Optical diagnostics of nanoscale dielectric layers on interference films by polarization-dependent differential reflectivity

The small change in the reflectance (differential reflectance) of s- or p-polarized light from an interference film as a result of the deposition of a nanoscale insulating layer on it is investigated theoretically. Analytical relations describing the contribution of nanoscale layers to the reflectance from an interference film as function of film thickness are obtained in the long-wavelength approximation. It is shown that the utilization of interference films in reflection diagnostics through differential measurements allows a significant enhancement of the sensitivity of these techniques and also opens up new possibilities for resolving the inverse problem of determining simultaneously the optical constant and thickness of nanoscale dielectric layers.     

Laser probing of anisotropic ultrathin dielectric films on absorbing materials via differential reflection characteristics

The reflection from an ultrathin anisotropic film on an isotropic absorbing substrate is investigated in the long-wavelength limit. The analytical expressions for the differential reflection characteristics of s- and p-polarized electromagnetic plane waves are obtained. All analytical results are correlated with the numerical solution of the reflection problem on the basis of rigorous electromagnetic theory for anisotropic medium. The possibilities of using the obtained approximate formulas for resolving the inverse problem for ultrathin anisotropic dielectric films upon absorbing substrates are discussed.     

Reflection characterization of multilayer surface films

The reflection of linearly polarized light from a multilayer system of ultrathin dielectric surface films is investigated both analytically in the long-wavelength limit and numerically by the standard way of calculating the reflection characteristics for the layered medium. The second-order approximate formulas for reflection coefficients and characteristic reflection angles are derived and their accuracy is estimated. It is shown that approximate expressions obtained for reflection parameters of multilayer system in the long-wavelength limit are of immediate interest to the solution of the inverse problem for ultrathin layered surface structures. Innovative possibilities for optical diagnostics are generated by means of polarizing and principal angles. For determining the parameters of multiple surface layers an appropriate method is found by combining differential reflectance with ellipsometry.     

Design of the web-tool on differential equations

In this presentation the web-tool on differential equations is introduced. The structure of this and the Instructional System Design ADDIE are under consideration. The tool is in the developing stage and would be used in ECMI educational system, particularly in the Master Program of ECMI. The part of the tool in great importance are the simulation and modelling means. Creating of these leads to the collaboration with other ECMI universities. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Adsorption of 1-pentanol on bismuth single-crystal plane electrodes

Cyclic voltammetry, impedance and chronocoulometry have been employed for the quantitative study of 1-pentanol (n-PenOH) adsorption at the bismuth single-crystal plane | aqueous Na₂SO₄ solution interface. The adsorption isotherms, Gibbs energies of adsorption ΔG _A ^∘, the limiting surface excess Γ_max and other adsorption parameters, dependent on the crystallographic structure of the electrodes, have been determined. The adsorption of n-PenOH on Bi single-crystal planes is mainly physical and is limited by the rate of diffusion of organic molecules to the electrode surface. Comparison of the adsorption data for n-PenOH with 1-propanol (n-PrOH), 1-butanol (n-BuOH), cyclohexanol (CH) and 1-hexanol (n-HexOH) shows that the adsorption characteristics depend on the structure of the hydrocarbon group. The adsorption activity of adsorbates at the bismuth | solution interface increases in the sequence n-PrOH < n-BuOH < CH ≤ n-PenOH < n-HA as the adsorption activity at the air | solution interface increases. For all the compounds studied, the adsorption activity increases in the sequence of planes (111)<(001)<(011ˉ). Received: 1 July 1998 / Accepted: 2 October 1998     

Adsorption of 1-heptanol on bismuth single-crystal plane electrodes

Cyclic voltammetry, impedance and chronocoulometry have been employed for the quantitative study of 1-heptanol (1-HepOH) adsorption on the bismuth single-crystal plane|aqueous Na₂SO₄ solution interface. The adsorption isotherms, Gibbs energies of adsorption, , the limiting surface excess, Γ_max, and other adsorption parameters have been determined. The adsorption of 1-HepOH on Bi single-crystal planes is mainly physical and is limited by the rate of diffusion of organic molecules to the electrode surface. Comparison of the adsorption data for 1-HepOH with other alcohols shows that the adsorption characteristics depend on the structure of the hydrocarbon chain. The adsorption activity of adsorbates at the bismuth|solution interface increases in the sequence 1-propanol<1-butanol<1-pentanol<1-hexanol<1-heptanol as the adsorption activity at the air|solution interface increases. For all the compounds studied, the adsorption activity increases in the sequence of planes as .     

