Funding was provided by the University of Utah. We would like to thank Dr. J. Xu (UC Merced) and Dr. B.J.N Reddy (UC Irvine) for useful discussions.

1. Installation of 980 nm Wavelength Single Optical Trap
<ol>
	<li>Optical trapping at 980 nm wavelength is often optimal for biophysics experiments and inexpensive laser diodes are readily available with power output as high as 300 mW. It is preferable for a diode laser to be pigtailed with polarization-preserving single mode fiber with a known mode field diameter. The fiber needs to be sufficiently long to act as a mode filter and is typically terminated with either a FC/PC or FC/APC connector. Of these, FC/APC is preferable to minimize back reflection of light and potential feedback instabilities.</li>
	<li>Secure the 980 nm laser diode in a mount which allows for power and temperature control. It is best to fix the mount to an optical table directly to maximize passive heat sinking and thereby minimize the danger of diode failure due to a malfunction of temperature controller.</li>
	<li>Mount the PC/APC fiber connector to the beam collimating optics. It is critical to assure that the collimated beam have minimal divergence so adjustable fiber ports are most useful. Make sure that the chosen fiber port matches the mode field diameter of the diode pigtail fiber. If the beam is to be rastered using acousto-optic deflectors (AOD) or electro-optic deflectors (EOD) then the collimated laser beam waist must also be slightly less than the size of the deflector aperture.</li>
	<li>Secure the collimating adapter to the optical table at sufficient distance from the microscope to allow for beam routing, expansion, and placement of other desired components. Adjust the fiber port to ensure consistent beam waist over distances comparable to overall beam path to the microscope.</li>
	<li>Install mirrors indicated in Figure 1. Remove the objective from the microscope and use the mirrors to route the beam through the aperture in the objective mounting stage. If preferred, placement of the dichroic mirrors DM1 and DM3 can be omitted until later. DM2 and DM3 are both shortpass and transmit visible light while reflecting near IR and above.</li>
	<li>It is helpful to temporarily mount a red laser pointer in place of the objective, aligned on the optical axis of the microscope. A custom mechanical adapter is necessary to assure centration of the laser pointer. Visible beam from the laser pointer can then be routed back to the center of the aperture of the fiber port and can then be used to install the lenses (see below).</li>
	<li>Install the 980 nm beam expander (L8 and L9) at a proper distance from the fiber port to allow future insertion of steering components (AOD or EOD) as necessary 1. The expanded beam must slightly overfill the back focal aperture of the objective. (Here, lenses with focal lengths of 125 mm and 60 mm are in a Keplerian arrangement to approximately double the beam waist). Use visible laser pointer beam (see section 1.6) to ensure proper lens placement and rough alignment.</li>
	<li>Install the 980 nm steering lenses (L2 and L3) in a telescope arrangement as indicated (here both have 60 mm focal length) 1. L3 is mounted in a plane conjugate to the back-focal plane of the objective. Mount L3 on a precision XYZ positioning stage to allow for beam steering. It is helpful for the XYZ stage to have digital indicators for its micrometers, allowing for repeatable positioning and repositioning of the trap. The 0.5" range of travel is usually sufficient, however longer travel for L3 positioning along the optical axis may be helpful. Use visible laser pointer beam (see section 1.6) to ensure proper lens placement and rough alignment.</li>
</ol>
2. Installation of Laser Detector
<ol>
	<li>Install the dichroic mirror DM3 above the condenser as shown in Figure 1. A custom mount is typically required. Secure the quad photo diode (QPD) or a position sensitive detector (PSD) 8 to the side of the condenser assembly and ensure that the 980 nm laser beam reflected by DM3 is hitting it roughly on center. When using QPD, ensure that it is mounted on a small XY stage to allow for precise centering of the sensor on the laser beam.</li>
	<li>Install L1 (typically a 30 mm lens) between DM3 and the sensor. Position L1 so as to focus the beam to a single spot on the sensor.</li>
	<li>Install the notch filter just before L1 to block the 1,064 nm beam as well as any stray visible light reflections from the microscope illuminator and ambient lighting.</li>
</ol>
3. Installation of 1,064 nm Wavelength Holographic Trap
<ol>
	<li>The holographic part of the setup is built around a commercially available hardware/software package The holographic mirrors used in this package are rated to a maximum incident power of 5 or 10 W/cm2. Single mode TEM00 beams in this power range can be easily sourced from a DPSS laser at 1,064 nm wavelength.</li>
	<li>Mount the 1,064 nm laser on an elevated platform to roughly match the height of the beam path for the 980 line (see section 1).</li>
	<li>If not directly controllable, laser power can be manually adjusted by installing a half wave plate (HWP) and a polarizer (PBS) right after laser output aperture. It is helpful to mount the polarizer in a rotary stage to be able to match holographic mirror requirement for beam polarization.</li>
	<li>Install the 1,064 nm beam expander (L6 and L7). The laser beam waist must be expanded to match the diagonal size of the holographic mirror. For large expansion ratios (above 10X) it may be a concern to keep the size of the expander small. Thus it may be desirable to use lenses with unusually small focal length (here: 16 mm and 175 mm).</li>
	<li>Install the other mirrors as indicated to direct the 1,064 nm beam through the objective.
	<ol>
		<li>Secure DM1 dichroic (45&deg; angle of incidence) in a kinematic mount and place the assembly in the 980 nm beam path so that it allows for undiminished transmission of that beam.</li>
		<li>Activate laser pointer light. The DM1 mirror should reflect sufficient amount of visible light to properly position the spatial light modulator (SLM) in the path of this beam. The SLM also needs to be angled so that the incoming and outgoing laser beams are as close as possible to normal incidence. However the angle of incidence must be sufficiently large to ensure that the laser beam is not clipped by lens mounts and other optical components. A 5&deg; angle should be easily achievable and is sufficiently small. Finally the distance from DM1 to the SLM must be accurately measured so that the insertion of lenses L4 and L5 (see 3.6 below) can conjugate the SLM mirror plane and the back-focal plane of the objective.</li>
