Micromachined array tip for multifocus fiber-based optical coherence tomography

High-resolution optical coherence tomography demands a large detector bandwidth and a high numerical aperture for real-time imaging, which is difficult to achieve over a large imaging depth. To resolve these conflicting requirements we propose a novel multifocus fiber-based optical coherence tomography system with a micromachined array tip. We demonstrate the fabrication of a prototype four-channel tip that maintains a 9-14-microm spot diameter with more than 500 microm of imaging depth. Images of a resolution target and a human tooth were obtained with this tip by use of a four-channel cascaded Michelson fiber-optic interferometer, scanned simultaneously at 8 kHz with geometric power distribution across the four channels.     

Content of Volume 67 (2004)

Volume Contents

Content of Volume 67 (2004)     

New strategies for exploring RNA's 2'-OH expose the importance of solvent during group II intron catalysis

The 2'-hydroxyl group contributes inextricably to the functional behavior of many RNA molecules, fulfilling numerous essential chemical roles. To assess how hydroxyl groups impart functional behavior to RNA, we developed a series of experimental strategies using an array of nucleoside analogs. These strategies provide the means to investigate whether a hydroxyl group influences function directly (via hydrogen bonding or metal ion coordination), indirectly (via space-filling capacity, inductive effects, and sugar conformation), or through interactions with solvent. The nucleoside analogs span a broad range of chemical diversity, such that quantitative structure activity relationships (QSAR) now become possible in the exploration of RNA biology. We employed these strategies to investigate the spliced exons reopening (SER) reaction of the group II intron. Our results suggest that the cleavage site 2'-hydroxyl may mediate an interaction with a water molecule.     

Condensate density and superfluid mass density of a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate near the condensation transition

We derive via diagrammatic perturbation theory the scaling behavior of the condensate and superfluid mass density of a dilute Bose gas just below the condensation temperature, T(c). Sufficiently below T(c) particle excitations are described by mean field (Bogoliubov). Near T(c), however, mean field fails, and the system undergoes a second order phase transition, rather than first order as predicted by Bogoliubov theory. Both condensation and superfluidity occur at the same T(c), and have similar scaling functions below T(c), but different finite size scaling at T(c) to leading order in the system size. A self-consistent two-loop calculation yields the condensate fraction critical exponent, 2beta approximately 0.66.     

Dual-axes confocal microscopy with post-objective scanning and low-coherence heterodyne detection

We present a dual-axes confocal microscope that employs postobjective scanning and low-coherence heterodyne detection to collect vertical cross-sectional images from biological tissue with high axial resolution, reduced noise from scattered light, deep tissue penetration, and a large dynamic range. This architecture can be scaled down to millimeter dimensions with microelectromechanical systems technology for performance of in vivo optical biopsy.     

Inhibition of modulation instability in lasers by noise

It is shown that additive noise can inhibit modulation instability in laser equations of motion. A related self-starting condition for pulsation is obtained by employing a fluctuation--dissipation relation between noise and losses and a statistical mechanics approach. Entropy considerations are shown to play a crucial role. The quantum limit for self-starting is estimated.     

Unexpected Hofmann elimination in the benzophenone-(phenylthio)acetic tetrabutylammonium salt photoredox system

The triplet state of benzophenone was quenched by the tetrabutylammonium salt of (phenylthio)acetic acid in acetonitrile solutions. The quenching event, following laser flash photolysis, resulted in the formation of a transient ion pair consisting of the benzophenone radical anion and the tetrabutylammonium cation. Subsequently this ion pair decays with the quaternary ammonium cation undergoing a Hofmann elimination to form butane-1 and tributylamine, which were detected in steady-state irradiation. This appears to be the first report of an ion pair consisting of a benzophenone radical anion and an organic cation (nonradical), in addition to the first report of a photoinduced Hofmann elimination in quaternary ammonium ions.     

Multiple Li positions inside oxygen octahedra in lithiated TiO2 anatase

Intercalation of Li in TiO2 anatase results in a phase separation in a Li-poor and a Li-rich phase. The local lithium configuration in the coexisting crystallographic phases is resolved by detailed analysis of neutron diffraction data. In each of the phases, two distinct positions within the octahedral interstices are found, with a temperature-dependent occupancy. A combination of quasi-elastic neutron scattering and force field molecular dynamics simulations shows that Li is hopping on a picosecond time scale between the two sites in the octahedral interstices. The results also suggest a specific Li arrangement along the crystallographic a direction, albeit without long range order. It is likely that multiple discrete Li sites within a distorted oxygen octahedron occur not only in intercalated TiO2 anatase but also in other (transition metal) oxides.