Reflection characterization of anisotropic ultrathin dielectric films on absorbing isotropic substrates

The reflection of linearly polarized light from an ultrathin anisotropic dielectric film on isotropic absorbing substrate is investigated analytically in the long-wavelength limit. All analytical results are correlated with the numerical solution of the anisotropic reflection problem on the basis of rigorous electromagnetic theory. Simple analytical approach developed in this work not only gives a physical insight into the reflection problem but also provides a way of estimating the necessary experimental accuracy for optical diagnostics by reflection characteristics. It is shown that obtained expressions are of immediate interest for determining the parameters of anisotropic surface layers. Innovative possibilities for optical diagnostics of anisotropic properties of ultrathin dielectric layers upon absorbing materials are discussed.     

Evaluation of Zn2+- and Cu2+-Binding Affinities of Native Cu,Zn-SOD1 and Its G93A Mutant by LC-ICP MS

The tight binding of Cu and Zn ions to superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) maintains the protein stability, associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Yet, the quantitative studies remain to be explored for the metal-binding affinity of wild-type SOD1 and its mutants. We have investigated the demetallation of Cu,Zn-SOD1 and its ALS-related G93A mutant in the presence of different standard metal ion chelators at varying temperatures by using an LC-ICP MS-based approach and fast size-exclusion chromatography. Our results showed that from the slow first-order kinetics both metal ions Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ were released simultaneously from the protein at elevated temperatures. The rate of the release depends on the concentration of chelating ligands but is almost independent of their metal-binding affinities. Similar studies with the G93A mutant of Cu,Zn-SOD1 revealed slightly faster metal-release. The demetallation of Cu,Zn-SOD1 comes always to completion, which hindered the calculation of the K_D values. From the Arrhenius plots of the demetallation in the absence of chelators ΔH^‡ = 173 kJ/mol for wt and 191 kJ/mol for G93A mutant Cu,Zn-SOD1 was estimated. Obtained high ΔH values are indicative of the occurrence of protein conformational changes before demetallation and we concluded that Cu,Zn-SOD1 complex is in native conditions kinetically inert. The fibrillization of both forms of SOD1 was similar.     

Ellipsometry of anisotropic graphene-like two-dimensional materials on transparent substrates

New possibilities for determining anisotropic properties of the dielectric constants of two-dimensional materials by ellipsometry are developed. Graphene-like 2D materials are considered within the framework of macroscopic electrodynamics as ultrathin absorbing anisotropic films where the optical axis is perpendicular to the film surface. The ellipsometric inversion problem is resolved analytically. The resulting inversion formulas are very fast because they allow you to directly calculate the complex anisotropic dielectric constants without the use of sophisticated regression analysis or iterative root-finding procedures. In particular, the method offers an interest in graphene and related 2D materials because the anisotropic properties of such materials have not been studied to date.     

Correlation‐free reflection diagnostics of graphene‐like surface layers in the infrared region

New diagnostics possibilities for graphene‐like (two‐dimensional absorbing) ultrathin films on dielectric substrates by integrating ellipsometric and reflectance measurements are analyzed. The analysis is based on the analytical theory which has been developed in the framework of a long‐wavelength approximation. Importantly, the new method allows simultaneously (without correlation) to determine the thickness and optical constants of two‐dimensional materials in the infrared region. Another interesting feature of this reflection technique lies in the fact that for data handling the traditional model‐based regression analysis is not in use. The inversion problem is resolved on the basis of an analytical approach which has no need of initial guesses for the desired parameters. The results are also of interest as suitable starting points for non‐approximated numerical iterative methods where the proper choice of the initial data plays a crucial role. The presented method is tested using a numerical simulation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.