		<li>Install a mirror to direct the light from 1,064 nm beam expander to the SLM. Ensure that the laser pointer light hits the beam expander aperture on center.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Install lenses L4 and L5 (here: lenses with 125 mm and 200 mm respectively). This telescope pair conjugates the SLM mirror plane to the back focal plane of the objective and also reduces the beam waist to only slightly overfill the back aperture of the objective. We chose lenses with long focal lengths to space the SLM away from DM1. This not only clears room for the second laser line but also tends to make alignment easier.</li>
	<li>Remove the laser pointer. Leave the mounting adapter to serve as coarse alignment aperture.</li>
</ol>
4. System Installation and Alignment Notes
<ol>
	<li>Lens L3 and SLM must be positioned so as to be optically conjugated to the back focal plane of the objective. The common focal point of L4 and L5 is optically conjugated to the sample plane if the optical trapping beams are injected into the infinity space of the microscope.</li>
	<li>sing IR card viewer align the 980 nm beam to go along the center axis of the aperture in the laser pointer adapter.</li>
	<li>Use IR card to ensure that the 1,064 nm beam hits the same spot as the 980 nm beam on DM1, L2, and L3 and that the 1,064 nm beam goes along the center axis of the aperture in the laser pointer adapter.</li>
	<li>Replace the laser pointer mounting adapter with an objective. High numerical aperture oil or water objective is typical.</li>
	<li>Align the 980 nm trap as described in 9 by "walking" the laser beam until a radially symmetric interference pattern is seen on the camera.</li>
	<li>With the holographic mirror off (i.e. acting as a passive mirror) use SLM and DM1 to "walk" the undiffracted 1,064 nm beam to align the 1,064 nm trap.</li>
	<li>The SLM produces a significant undiffracted beam which results in a strong unmovable laser trap in the field of view. This is useful for alignment but may be undesirable for experiments. To block this trap one can insert a small opaque object in the path of undiffracted light at the location conjugate to the sample plane (e.g. the common focal point of L4 and L5). The size of this central spot blocker needs to be somewhat larger than the diameter of the Airy disk for the focused light (a blocker with 100-300 &mu;m diameter for the system described).</li>
	<li>djust 1,064 nm beam polarization using the polarizer to match SLM orientation. Rotate the half-wave plate to set the output power of the beam as desired.</li>
	<li>If desired, insert AOD or EOD beam steering elements into the 980 nm laser line. Ensure proper conjugation of these elements to the back-focal plane of the objective and re-align the trap. It is helpful to mount the steering elements on a goniometric stage.</li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>Svoboda, K., Block, S. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Biological+applications+of+optical+forces.">Biological applications of optical forces.</a> Annu. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct. 23, 247-285 (1994).</li><li>Ashkin, A., Schutze, K., Dziedzic, J. M., Euteneuer, U., Schliwa, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Force+generation+of+organelle+transport+measured+in+vivo+by+an+infrared+laser+trap.">Force generation of organelle transport measured in vivo by an infrared laser trap.</a> Nature. 348, 346-348 (1990).</li><li>Shubeita, G. T., Tran, S. L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Consequences+of+motor+copy+number+on+the+intracellular+transport+of+kinesin-1-driven+lipid+droplets.">Consequences of motor copy number on the intracellular transport of kinesin-1-driven lipid droplets.</a> Cell. 135, 1098-1107 (2008).</li><li>Polin, M., Ladavac, K., Lee, S. H., Roichman, Y., Grier, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Optimized+holographic+optical+traps.">Optimized holographic optical traps.</a> Opt Express. 13, 5831-5845 (2005).</li><li>Sun, B., Roichman, Y., Grier, D. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Theory+of+holographic+optical+trapping.">Theory of holographic optical trapping.</a> Opt. Express. 16, 15765-15776 (2008).</li><li>Moffitt, J. R., Chemla, Y. R., Smith, S. B., Bustamante, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Recent+advances+in+optical+tweezers.">Recent advances in optical tweezers.</a> Annu. Rev. Biochem. 77, 205-228 (2008).</li><li>Grier, D. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+revolution+in+optical+manipulation.">A revolution in optical manipulation.</a> Nature. 424, 810-816 (2003).</li><li>Neuman, K. C., Block, S. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Optical+trapping.">Optical trapping.</a> Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75, 2787-2809 (2004).</li><li>Sheetz, M. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Laser+tweezers+in+cell+biology.">Laser tweezers in cell biology.</a> Introduction. Methods Cell Biol. 55, xi-xii (1998).</li><li>Spudich, J. A., Rice, S. E., Rock, R. S., Purcell, T. J., Warrick, H. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Optical+traps+to+study+properties+of+molecular+motors.">Optical traps to study properties of molecular motors.</a> Cold Spring Harb. Protoc. 2011, 1305-1318 (2011).</li><li>Visscher, K., Gross, S. P., Block, S. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Construction+of+multiple-beam+optical+traps+with+nanometer-resolution+position+sensing.+Selected+Topics+in+Quantum+Electronics.">Construction of multiple-beam optical traps with nanometer-resolution position sensing. Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.</a> IEEE Journal of. 2, 1066-1076 (1996).</li><li>Valentine, M. T., Guydosh, N. R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Precision+steering+of+an+optical+trap+by+electro-optic+deflection.">Precision steering of an optical trap by electro-optic deflection.</a> Opt Lett. 33, 599-601 (2008).</li></ol>

