Wafer scale manufacturing of high precision micro-optical components through X-ray lithography yielding 1800 Gray Levels in a fingertip sized chip.

We present a novel x-ray lithography based micromanufacturing methodology that offers scalable manufacturing of high precision optical components. It is accomplished through simultaneous usage of multiple stencil masks made moveable with respect to one another through custom made micromotion stages. The range of spectral flux reaching the sample surface at the LiMiNT micro/nanomanufacturing facility of Singapore Synchrotron Light Source (SSLS) is about 2 keV to 10 keV, offering substantial photon energy to carry out deep x-ray lithography. In this energy range, x-rays penetrate through resist materials with only little scattering. The highly collimated rectangular beam architecture of the x-ray source enables a full 4″ wafer scale fabrication. Precise control of dose deposited offers determined chain scission in the polymer to required depth enabling 1800 discrete gray levels in a chip of area 20 mm2 and with more than 2000 within our reach. Due to its parallel processing capability, our methodology serves as a promising candidate to fabricate micro/nano components of optical quality on a large scale to cater for industrial requirements. Usage of these fine components in analytical devices such as spectrometers and multispectral imagers transforms their architecture and shrinks their size to pocket dimension. It also reduces their complexity and increases affordability while also expanding their application areas. Consequently, equipment based on these devices is made available and affordable for consumers and businesses expanding the horizon of analytical applications. Mass manufacturing is especially vital when these devices are to be sold in large quantities especially as components for original equipment manufacturers (OEM), which has also been demonstrated through our work. Furthermore, we also substantially improve the quality of the micro-components fabricated, 3D architecture generated, throughput, capability and availability for industrial application. Manufacturing 1800 Gray levels or more through other competing techniques is either limited due to multiple process steps involved or due to unacceptably long time required owing to their pencil beam architecture. Our manufacturing technique presented here overcomes both these shortcomings in terms of the maximum number of gray levels that can be generated, and the time required to generate the same.

Anomalous spectral features of a neutral bilayer graphene.

Graphene and its bilayer are two-dimensional systems predicted to show exciting many-body effects near the neutrality point. The ideal tool to investigate spectrum reconstruction effects is angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) as it probes directly the band structure with information about both energy and momentum. Here we reveal, by studying undoped exfoliated bilayer graphene with ARPES, two essential aspects of its many-body physics: the electron-phonon scattering rate has an anisotropic k-dependence and the type of electronic liquid is non-Fermi liquid. The latter behavior is evident from an observed electron-electron scattering rate that scales linearly with energy from 100 meV to 600 meV and that is associated with the proximity of bilayer graphene to a two-dimensional quantum critical point of competing orders.

Multichannel Fourier-transform interferometry for fast signals.

Multichannel Fourier transform interferometry to measure the spectrum of arbitrarily short pulses and of fast time-varying signals was achieved using a micro/nanomanufactured multimirror array. We describe the performance of a demonstrator FTIR that works in the mid-infrared (MIR) range of 700-1400 cm(-1) and reaches a spectral resolution of 10 cm(-1) taking into account apodization. Spectral measurements down to pulse lengths of 319 µs were carried out using a mechanical camera shutter. Arbitrarily short pulses are expected feasible provided the source can deliver enough photons to overcome the noise equivalent number of photons.

Radiation-induced melting in coherent X-ray diffractive imaging at the nanoscale.

Coherent X-ray diffraction techniques play an increasingly significant role in the imaging of nanoscale structures, ranging from metallic and semiconductor to biological objects. In material science, X-rays are usually considered to be of a low-destructive nature, but under certain conditions they can cause significant radiation damage and heat loading on the samples. The qualitative literature data concerning the tolerance of nanostructured samples to synchrotron radiation in coherent diffraction imaging experiments are scarce. In this work the experimental evidence of a complete destruction of polymer and gold nanosamples by the synchrotron beam is reported in the case of imaging at 1-10 nm spatial resolution. Numerical simulations based on a heat-transfer model demonstrate the high sensitivity of temperature distribution in samples to macroscopic experimental parameters such as the conduction properties of materials, radiation heat transfer and convection. However, for realistic experimental conditions the calculated rates of temperature rise alone cannot explain the melting transitions observed in the nanosamples. Comparison of these results with the literature data allows a specific scenario of the sample destruction in each particular case to be presented, and a strategy for damage reduction to be proposed.

Multivariate analysis techniques in the forensics investigation of the postblast residues by means of Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy.

Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has gained considerable attention among the forensic scientists because it shows high sensitivity and selectivity and offers near real time detection of analyzed samples. However, the amount of obtained information due to complexity of the measured spectra forces the use of additional data processing. Application of the multivariate statistical techniques for the analysis of the FT-IR data seems to be necessary in order to enable feature extraction, proper evaluation, and identification of obtained spectra. In this article, an attempt to develop a feasible procedure for characterization of spectroscopic signatures of the explosive materials in the remnants after explosion has been made. All spectra were derived after analysis of samples from debris after especially prepared and performed blasts with the use of three various highly explosive materials: C-4, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). Two well-known multivariate statistical methods, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), were tested in order to classify the samples into separate classes using a broad wavelength data range (4000-600 cm(-1)) on collected spectra sets. After many trials it seems that PCA is the best choice for the mentioned earlier tasks. It was found that only three principal components carry over 99.6% of variance within the sample set. The results show that FT-IR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate methods is well-suited for identification and differentiation purposes even in quite large data sets, and for that reason forensic laboratories could employ these methods for rapid screening analysis.

All-metal self-supported THz metamaterial--the meta-foil.

Modern metamaterials face functional constraints as they are commonly embedded in or deposited on dielectric materials. We provide a new solution by microfabricating a completely free-standing all-metal self-supported metamaterial. Using upright S-string architecture with the distinctive feature of metallic transverse interconnects, we form a locally stiff, globally flexible space-grid. Infrared Fourier transform interferometry reveals the typical double-peak structure of a magnetically excited left-handed and an electrically excited right-handed pass-band that is maintained under strong bending and heating, and is sensitive to dielectrics. Exploiting UV/X-ray lithography and ultimately plastic moulding, meta-foils can be mass manufactured cost-effectively to serve as optical elements.

Free-standing THz electromagnetic metamaterials.

Using micromanufactured S-shaped gold strings suspended in free space by means of window-frames, we experimentally demonstrate an electromagnetic meta-material (EM(3)) in which the metallic structures are no longer embedded in matrices or deposited on substrates such that the response is solely determined by the geometrical parameters and the properties of the metal. Two carefully aligned and assembled window-frames form a bi-layer chip that exhibits 2D left-handed pass-bands corresponding to two different magnetic resonant loops in the range of 1.4 to 2.2 THz as characterized by Fourier transform interferometry and numerical simulation. Chips have a comparably large useful area of 56 mm(2). Our results are a step towards providing EM(3) that fulfill the common notions of a material.

Terahertz response of a microfabricated rod-split-ring-resonator electromagnetic metamaterial.

The first electromagnetic metamaterials (EM3) produced by microfabrication are reported. They are based on the rod-split-ring-resonator design as proposed by Pendry et al. [IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech. 47, 2075 (1999)] and experimentally confirmed by Smith et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 4184 (2000)] in the GHz frequency range. Numerical simulation and experimental results from far infrared (FIR) transmission spectroscopy support the conclusion that the microfabricated composite material is EM3 in the range 1-2.7 THz. This extends the frequency range in which EM3 are available by about 3 orders of magnitude well into the FIR, thereby widely opening up opportunities to verify the unusual physical implications on electromagnetic theory as well as to build novel electromagnetic and optical devices.

Imaging cells and tissues with refractive index radiology.

Can individual cells, including live cells, be imaged using hard x rays? Common wisdom until now required sophisticated staining techniques for this task. We show instead that individual cells and cell details can be detected in culture solution and tissues with no staining and no other contrast-enhancing preparation. The sample examined can be much thicker than for many other microscopy techniques without sacrificing the capability to resolve cells. The key factor in our approach is the use of a coherent synchrotron source and of contrast mechanisms based on the refractive index. The first successful tests were conducted on a variety of cell systems including skin and internal leaf cells, mouse neurons, rabbit fibroblast cells, and human tumor cells.

XAS investigation of Al2O3-coated nano-composite ZrO2.

In order to complement the structural characterisation by high resolution electron microscopy and perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy (PAC) of Al2O3 coated nano-composite ZrO2, XAFS spectra have been acquired and analysed. The electron micrographs showed fringes of a well ordered lattice and well defined crystal faces of the as-produced powder whereas the PAC spectra indicated a strongly distorted short range order. On the basis of the XAFS data, a structural model for the ZrO2 core of the nano-composite ZrO2/Al2O3 with a well ordered Zr lattice and a sevenfold, strongly distorted nearest neighbour oxygen shell is proposed. A smooth temperature dependence without an indication for a phase transformation up to a temperature of 700K has been revealed.

A superconductive undulator with a period length of 3.8 mm.

During recent years several attempts have been undertaken to decrease the period length of undulators to the millimetre range. In this paper a novel type of in-vacuum undulator is described which is built using superconductive wires. The period length of this special device is 3.8 mm. In principle, it is possible to decrease this period length even further. A 100-period-long undulator has been built and will be tested with a beam in the near future.

Instrument for measuring angular intensity distributions of light sources within a few milliseconds.

An instrument is described that allows measuring within a few milliseconds the angular intensity distributions of light sources, particularly light scattering objects. The basic idea is to achieve a rapid rotation of the direction of observation by means of a rotating prism and two conical reflecting surfaces. The photosensitive detector as well as the light source remain fixed. Light scattering experiments done with a suspension of polystyrene latex spheres demonstrate the operation of the instrument. The short measuring period is of special importance for the investigation of small particles in time-dependent processes or for serial analyses.