric point measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy were applied to identify the effects of fluorination on PLA. Gas-phase fluorination causes the formation of C-F bonds in the PLA backbone, which induce a shift to a more hydrophilic and polar surface. The slightly negatively charged surface dramatically improves cell adhesion and spreading of cells on the PLA even with low fluorine content. The results indicate that this improved biological response is protein-but not integrin-dependent. Gas-phase fluorination is therefore an efficient technique to improve cellular response to biomaterial surfaces without losing cytocompatibility. Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.

2020, Ciano, Chiara, Virgilio, Michele, Bagolini, Luigi, Baldassarre, Leonetta, Pashkin, Alexej, Helm, Manfred, Montanari, Michele, Persichetti, Luca, Di Gaspare, Luciana, Capellini, Giovanni, Paul, Douglas J., Scalari, Giacomo, Faist, Jèrome, De Seta, Monica, Ortolani, Michele

We study radiative relaxation at terahertz frequencies in n-type Ge/SiGe quantum wells, optically pumped with a terahertz free electron laser. Two wells coupled through a tunneling barrier are designed to operate as a three-level laser system with non-equilibrium population generated by optical pumping around the 1→3 intersubband transition at 10 THz. The non-equilibrium subband population dynamics are studied by absorption-saturation measurements and compared to a numerical model. In the emission spectroscopy experiment, we observed a photoluminescence peak at 4 THz, which can be attributed to the 3→2 intersubband transition with possible contribution from the 2→1 intersubband transition. These results represent a step towards silicon-based integrated terahertz emitters.

2020, Feng, Tianli, Heilmann, Anke, Bock, Martin, Ehrentraut, Lutz, Witting, Tobias, Yu, Haohai, Stiel, Holger, Eisebitt, Stefan, Schnürer, Matthias

We developed a high power optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) system at 2.1 µm harnessing a 500 W Yb:YAG thin disk laser as the only pump and signal generation source. The OPCPA system operates at 10 kHz with a single pulse energy of up to 2.7 mJ and pulse duration of 30 fs. The maximum average output power of 27 W sets a new record for an OPCPA system in the 2 µm wavelength region. The soft X-ray continuum generated through high harmonic generation with this driver laser can extend to around 0.55 keV, thus covering the entire water window (284 eV - 543 eV). With a repetition rate still enabling pump-probe experiments on solid samples, the system can be used for many applications. © 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

2020, Houhou, Rola, Barman, Parijat, Schmitt, Micheal, Meyer, Tobias, Popp, Juergen, Bocklitz, Thomas

Finding efficient and reliable methods for the extraction of the phase in optical measurements is challenging and has been widely investigated. Although sophisticated optical settings, e.g. holography, measure directly the phase, the use of algorithmic methods has gained attention due to its efficiency, fast calculation and easy setup requirements. We investigated three phase retrieval methods: the maximum entropy technique (MEM), the Kramers-Kronig relation (KK), and for the first time deep learning using the Long Short-Term Memory network (LSTM). LSTM shows superior results for the phase retrieval problem of coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectra in comparison to MEM and KK. © 2020 OSA - The Optical Society. All rights reserved.

2020, Sheng, Wenbo, Li, Wei, Tan, Deming, Zhang, Panpan, Zhang, En, Sheremet, Evgeniya, Schmidt, Bernhard V.K.J., Feng, Xinliang, Rodriguez, Raul D., Jordan, Rainer, Amin, Ihsan

Graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) has a broad range of promising applications, from energy harvesting and storage to sensing. However, most of the applications are still restricted due to gCN poor dispersibility and limited functional groups. Herein, a direct photografting of gCN using various polymer brushes with tailorable functionalities via UV photopolymerization at ambient conditions is demonstrated. The systematic study of polymer brush-functionalized gCN reveals that the polymerization did not alter the inherent structure of gCN. Compared to the pristine gCN, the gCN-polymer composites show good dispersibility in various solvents such as water, ethanol, and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Patterned polymer brushes on gCN can be realized by employing photomask and microcontact printing technology. The polymer brushes with incorporated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on gCN can act as a multifunctional recyclable active sensing layer for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection and photocatalysis. This multifunctionality is shown in consecutive cycles of SERS and photocatalytic degradation processes that can be applied to in situ monitor pollutants, such as dyes or pharmaceutical waste, with high chemical sensitivity as well as to water remediation. This dual functionality provides a significant advantage to our AgNPs/polymer-gCN with regard to state-of-the-art systems reported so far that only allow SERS pollutant detection but not their decomposition. These results may provide a new methodology for the covalent functionalization of gCN and may enable new applications in the field of catalysis, biosensors, and, most interestingly, environmental remediation. Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.

