Laser investigation of Yb:YLF crystals fabricated with the micro-pulling-down technique.

Fiber rods of 10% doped Yb:YLF were fabricated with the micro-pulling-down technique and characterized. The crystal a axis was oriented along the rod length, allowing polarized emission with the largest cross section available in the c direction. Laser experiments showed that these fiber samples perform similarly to crystals grown by the standard Czochralski method. Intrinsic slope efficiency of ∼50% was measured in both cases, with small comparable intracavity losses, proving the good quality of the fiber material.

Investigation of temperature effect on cell mechanics by optofluidic microchips.

Here we present the results of a study concerning the effect of temperature on cell mechanical properties. Two different optofluidic microchips with external temperature control are used to investigate the temperature-induced changes of highly metastatic human melanoma cells (A375MC2) in the range of ~0 - 35 °C. By means of an integrated optical stretcher, we observe that cells' optical deformability is strongly enhanced by increasing cell and buffer-fluid temperature. This finding is supported by the results obtained from a second device, which probes the cells' ability to be squeezed through a constriction. Measured data demonstrate a marked dependence of cell mechanical properties on temperature, thus highlighting the importance of including a proper temperature-control system in the experimental apparatus.