The authors have nothing to disclose.

We have constructed an instrument which combines two optical traps of different types (Figure 1) to provide separate trapping facilities for object manipulation and measurement. The "conventional" optical trap is built around a 980 nm diode laser. This beam is expanded, steered and then injected into our inverted microscope ("light red" beam in Figure 1). The holographic optical trap is built around a 1,064 nm DPSS laser. The beam is expanded to fit the size of the spatial light modulato...

Optical trapping is one of the key techniques in biophysics 6. A crucial advancement in optical trapping has been the development of holographic traps which allow for the creation of three-dimensional trapping patterns rather than conventional point traps 7. Such holographic traps possess the advantage of versatility in positioning of refractive objects. However conventional traps can be easily aligned to be more symmetric than commercially available holographic kits. They also allow for fast precise tracking of the trapped objects. Here we describe a system (Figure 1) which combines the two trapping approaches in one instrument and allows the user to exploit the benefits of both as appropriate.
The general considerations of constructing optical traps (based on single or multiple laser beams) are discussed in detail elsewhere 8-10. Here, we outline the considerations specific to our setup and provide detail of our alignment procedure. For instance, systems with two optical trapping beams have been described before (e.g. ref. 11), typically using one laser beam for trapping a refractive object and using the other (intentionally low power beam) for decoupled readout of the position of the trapped object. Here however, both laser beams need to be high powered (300 mW or higher) because both are to be used for trapping. For measurements of biological systems, the lasers used for trapping should optimally fall within a specific NIR window of wavelength to minimize light induced protein degradation 1. Here we have chosen to use 980 nm diode and 1,064 nm DPSS lasers because of their low cost, high availability and ease of operation.
We have also chosen to use a spatial light modulator (SLM) to create and manipulate multiple traps simultaneously in real time 4,5. These devices are commercially available however their integration into a complete setup presents unique challenges. Here we describe a practical approach which addresses these potential difficulties and provides a highly versatile instrument. We provide an explicit example for the specific setup described which can be used as a guide for modified designs.