2020, Bagschik, Kai, Schneider, Michael, Wagner, Jochen, Buss, Ralph, Riepp, Matthias, Philippi-Kobs, Andre, Müller, Leonard, Roseker, Wojciech, Trinter, Florian, Hoesch, Moritz, Viefhaus, Jens, Eisebitt, Stefan, Grübel, Gerhard, Oepen, Hans Peter, Frömter, Robert

Direct 2D spatial-coherence measurements are increasingly gaining importance at synchrotron beamlines, especially due to present and future upgrades of synchrotron facilities to diffraction-limited storage rings. We present a method to determine the 2D spatial coherence of synchrotron radiation in a direct and particularly simple way by using the Fourier-analysis method in conjunction with curved gratings. Direct photon-beam monitoring provided by a curved grating circumvents the otherwise necessary separate determination of the illuminating intensity distribution required for the Fourier-analysis method. Hence, combining these two methods allows for time-resolved spatial-coherence measurements. As a consequence, spatial-coherence degradation effects caused by beamline optics vibrations, which is one of the key issues of state-of-the-art X-ray imaging and scattering beamlines, can be identified and analyzed. © 2020 Optical Society of America.

2020, Fiedler, Saskia, Raza, Søren, Ai, Ruoqi, Wang, Jianfang, Busch, Kurt, Stenger, Nicolas, Mortensen, N. Asger, Wolff, Christian

Dark plasmonic modes have interesting properties, including longer lifetimes and narrower linewidths than their radiative counterpart, and little to no radiative losses. However, they have not been extensively studied yet due to their optical inaccessibility. In this work, we systematically investigated the dark radial breathing modes (RBMs) in monocrystalline gold nanodisks, specifically their outcoupling behavior into the far-field by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. Increasing the substrate thickness resulted in an up to 4-fold enhanced visibility. This is attributed to breaking the mirror symmetry by the high-index substrate, creating an effective dipole moment. Furthermore, the resonance energy of the dark RMBs can be easily tuned by varying the nanodisk diameter, making them promising candidates for nanophotonic applications. © 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

2020, von Grafenstein, Lorenz, Bock, Martin, Ueberschaer, Dennis, Escoto, Esmerando, Koç, Azize, Zawilski, Kevin, Schunemann, Peter, Griebner, Uwe, Elsaesser, Thomas

A table-top midwave-infrared optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) system generates few-cycle pulses with multi-10 GW peak power at a 1 kHz repetition rate. The all-optically synchronized system utilizes ZnGeP2 nonlinear crystals and a highly stable 2 µm picosecond pump laser based on Ho:YLiF4. An excellent energy extraction is achieved by reusing the pump pulse after the third parametric power amplification stage, resulting in 3.4 mJ idler pulses at a center wavelength of 4.9 µm. Pulses as short as 89.4 fs are achieved, close to only five optical cycles. Taking into account the pulse energy, a record high peak power of 33 GW for high-energy mid-IR OPCPAs beyond 4 µm wavelength is demonstrated. © 2020 OSA - The Optical Society. All rights reserved.

2020, Leich, Martin, Kalide, André, Eschrich, Tina, Lorenz, Adrian, Lorenz, Martin, Wondraczek, Katrin, Schönfeld, Dörte, Langner, Andreas, Schötz, Gerhard, Jäger, Matthias

We report on the first, to the best of our knowledge, implementation of a fluorine co-doped large-mode-area REPUSIL fiber for high peak power amplification in an ultrashort-pulse master oscillator power amplifier. The core material of the investigated step-index fiber with high Yb-doping level, 52 µm core and high core-to-clad ratio of 1:4.2 was fabricated by means of the REPUSIL powder-sinter technology. The core numerical aperture was adjusted by fluorine codoping to 0.088. For achieving high beam quality and for ensuring a monolithic seed path, the LMA fiber is locally tapered. We demonstrate an Yb fiber amplifier with near-diffraction-limited beam quality of M2 = 1.3, which remains constant up to a peak power of 2 MW. This is a record for a tapered single core fiber. © 2020 Optical Society of America

2020, Kretschmar, Martin, Tuemmler, Johannes, Schütte, Bernd, Hoffmann, Andreas, Senfftleben, Björn, Mero, Mark, Sauppe, Mario, Rupp, Daniela, Vrakking, Marc J.J., Will, Ingo, Nagy, Tamas

We present an optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) system delivering 4.4 TW pulses centered at 810 nm with a sub-9 fs duration and a carrier-envelope phase stability of 350 mrad. The OPCPA setup pumped by sub-10 ps pulses from two Yb:YAG thin-disk lasers at 100 Hz repetition rate is optimized for a high conversion-efficiency. The terawatt pulses of the OPCPA are utilized for generating intense extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses by high-order harmonic generation, achieving XUV pulse energies approaching the microjoule level. © 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement