Trace analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using calixarene layered gold colloid film as substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering

A surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrate for the detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was developed, which used 25, 27‐dimercaptoacetic acid‐26, 28‐dihydroxy‐4‐terbutyl calix[4]arene (DMCX) to functionalize a gold colloid film. This SERS‐active substrate prepared by self‐assembly method exhibits a high sensitivity, especially for the detection of PAHs. With the use of this SERS‐active substrate and with the application of the shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) technique, Raman signals of pyrene and anthracene in aqueous solutions at low concentration level (500 pM) can be obtained. Moreover, because PAHs are blocked from being directly adsorbed on gold colloid by DMCX and the photochemical reactions of adsorbates are avoided, the Raman bands of PAHs adsorbed on DMCX‐fuctionalized gold colloid film can be one‐to‐one correspondence with those of solid PAHs, and additionally, this SERS‐active substrate can be easily cleaned and reused. The obtained results demonstrate that the DMCX‐functionalized gold colloid films prepared by self‐assembly method have great potential to be developed to an in situ PAHs detection substrate. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterizing unusual metal substrates for gap‐mode tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy

In this article, the electromagnetic (EM) field in gap‐mode tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is investigated theoretically and experimentally for a range of commonly used and unusual metal and nonmetal substrates. By approaching a metal tip to a substrate, both form a coupled system that confines the EM field created at the tip apex. The influence of the substrate onto the EM field enhancement is observed in a top‐illumination gap‐mode TERS setup for different metal substrates. These include Au, the most commonly used substrate, and also a wide range of rarely or previously unused TERS substrates (Cu, Ag, Al, Pd, Pt, Ni, Ti, Mo, W, stainless steel, Al₂O₃, SiO₂). Self‐assembled monolayers of thiols and brilliant cresyl blue thin film samples are investigated experimentally on nine metal substrates, all showing considerable TERS enhancement. With finite difference time domain and finite element simulations used, the article provides a good estimate of the EM field enhancement for a wide range of substrates for users to estimate how well a substrate of choice will perform in a gap‐mode TERS experiment. The reduction in EM field strength |E²| compared with Au is less than an order of magnitude for many metals (Calculations: Cu 92%, Ag 81%, Ni 53%). This article experimentally shows that a wide variety of conductive substrates can be used, when one is willing to trade a fraction of the EM field enhancement. TERS was seen on all metal substrates including stainless steel, yet quantification was not always possible. These qualitative results were complemented with intensities from calculations. The wider variety of substrates will increase the applicability of TERS and evolve it one step further towards use in standard analytics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

pH‐sensing nanostar probe using surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS): theoretical and experimental studies

Local pH environment has been considered to be a potential biomarker for tumor diagnosis because solid tumors contain highly acidic environments. A pH‐sensing nanoprobe based on surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) using nanostars under near‐infrared excitation has been developed for potential biomedical applications. To theoretically investigate the effect of protonation state on SERS spectra of p‐mercaptobenzoic acid (pMBA), we used the density functional theory (DFT) with the B3LYP functional to calculate Raman vibrational spectra of pMBA‐Au/Ag complex in both protonated and deprotonated states. Vibrational spectral bands were assigned with DFT calculation and used to investigate SERS spectral changes observed from experiment when varying pH value between five and nine. The SERS peak position of pMBA at ~1580 cm⁻¹ was identified to be a novel pH‐sensing index, which has small but noticeable downshift with pH increase. This phenomenon is confirmed and well‐explained with theoretical simulation. The study demonstrates that SERS is a sensitive tool to monitor minor structural changes due to local pH environment, and DFT calculations can be used to investigate Raman spectra changes associated with minor differences in molecular structure. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two-Frequency Brillouin Fiber Laser Based on Bragg Grating Fabry-Perot Cavity

Abstract

A novel and simple two-frequency Brillouin fiber laser is presented. It is based on a fiber Fabry-Perot cavity with fiber Bragg gratings as reflectors. The model of stimulated Brillouin scattering in fiber grating–based Fabry-Perot resonator is investigated. The laser allows conversion efficiency of close to 100% and suppresses the higher-order Stokes waves. The theoretical prediction is presented and the experimental demonstration is realized.     

Acoustic behaviour and equation of state of amorphous ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer studied by means of high-pressure Brillouin scattering spectroscopy

The determination of the equation of state (EOS) of amorphous materials is very important for fundamental understanding of the glass transition and applications as well. Simultaneous observation of both longitudinal and transverse acoustic modes by Brillouin scattering spectroscopy has been one of the major methods to obtain EOS of amorphous materials. However, the transverse acoustic mode is hardly seen from some of the amorphous polymers, which makes it difficult to derive EOS. The temperature and pressure dependences of the acoustic properties of amorphous ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer were measured by using high-pressure Brillouin scattering spectroscopy. The temperature variation induced large changes in the frequency shift and linewidth of the longitudinal acoustic mode due to strong coupling between the structural relaxation process and the propagating density fluctuations. The residual linewidth in the glassy state was attributed to the remnant intramolecular motions of EVA, the activation energy of which was estimated to be ～3.30 ± 0.27 kcal/mol. The pressure–density relationship of EVA could be obtained for the first time by measuring the refractive index and using the Lorentz–Lorenz equation. The density and the refractive index exhibited monotonic increase up to approximately 12 GPa. The strong reduction of the acoustic damping at low pressures below ～3 GPa was attributed to the collapsing free volume in EVA. The present study clearly shows that measuring the refractive index by high-pressure Brillouin spectroscopy may be an alternative method to get the EOS of polymeric materials whose transverse acoustic mode is too weak to be observed.     

PATHS AND CYCLES EMBEDDING ON FAULTY ENHANCED HYPERCUBE NETWORKS

Let Qn,k(n≥3,1≤k≤n-1) be an n-dimensional enhanced hypercube which is an attractive variant of the hypercube and can be obtained by adding some complementary edges,fv and fe be the numbers of faulty vertices and faulty edges,respectively.In this paper,we give three main results.First,a fault-free path P [u,v] of length at least 2n-2fv-1(respectively,2n-2fv-2) can be embedded on Qn,k with fv+fe≤n-1 when d Qn,k(u,v) is odd(respectively,d Qn,k(u,v) is even).Secondly,an Qn,k is(n-2) edgefault-free hyper Hamiltonian-laceable when n(≥3) and k have the same parity.Lastly,a fault-free cycle of length at least 2n-2fv can be embedded on Qn,k with fe≤n-1 and fv+fe≤2n-4.     

光纤拉曼放大器中级联的前向受激布里渊散射

研究了前向抽运和背向抽运方式下S波段分布式光纤拉曼放大器(FRA)中级联的受激布里渊散射(SBS)现象。用窄光谱带宽(<100MHz)的可调谐LD作为信号源,通过S波段分布式FRA,当被放大的信号功率超过单模光纤SBS的阈值时,出现了前向SBS。随着FRA抽运功率的提高,在斯托克斯区,出现了级联的SBS线,信号的功率转换为SBS功率,在实验中观测到偶数阶的SBS谱线功率大于奇数阶的Brillouin Rayleigh散射线。当进一步增加FRA的抽运功率,其增益下,噪声变大,SBS的串扰破坏了FRA特性,使其无法在密集波分复用(DWDM)光纤传输系统中使用,因此需要严格地控制入纤的信号功率和FRA抽运功率。在实验中还观测到在FRA中被放大的信号光和SBS线两侧的伴线。     

PECVD沉积SiOP电介质膜及其XPS研究

采用等离子体增强化学气相沉积(PECVD)技术沉积含P电介质薄膜,用于无杂质空穴扩散(IFVD)技术中InGaAsP-InP MQW结构中新的包封层,替代传统的SiO2层。经X射线光电子谱(XPS)研究证明,该膜就是SiOP结构。快速退火(RTA)研究表明,该膜结构基本稳定,但膜中P原子存在明显扩散,它增强了InPMQW结构中In原子的外扩,却抑制了Ga原子的外扩。这些都明显区别于常规SiO2膜的性质。     

Large‐Area Silver‐Coated Silicon Nanowire Arrays for Molecular Sensing Using Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

A new and facile method to prepare large‐area silver‐coated silicon nanowire arrays for surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)‐based sensing is introduced. High‐quality silicon nanowire arrays are prepared by a chemical etching method and used as a template for the generation of SERS‐active silver‐coated silicon nanowire arrays. The morphologies of the silicon nanowire arrays and the type of silver‐plating solution are two key factors determining the magnitude of SERS signal enhancement and the sensitivity of detection; they are investigated in detail for the purpose of optimization. The optimized silver‐coated silicon nanowire arrays exhibit great potential for ultrasensitive molecular sensing in terms of high SERS signal enhancement ability, good stability, and reproducibility. Their further applications in rapidly detecting molecules relating to human health and safety are discussed. A 10 s data acquisition time is capable of achieving a limit of detection of approximately 4 × 10^?6 M calcium dipicolinate (CaDPA), a biomarker for anthrax. This value is 1/15 the infectious dose of spores (6 × 10^?5 M required), revealing that the optimized silver‐coated silicon nanowire arrays as SERS‐based ultrasensitive sensors are extremely suitable for detecting Bacillus anthracis spores.     

孤子能量增强对色散管理孤子系统性能的影响

本文采用数值系统仿真的方法,通过比较孤子功率增强输入和孤子基态功率输入时,孤子脉冲的传输波形,分析孤子功率增强对色散管理孤子系统传输性能的影响。结果表明,在色散管理孤子系统中,采用功率增强输入可以非常好的提高长距离系统传输性能。