<table border="1">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Equipment</td>
			<td>Company</td>
			<td>Catalog Number</td>
			<td>Comments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Optical table</td>
			<td>Newport corporation</td>
			<td>ST-UT2-56-8</td>
			<td>Irvine, CA</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microscope, Inverted, Eclipse Ti</td>
			<td>Nikon USA</td>
			<td>MEA53220</td>
			<td>Melville, NY</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plan apo 100X oil objective (1.4 NA)</td>
			<td>Nikon USA</td>
			<td>MRD01901</td>
			<td>Melville, NY</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Oil condenser Lens 1.4 NA</td>
			<td>Nikon USA</td>
			<td>MEL41410</td>
			<td>Melville, NY</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>EMCCD camera</td>
			<td>Andor technology USA</td>
			<td>Ixon DU897</td>
			<td>South Windsor, CT</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1/3" CCD IEEE1394 camera</td>
			<td>NET USA Inc</td>
			<td>Foculus FO124SC</td>
			<td>Highland IN</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Laser, TEM00, SLM, 1,064 nm wavelength</td>
			<td>Klastech Laser Technologies</td>
			<td>Senza-1064-1000</td>
			<td>Dortmund; Germany</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>laser diode, TEM00, SLM, 980 nm</td>
			<td>Axcel Photonics</td>
			<td>BF-979-0300-P5A</td>
			<td>Marlborough, MA</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>laser diode mount</td>
			<td>ILX Lightwave</td>
			<td>LDX-3545, LDT-5525, and LDM-4984</td>
			<td>Bozeman, MT</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>adjustable fiber ports</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>PAF-X-11-B</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>holographic system</td>
			<td>Arryx</td>
			<td>HOTKIT-ADV-1064</td>
			<td>Chicago, IL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>holographic mirror</td>
			<td>Boulder Non-linear Systems</td>
			<td>this is a part of HOTKIT-ADV-1064</td>
			<td>Lafayette, CO</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calcite polarizer</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>GL10-B</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>half-wave plate</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>WPH05M-1064</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polarizer rotation mount</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>PRM1</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>half-wave plate rotation mount</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>RSP1</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Shutter</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>SH05</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dichroic mirrors (DM2 &amp; DM3); 45&deg; AOI</td>
			<td>Chroma Technology</td>
			<td>t750spxrxt</td>
			<td>Bellows Falls, VT</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dichroic mirror (DM1); 45&deg; AOI</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>DMSP1000R</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>custom mechanical adapter</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>SM1A11 and AD12F with enlarged inner bore</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>notch filter</td>
			<td>Semrock</td>
			<td>FF01-850/310-25</td>
			<td>Rochester, NY</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Acousto-Optic deflector (2-axis)</td>
			<td>intraAction</td>
			<td>DTD-584CA28</td>
			<td>Bellwood, IL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>goniometric stage</td>
			<td>New Focus</td>
			<td>9081</td>
			<td>Santa Clara, CA</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>60 mm steering lenses</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>LA1134-B</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>16 mm aspherical expander lens</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>AC080-016-C</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>175 mm expander lens</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>LA1229-C</td>
			<td>Newton, NJ</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Spot blocker (cabron-steel sphere)</td>
			<td>Bal-Tec</td>
			<td>0.0100" diameter</td>
			<td>Los Angeles, CA</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microspheres (Carboxyl-polystyrene)</td>
			<td>Spherotech</td>
			<td>CP-45-10</td>
			<td>Lake Forest, IL</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

construction of a high resolution microscope with conventional and holographic optical trapping capabilities

High resolution microscope systems with optical traps allow for precise manipulation of various refractive objects, such as dielectric beads 1 or cellular organelles 2,3, as well as for high spatial and temporal resolution readout of their position relative to the center of the trap. The system described herein has one such "traditional" trap operating at 980 nm. It additionally provides a second optical trapping system that uses a commercially available holographic package to simultaneously create and manipulate complex trapping patterns in the field of view of the microscope 4,5 at a wavelength of 1,064 nm. The combination of the two systems allows for the manipulation of multiple refractive objects at the same time while simultaneously conducting high speed and high resolution measurements of motion and force production at nanometer and piconewton scale.

The assembled setup allows the operator to trap multiple refractive objects in real time and position them in all three dimensions within the field of view. We illustrate the holographic capabilities of the instrument by trapping 11 microspheres (Figure 2). The trap confining each object is manually re-positioned upon trapping so that the final arrangement depicts the logo of the University of Utah where this experiment was performed. A combined function of holographic and conventional trap is shown in <...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Construction of a High Resolution Microscope with Conventional and Holographic Optical Trapping Capabilities at JoVE.com

Construction of a High Resolution Microscope with Conventional and Holographic Optical Trapping Capabilities

The system described herein employs a traditional optical trap as well as an independent holographic optical trapping line, capable of creating and manipulating multiple traps. This allows for the creation of complex geometric arrangements of refractive particles while also permitting simultaneous high-speed, high-resolution measurements of the activity of biological enzymes.

High resolution microscope systems with optical traps allow for precise manipulation of various refractive objects, such as dielectric beads 1 or cellular ...

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12.1K Views.  University of Utah. The system described herein employs a traditional optical trap as well as an independent holographic optical trapping line, capable of creating and manipulating multiple traps. This allows for the creation of complex geometric arrangements of refractive particles while also permitting simultaneous high-speed, high-resolution measurements of the activity of biological enzymes.

Video: Construction of a High Resolution Microscope with Conventional and Holographic Optical Trapping Capabilities

Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-film Solar cells with Plasmonic-enhanced Light-trapping

