Intrinsic roughness and interfaces of Cr/Be multilayers

The structures of Cr/Be multilayer mirror interfaces are investigated using X-ray reflectometry, diffuse X-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy. The combination of these methods makes it possible to separate the contributions of roughness and interlayer diffusion/intermixing for each sample. In the range of period thicknesses of 2.26–0.8 nm, it is found that the growth roughness of the Cr/Be multilayer mirrors does not depend on the period thickness and is ∼0.2 nm. The separation of roughness and diffuseness allows estimation of layer material intermixing and the resulting drop in the optical contrast, which is from 0.85 to 0.17 in comparison with an ideally sharp structure.

Diattenuation and retardance signature of plasmonic gold nanorods in turbid media revealed by Mueller matrix polarimetry

Plasmonic gold nanorods (GNRs) are finding increasing use in biomedicine due to their unique electromagnetic properties, optical contrast enhancement and biocompatibility; they also show promise as polarization contrast agents. However, quantification of their polarization-enhancing properties within heterogeneous turbid media remains challenging. We report on polarization response in controlled tissue phantoms consisting of dielectric microsphere scatterers with varying admixtures of GRNs. Experimental Mueller matrix measurements and polarization sensitive Monte-Carlo simulations show excellent agreement. Despite the GNRs’ 3D random orientation and distribution in the strong multiply scattering background, significant linear diattenuation and retardance were observed. These exclusive measurable characteristics of GNRs suggest their potential uses as contrast enhancers for polarimetric assessment of turbid biological tissue.

The visibility and stability of GaSe nanoflakes of about 50 layerson SiO2/Si wafers

GaSe nanoflakes on silicon substrates covered by SiO2 films are prepared by mechanical exfoliation from the bulk Bridgman-grown GaSe crystals using a scotch tape. The thickness of SiO2 films on Si substrates providing the highest optical contrast for observation of GaSe flakes is estimated by taking into account the spectral sensitivity of a commercial CMOS camera and broadband visible light illumination. According to our estimations, the optimal SiO2 thickness is [Formula: see text]126 nm for the visualization of GaSe flakes of 1–3 layers and [Formula: see text]100 nm for the flakes of 40–70 layers. The obtained nanoflakes are investigated by optical and atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The observed spectral positions of the Raman peaks are in agreement with the positions of the peaks known for bulk and nanolayered GaSe samples. It is found that the 50 nm thick flakes are stable but are covered by oxide structures with lateral size about 100 nm and height [Formula: see text]5 nm after [Formula: see text]9 months exposure to ambient atmosphere.