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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    A general approach for all-visible-light switching of diarylethenes through triplet sensitization using semiconducting nanocrystals
    (London [u.a.] : RSC, 2022) Hou, Lili; Larsson, Wera; Hecht, Stefan; Andréasson, Joakim; Albinsson, Bo
    Coupling semiconducting nanocrystals (NCs) with organic molecules provides an efficient route to generate and transfer triplet excitons. These excitons can be used to power photochemical transformations such as photoisomerization reactions using low energy radiation. Thus, it is desirable to develop a general approach that can efficiently be used to control photoswitches using all-visible-light aiming at future applications in life- and materials sciences. Here, we demonstrate a simple ‘cocktail’ strategy that can achieve all-visible-light switchable diarylethenes (DAEs) through triplet energy transfer from the hybrid of CdS NCs and phenanthrene-3-carboxylic acid, with high photoisomerization efficiency and improved fatigue resistance. The size-tunable excitation energies of CdS NCs make it possible to precisely match the clear spectral window of the relevant DAE photoswitch. We demonstrate reversible all-visible-light photoisomerization of a series of DAE derivatives both in the liquid and solid state, even in the presence of oxygen. Our general strategy is promising for fabrication of all-visible-light activated optoelectronic devices as well as memories, and should in principle be adaptable to photopharmacology.
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    The patterning toolbox FIB-o-mat: Exploiting the full potential of focused helium ions for nanofabrication
    (Frankfurt, M. : Beilstein-Institut zur Förderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften, 2021) Deinhart, Victor; Kern, Lisa-Marie; Kirchhof, Jan N.; Juergensen, Sabrina; Sturm, Joris; Krauss, Enno; Feichtner, Thorsten; Kovalchuk, Sviatoslav; Schneider, Michael; Engel, Dieter; Pfau, Bastian; Hecht, Bert; Bolotin, Kirill I.; Reich, Stephanie; Höflich, Katja
    Focused beams of helium ions are a powerful tool for high-fidelity machining with spatial precision below 5 nm. Achieving such a high patterning precision over large areas and for different materials in a reproducible manner, however, is not trivial. Here, we introduce the Python toolbox FIB-o-mat for automated pattern creation and optimization, providing full flexibility to accomplish demanding patterning tasks. FIB-o-mat offers high-level pattern creation, enabling high-fidelity large-area patterning and systematic variations in geometry and raster settings. It also offers low-level beam path creation, providing full control over the beam movement and including sophisticated optimization tools. Three applications showcasing the potential of He ion beam nanofabrication for two-dimensional material systems and devices using FIB-o-mat are presented.
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    Adaptive micro axicons for laser applications
    (Les Ulis : EDP Sciences, 2015) Wallrabe, Ulrike; Brunne, Jens; Treffer, Alexander; Grunwald, Ruediger; Bellouard, Yves
    We report on the design, fabrication and testing of novel types of low-dispersion axicons for the adaptive shaping of ultrashort laser pulses. An overview is given on the basic geometries and operating principles of our purely reflective adaptive MEMS-type devices based on thermal or piezoelectric actuation. The flexible formation of nondiffracting beams at pulse durations down to a few oscillations of the optical field enables new applications in optical communication, pulse diagnostics, laser-matter interaction and particle manipulation. As an example, we show first promising results of adaptive autocorrelation. The combination of excellent pulse transfer, self-reconstruction properties and propagation invariance of nondiffracting beams with an adaptive approach promises to extend the field of practical applications significantly.
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    Oriented zinc oxide nanorods: A novel saturable absorber for lasers in the near-infrared
    (Frankfurt, M. : Beilstein-Institut zur Förderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften, 2018-10-23) Loiko, Pavel; Bora, Tanujjal; Serres, Josep Maria; Yu, Haohai; Aguiló, Magdalena; Díaz, Francesc; Griebner, Uwe; Petrov, Valentin; Mateos, Xavier; Dutta, Joydeep
    Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods (NRs) oriented along the crystallographic [001] axis are grown by the hydrothermal method on glass substrates. The ZnO NRs exhibit a broadband (1–2 µm) near-IR absorption ascribed to the singly charged zinc vacancy VZn−1. The saturable absorption of the ZnO NRs is studied at ≈1 µm under picosecond excitation, revealing a low saturation intensity, ≈10 kW/cm2, and high fraction of the saturable losses. The ZnO NRs are applied as saturable absorbers in diode-pumped Yb (≈1.03 µm) and Tm (≈1.94 µm) lasers generating nanosecond pulses. The ZnO NRs grown on various optical surfaces are promising broadband saturable absorbers for nanosecond near-IR lasers in bulk and waveguide geometries.