One of major approaches to cheaper solar cells is reducing the amount of semiconductor material used for their fabrication and making cells thinner. To compensate for lower light absorption such physically thin devices have to incorporate light-trapping which increases their optical thickness. Light scattering by textured surfaces is a common technique but it cannot be universally applied to all solar cell technologies. Some cells, for example those made of evaporated silicon, are planar as produced and they require an alternative light-trapping means suitable for planar devices. Metal nanoparticles formed on planar silicon cell surface and capable of light scattering due to surface plasmon resonance is an effective approach.
The paper presents a fabrication procedure of evaporated polycrystalline silicon solar cells with plasmonic light-trapping and demonstrates how the cell quantum efficiency improves due to presence of metal nanoparticles.
To fabricate the cells a film consisting of alternative boron and phosphorous doped silicon layers is deposited on glass substrate by electron beam evaporation. An Initially amorphous film is crystallised and electronic defects are mitigated by annealing and hydrogen passivation. Metal grid contacts are applied to the layers of opposite polarity to extract electricity generated by the cell. Typically, such a ~2 &mu;m thick cell has a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 14-16 mA/cm2, which can be increased up to 17-18 mA/cm2 (~25% higher) after application of a simple diffuse back reflector made of a white paint.
To implement plasmonic light-trapping a silver nanoparticle array is formed on the metallised cell silicon surface. A precursor silver film is deposited on the cell by thermal evaporation and annealed at 23&deg;C to form silver nanoparticles. Nanoparticle size and coverage, which affect plasmonic light-scattering, can be tuned for enhanced cell performance by varying the precursor film thickness and its annealing conditions. An optimised nanoparticle array alone results in cell Jsc enhancement of about 28%, similar to the effect of the diffuse reflector. The photocurrent can be further increased by coating the nanoparticles by a low refractive index dielectric, like MgF2, and applying the diffused reflector. The complete plasmonic cell structure comprises the polycrystalline silicon film, a silver nanoparticle array, a layer of MgF2, and a diffuse reflector. The Jsc for such cell is 21-23 mA/cm2, up to 45% higher than Jsc of the original cell without light-trapping or ~25% higher than Jsc for the cell with the diffuse reflector only.
Introduction
Light-trapping in silicon solar cells is commonly achieved via light scattering at textured interfaces. Scattered light travels through a cell at oblique angles for a longer distance and when such angles exceed the critical angle at the cell interfaces the light is permanently trapped in the cell by total internal reflection (Animation 1: Light-trapping). Although this scheme works well for most solar cells, there are developing technologies where ultra-thin Si layers are produced planar (e.g. layer-transfer technologies and epitaxial c-Si layers) 1 and or when such layers are not compatible with textures substrates (e.g. evaporated silicon) 2. For such originally planar Si layer alternative light trapping approaches, such as diffuse white paint reflector 3, silicon plasma texturing 4 or high refractive index nanoparticle reflector 5 have been suggested.
Metal nanoparticles can effectively scatter incident light into a higher refractive index material, like silicon, due to the surface plasmon resonance effect 6. They also can be easily formed on the planar silicon cell surface thus offering a light-trapping approach alternative to texturing. For a nanoparticle located at the air-silicon interface the scattered light fraction coupled into silicon exceeds 95% and a large faction of that light is scattered at angles above critical providing nearly ideal light-trapping condition (Animation 2: Plasmons on NP). The resonance can be tuned to the wavelength region, which is most important for a particular cell material and design, by varying the nanoparticle average size, surface coverage and local dielectric environment 6,7. Theoretical design principles of plasmonic nanoparticle solar cells have been suggested 8. In practice, Ag nanoparticle array is an ideal light-trapping partner for poly-Si thin-film solar cells because most of these design principle are naturally met. The simplest way of forming nanoparticles by thermal annealing of a thin precursor Ag film results in a random array with a relatively wide size and shape distribution, which is particularly suitable for light-trapping because such an array has a wide resonance peak, covering the wavelength range of 700-900 nm, important for poly-Si solar cell performance. The nanoparticle array can only be located on the rear poly-Si cell surface thus avoiding destructive interference between incident and scattered light which occurs for front-located nanoparticles 9. Moreover, poly-Si thin-film cells do not requires a passivating layer and the flat base-shaped nanoparticles (that naturally result from thermal annealing of a metal film) can be directly placed on silicon further increases plasmonic scattering efficiency due to surface plasmon-polariton resonance 10.
The cell with the plasmonic nanoparticle array as described above can have a photocurrent about 28% higher than the original cell. However, the array still transmits a significant amount of light which escapes through the rear of the cell and does not contribute into the current. This loss can be mitigated by adding a rear reflector to allow catching transmitted light and re-directing it back to the cell. Providing sufficient distance between the reflector and the nanoparticles (a few hundred nanometers) the reflected light will then experience one more plasmonic scattering event while passing through the nanoparticle array on re-entering the cell and the reflector itself can be made diffuse - both effects further facilitating light scattering and hence light-trapping. Importantly, the Ag nanoparticles have to be encapsulated with an inert and low refractive index dielectric, like MgF2 or SiO2, from the rear reflector to avoid mechanical and chemical damage 7. Low refractive index for this cladding layer is required to maintain a high coupling fraction into silicon and larger scattering angles, which are ensured by the high optical contrast between the media on both sides of the nanoparticle, silicon and dielectric 6. The photocurrent of the plasmonic cell with the diffuse rear reflector can be up to 45% higher than the current of the original cell or up to 25% higher than the current of an equivalent cell with the diffuse reflector only.

Polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass are fabricated by deposition of boron and phosphorous doped silicon layers followed by crystallisation, defect passivation and metallisation. Plasmonic light-trapping is introduced by forming Ag nanoparticles on the silicon cell surface capped with a diffused reflector resulting in ~45% photocurrent enhancement.

