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Biomedical subjects

F Keilmann

Publications and source records attributed to F Keilmann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Phonon-enhanced light matter interaction at the nanometre scale.

Optical near fields exist close to any illuminated object. They account for interesting effects such as enhanced pinhole transmission or enhanced Raman scattering enabling single-molecule spectroscopy. Also, they enable high-resolution (below 10 nm) optical microscopy. The plasmon-enhanced near-field coupling between metallic nanostructures opens new ways of designing optical properties and of controlling light on the nanometre scale. Here we study the strong enhancement of optical near-field coupling in the infrared by lattice vibrations (phonons) of polar dielectrics. We combine infrared spectroscopy with a near-field microscope that provides a confined field to probe the local interaction with a SiC sample. The phonon resonance occurs at 920 cm(-1). Within 20 cm(-1) of the resonance, the near-field signal increases 200-fold; on resonance, the signal exceeds by 20 times the value obtained with a gold sample. We find that phonon-enhanced near-field coupling is extremely sensitive to chemical and structural composition of polar samples, permitting nanometre-scale analysis of semiconductors and minerals. The excellent physical and chemical stability of SiC in particular may allow the design of nanometre-scale optical circuits for high-temperature and high-power operation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Pure optical contrast in scattering-type scanning near-field microscopy.

We have enhanced the apertureless scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope by two improvements which together achieve a recording of the true near field without any height-induced artefact. These are the use of interferometric detection of the scattered light on one hand, and the use of higher-harmonic dither demodulation of the scattered signal on the other. Here we present the basic rationale for these techniques, and give examples measured with two different experiments, one in the infrared (10 microm wavelength), the other in the visible (633 nm). The latter operates in a fully heterodyne mode and displays simultaneous images of optical near-field phase and amplitude, at below 10 nm resolution.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Complex optical constants on a subwavelength scale.

Optical phase contrast has for the first time been observed on a nanometer scale, with a near-field microscope of scattering type that maps the complete optical field of amplitude and phase. Backed by quasielectrostatic theory, we demonstrate the significance and experimental accessibility of even complex optical constants on a subwavelength scale. Further, our method can separate the near-field response from background artifacts and thus is expected to enable nanoscale optical mapping of even topography-rich objects such as resonant clusters and macromolecules.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

Mechanisms of electromagnetic interaction with cellular systems.

The question of how electromagnetic fields--static or low to high frequency--interact with biological systems is of great interest. The current discussion among biologists, chemists, and physicists emphasizes aspects of experimental verification and of defining microscopic and macroscopic mechanisms. Both aspects are reviewed here. We emphasize that in certain situations nonthermal interactions of electromagnetic fields occur with cellular systems.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Multichannel photometer-nephelometer.

We describe an instrument for monitoring either transmitted or scattered light intensity, or both, simultaneously on up to eight channels. The use of a laser light source (at 632.8-nm wavelength) provides high accuracy and dynamic range: optical density can be measured from 0.0004 up to 6, and a scattered light fraction down to 10(-6) can be resolved. Built-in thermostat and magnetic stirrers allow precise monitoring of aqueous microbial growth over a practical range of 4 orders of magnitude of cell concentration.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Surface-polariton propagation for scanning near-field optical microscopy application.

Surface plasmon-, phonon- and exciton-polaritons exist on specific materials in specific spectral regions. We assess the properties of such travelling surface-bound electromagnetic waves relevant for scanning near-field optical microscopy applications, i.e. the tightness of surface binding, the attenuation, the phase velocity and the coupling with free-space electromagnetic waves. These quantities can be directly determined by photographic imaging of surface plasmon- and surface phonon-polaritons, in both the visible and mid-infared regions. Focusing of mid-infrared surface plasmons is demonstrated. Surface waveguides to transport and focus photons to the tip of a scanning near-field probe are outlined.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mid-infrared scanning near-field optical microscope resolves 30 nm.

We explore the performance of a scanning near-field infrared microscope, which works by scattering tightly focused CO2 laser radiation (lambda = 10 microm) from the apex of a metallized atomic force microscope tip. The infrared images of test samples prove a spatial resolution of 30 nm and are free of topographical and inertial artefacts, thus they should be of great interest for practical applications. We also observe that the infrared contrast vanishes when the input beam polarization is orthogonal to the tip axis, in accordance with theoretical expectations for a mechanism of longitudinal field interaction.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nonthermal effects of millimeter microwaves on yeast growth.

Weak microwave irradiation of aqueous yeast cultures was found to affect their growth rate in a frequency-selective manner. Depending on frequency (near 42 GHz), both increases and decreases of the growth rate were observed. The resonance bandwidths are of the order of 0.01 GHz. Simple thermal effects can be excluded. These findings support theoretical predictions of coherent molecular oscillations activating metabolic processes.

Microwaves↗