One of major approaches to cheaper solar cells is reducing the amount of semiconductor material used for their fabrication and making cells thinner. To ...

Construction and Testing of Coin Cells of Lithium Ion Batteries

Rechargeable lithium ion batteries have wide applications in electronics, where customers always demand more capacity and longer lifetime. Lithium ion batteries have also been considered to be used in electric and hybrid vehicles1 or even electrical grid stabilization systems2. All these applications simulate a dramatic increase in the research and development of battery materials3-7, including new materials3,8, doping9, nanostructuring10-13, coatings or surface modifications14-17 and novel binders18. Consequently, an increasing number of physicists, chemists and materials scientists have recently ventured into this area. Coin cells are widely used in research laboratories to test new battery materials; even for the research and development that target large-scale and high-power applications, small coin cells are often used to test the capacities and rate capabilities of new materials in the initial stage. 
 In 2010, we started a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored research project to investigate the surface adsorption and disordering in battery materials (grant no. DMR-1006515). In the initial stage of this project, we have struggled to learn the techniques of assembling and testing coin cells, which cannot be achieved without numerous help of other researchers in other universities (through frequent calls, email exchanges and two site visits). Thus, we feel that it is beneficial to document, by both text and video, a protocol of assembling and testing a coin cell, which will help other new researchers in this field. This effort represents the "Broader Impact" activities of our NSF project, and it will also help to educate and inspire students.
In this video article, we document a protocol to assemble a CR2032 coin cell with a LiCoO2 working electrode, a Li counter electrode, and (the mostly commonly used) polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder. To ensure new learners to readily repeat the protocol, we keep the protocol as specific and explicit as we can. However, it is important to note that in specific research and development work, many parameters adopted here can be varied. First, one can make coin cells of different sizes and test the working electrode against a counter electrode other than Li. Second, the amounts of C black and binder added into the working electrodes are often varied to suit the particular purpose of research; for example, large amounts of C black or even inert powder were added to the working electrode to test the "intrinsic" performance of cathode materials14. Third, better binders (other than PVDF) have also developed and used18. Finally, other types of electrolytes (instead of LiPF6) can also be used; in fact, certain high-voltage electrode materials will require the uses of special electrolytes7.

A protocol to construct and test coin cells of lithium ion batteries is described. The specific procedures of making a working electrode, preparing a counter electrode, assembling a cell inside a glovebox and testing the cell are presented.

Rechargeable lithium ion batteries have wide applications in electronics, where customers always demand more capacity and longer lifetime.  Lithium ion ...

Optical Trapping of Nanoparticles

Optical trapping is a technique for immobilizing and manipulating small objects in a gentle way using light, and it has been widely applied in trapping and manipulating small biological particles. Ashkin and co-workers first demonstrated optical tweezers using a single focused beam1. The single beam trap can be described accurately using the perturbative gradient force formulation in the case of small Rayleigh regime particles1. In the perturbative regime, the optical power required for trapping a particle scales as the inverse fourth power of the particle size. High optical powers can damage dielectric particles and cause heating. For instance, trapped latex spheres of 109 nm in diameter were destroyed by a 15 mW beam in 25 sec1, which has serious implications for biological matter2,3.
A self-induced back-action (SIBA) optical trapping was proposed to trap 50 nm polystyrene spheres in the non-perturbative regime4. In a non-perturbative regime, even a small particle with little permittivity contrast to the background can influence significantly the ambient electromagnetic field and induce a large optical force. As a particle enters an illuminated aperture, light transmission increases dramatically because of dielectric loading. If the particle attempts to leave the aperture, decreased transmission causes a change in momentum outwards from the hole and, by Newton's Third Law, results in a force on the particle inwards into the hole, trapping the particle. The light transmission can be monitored; hence, the trap can become a sensor. The SIBA trapping technique can be further improved by using a double-nanohole structure.
The double-nanohole structure has been shown to give a strong local field enhancement5,6. Between the two sharp tips of the double-nanohole, a small particle can cause a large change in optical transmission, thereby inducing a large optical force. As a result, smaller nanoparticles can be trapped, such as 12 nm silicate spheres7 and 3.4 nm hydrodynamic radius bovine serum albumin proteins8. In this work, the experimental configuration used for nanoparticle trapping is outlined. First, we detail the assembly of the trapping setup which is based on a Thorlabs Optical Tweezer Kit. Next, we explain the nanofabrication procedure of the double-nanohole in a metal film, the fabrication of the microfluidic chamber and the sample preparation. Finally, we detail the data acquisition procedure and provide typical results for trapping 20 nm polystyrene nanospheres.

The following setup approach details low power optical trapping of dielectric nanoparticles using a double-nanohole in metal film.

Optical trapping is a technique for immobilizing and manipulating small objects in a gentle way using light, and it has been widely applied in trapping ...

High-resolution, High-speed, Three-dimensional Video Imaging with Digital Fringe Projection Techniques

Digital fringe projection (DFP) techniques provide dense 3D measurements of dynamically changing surfaces.&#160;Like the human eyes and brain, DFP uses triangulation between matching points in two views of the same scene at different angles to compute depth.&#160;However, unlike a stereo-based method, DFP uses a digital video projector to replace one of the cameras1. The projector rapidly projects a known sinusoidal pattern onto the subject, and the surface of the subject distorts these patterns in the camera&#8217;s field of view. Three distorted patterns (fringe images) from the camera can be used to compute the depth using triangulation.
Unlike other 3D measurement methods, DFP techniques lead to systems that tend to be faster, lower in equipment cost, more flexible, and easier to develop.&#160;DFP systems can also achieve the same measurement resolution as the camera.&#160;For this reason, DFP and other digital structured light techniques have recently been the focus of intense research (as summarized in1-5). Taking advantage of DFP, the graphics processing unit, and optimized algorithms, we have developed a system capable of 30&#160;Hz 3D video data acquisition, reconstruction, and display for over 300,000 measurement points per frame6,7.&#160;Binary defocusing DFP methods can achieve even greater speeds8.
Diverse applications can benefit from DFP techniques. Our collaborators have used our systems for facial function analysis9, facial animation10, cardiac mechanics studies11, and fluid surface measurements, but many other potential applications exist.&#160;This video will teach the fundamentals of DFP techniques and illustrate the design and operation of a binary defocusing DFP system.

This video describes the fundamentals of digital fringe projection techniques, which provide dense 3D measurements of dynamically changing surfaces.&#160;It also demonstrates the design and operation of a high-speed binary defocusing system based on these techniques.

Digital fringe projection (DFP) techniques provide dense 3D measurements of dynamically changing surfaces.&#160;Like the human eyes and brain, DFP uses ...

Compact Lens-less Digital Holographic Microscope for MEMS Inspection and Characterization

A micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) is a widely used component in many industries, including energy, biotechnology, medical, communications, and automotive. However, effective inspection and characterization metrology systems are needed to ensure the functional reliability of MEMS. This study presents a system based on digital holography as a tool for MEMS metrology. Digital holography has gained increasing attention in the past 20 years. With the fast development and decreasing cost of sensor arrays, resolution of such systems has increased broadening potential applications. Thus, it has attracted attention from both research and industry sides as a potential reliable tool for industrial metrology. Indeed, by recording the interference pattern between an object beam (which contains sample height information) and a reference beam on a CCD camera, one can retrieve the quantitative phase information of an object. However, most of digital holographic systems are bulky and thus not easy to implement on industry production lines. The novelty of the system presented is that it is lens-less and thus very compact. In this study, it is shown that the Compact Digital Holographic Microscope (CDHM) can be used to evaluate several characteristics typically consider as criteria in MEMS inspections. The surface profiles of MEMS in both static and dynamic conditions are presented. Comparison with AFM is investigated to validate the accuracy of the CDHM.

We present a compact reflection digital holographic system (CDHM) for inspection and characterization of MEMS devices. A lens-less design using a diverging input wave providing natural geometrical magnification is demonstrated. Both static and dynamic studies are presented.

A micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) is a widely used component in many industries, including energy, biotechnology, medical, communications, and ...

Hand Controlled Manipulation of Single Molecules via a Scanning Probe Microscope with a 3D Virtual Reality Interface

Considering organic molecules as the functional building blocks of future nanoscale technology, the question of how to arrange and assemble such building blocks in a bottom-up approach is still open. The scanning probe microscope (SPM) could be a tool of choice; however, SPM-based manipulation was until recently limited to two dimensions (2D). Binding the SPM tip to a molecule at a well-defined position opens an opportunity of controlled manipulation in 3D space. Unfortunately, 3D manipulation is largely incompatible with the typical 2D-paradigm of viewing and generating SPM data on a computer. For intuitive and efficient manipulation we therefore couple a low-temperature non-contact atomic force/scanning tunneling microscope (LT NC-AFM/STM) to a motion capture system and fully immersive virtual reality goggles. This setup permits &#34;hand controlled manipulation&#34; (HCM), in which the SPM tip is moved according to the motion of the experimenter&#39;s hand, while the tip trajectories as well as the response of the SPM junction are visualized in 3D. HCM paves the way to the development of complex manipulation protocols, potentially leading to a better fundamental understanding of nanoscale interactions acting between molecules on surfaces. Here we describe the setup and the steps needed to achieve successful hand-controlled molecular manipulation within the virtual reality environment.

We demonstrate the precise manipulation of individual organic molecules on a metal surface with the tip of a scanning probe microscope driven in 3D by the experimenter's hand using a motion capture system and fully immersive virtual reality goggles.

Considering organic molecules as the functional building blocks of future nanoscale technology, the question of how to arrange and assemble such building ...

Plasmonic Trapping and Release of Nanoparticles in a Monitoring Environment

Plasmonic tweezers use surface plasmon polaritons to confine polarizable nanoscale objects. Among the various designs of plasmonic tweezers, only a few can observe immobilized particles. Moreover, a limited number of studies have experimentally measured the exertable forces on the particles. The designs can be classified as the protruding nanodisk type or the suppressed nanohole type. For the latter, microscopic observation is extremely challenging. In this paper, a new plasmonic tweezer system is introduced to monitor particles, both in directions parallel and orthogonal to the symmetric axis of a plasmonic nanohole structure. This feature enables us to observe the movement of each particle near the rim of the nanohole. Furthermore, we can quantitatively estimate the maximal trapping forces using a new fluidic channel.

A microchip fabrication process that incorporates plasmonic tweezers is presented here. The microchip enables the imaging of a trapped particle to measure maximal trapping forces.

Plasmonic tweezers use surface plasmon polaritons to confine polarizable nanoscale objects. Among the various designs of plasmonic tweezers, only a few ...

Demonstration of a Hyperlens-integrated Microscope and Super-resolution Imaging

The use of super-resolution imaging to overcome the diffraction limit of conventional microscopy has attracted the interest of researchers in biology and nanotechnology. Although near-field scanning microscopy and superlenses have improved the resolution in the near-field region, far-field imaging in real-time remains a significant challenge. Recently, the hyperlens, which magnifies and converts evanescent waves into propagating waves, has emerged as a novel approach to far-field imaging. Here, we report the fabrication of a spherical hyperlens composed of alternating silver (Ag) and titanium oxide (TiO2) thin layers. Unlike a conventional cylindrical hyperlens, the spherical hyperlens allows for two-dimensional magnification. Thus, incorporation into conventional microscopy is straightforward. A new optical system integrated with the hyperlens is proposed, allowing for a sub-wavelength image to be obtained in the far-field region in real time. In this study, the fabrication and imaging setup methods are explained in detail. This work also describes the accessibility and possibility of the hyperlens, as well as practical applications of real-time imaging in living cells, which can lead to a revolution in biology and nanotechnology.

The use of a hyperlens has been regarded as a novel super-resolution imaging technique due to its advantages in real-time imaging and its simple implementation with conventional optics. Here, we present a protocol describing the fabrication and imaging applications of a spherical hyperlens.

The use of super-resolution imaging to overcome the diffraction limit of conventional microscopy has attracted the interest of researchers in biology and ...

Method for Recording Broadband High Resolution Emission Spectra of Laboratory Lightning Arcs

Lightning is one of the most common and destructive forces in nature and has long been studied using spectroscopic techniques, first with traditional camera film methods and then digital camera technology, from which several important characteristics have been derived. However, such work has always been limited due to the inherently random and non-repeatable nature of natural lightning events in the field. Recent developments in lightning test facilities now allow the reproducible generation of lightning arcs within controlled laboratory environments, providing a test bed for the development of new sensors and diagnostic techniques to understand lightning mechanisms better. One such technique is a spectroscopic system using digital camera technology capable of identifying the chemical elements with which the lightning arc interacts, with these data then being used to derive further characteristics. In this paper, the spectroscopic system is used to obtain the emission spectrum from a 100 kA peak, 100 &#181;s duration lightning arc generated across a pair of hemispherical tungsten electrodes separated by a small air gap. To maintain a spectral resolution of less than 1 nm, several individual spectra were recorded across discrete wavelength ranges, averaged, stitched, and corrected to produce a final composite spectrum in the 450 nm (blue light) to 890 nm (near infrared light) range. Characteristic peaks within the data were then compared to an established publicly available database to identify the chemical element interactions. This method is readily applicable to a variety of other light emitting events, such as fast electrical discharges, partial discharges, and sparking in electrical equipment, apparatus, and systems.

Emission spectroscopy techniques have traditionally been used to analyze inherently random lightning arcs occurring in nature. In this paper, a method developed to obtain the emission spectroscopy from reproducible lightning arcs generated within a laboratory environment is described.

Lightning is one of the most common and destructive forces in nature and has long been studied using spectroscopic techniques, first with traditional ...

Single-Digit Nanometer Electron-Beam Lithography with an Aberration-Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope

We demonstrate extension of electron-beam lithography using conventional resists and pattern transfer processes to single-digit nanometer dimensions by employing an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope as the exposure tool. Here, we present results of single-digit nanometer patterning of two widely used electron-beam resists: poly (methyl methacrylate) and hydrogen silsesquioxane. The method achieves sub-5 nanometer features in poly (methyl methacrylate) and sub-10 nanometer resolution in hydrogen silsesquioxane. High-fidelity transfer of these patterns into target materials of choice can be performed using metal lift-off, plasma etch, and resist infiltration with organometallics.

We use an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope to define single-digit nanometer patterns in two widely-used electron-beam resists: poly (methyl methacrylate) and hydrogen silsesquioxane. Resist patterns can be replicated in target materials of choice with single-digit nanometer fidelity using liftoff, plasma etching, and resist infiltration by organometallics.

We demonstrate extension of electron-beam lithography using conventional resists and pattern transfer processes to single-digit nanometer dimensions by ...