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Biomedical subjects

Jean-Jacques Greffet

Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Jacques Greffet.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Thermal radiation scanning tunnelling microscopy.

In standard near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), a subwavelength probe acts as an optical 'stethoscope' to map the near field produced at the sample surface by external illumination. This technique has been applied using visible, infrared, terahertz and gigahertz radiation to illuminate the sample, providing a resolution well beyond the diffraction limit. NSOM is well suited to study surface waves such as surface plasmons or surface-phonon polaritons. Using an aperture NSOM with visible laser illumination, a near-field interference pattern around a corral structure has been observed, whose features were similar to the scanning tunnelling microscope image of the electronic waves in a quantum corral. Here we describe an infrared NSOM that operates without any external illumination: it is a near-field analogue of a night-vision camera, making use of the thermal infrared evanescent fields emitted by the surface, and behaves as an optical scanning tunnelling microscope. We therefore term this instrument a 'thermal radiation scanning tunnelling microscope' (TRSTM). We show the first TRSTM images of thermally excited surface plasmons, and demonstrate spatial coherence effects in near-field thermal emission.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Photon diffusion coefficient in scattering and absorbing media.

We present a unified derivation of the photon diffusion coefficient for both steady-state and time-dependent transport in disordered absorbing media. The derivation is based on a modal analysis of the time-dependent radiative transfer equation. This approach confirms that the dynamic diffusion coefficient is given by the random-walk result D = cl(*)/3, where l(*) is the transport mean free path and c is the energy velocity, independent of the level of absorption. It also shows that the diffusion coefficient for steady-state transport, often used in biomedical optics, depends on absorption, in agreement with recent theoretical and experimental works. These two results resolve a recurrent controversy in light propagation and imaging in scattering media.

Absorption↗
PubMed2005

Heat transfer between two nanoparticles through near field interaction.

We introduce a thermal conductance by using the fluctuation-dissipation theorem to analyze the heat transfer between two nanoparticles separated by a submicron distance. Using either a molecular dynamics technique or a model based on the Coulomb interaction between fluctuating dipoles, we derive the thermal conductance. Both models agree for distances larger than a few diameters. For separation distances smaller than the particle diameter, we find a transition regime characterized by a thermal conductance larger than the contact conductance.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Spatial coherence in strongly scattering media.

We study the spatial coherence of an optical beam in a strongly scattering medium confined in a slab geometry. Using the radiative transfer equation, we study numerically the behavior of the transverse spatial coherence length in the different transport regimes. Transitions from the ballistic to the diffusive regimes are clearly identified.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed2004

Diffusive-to-ballistic transition in dynamic light transmission through thin scattering slabs: a radiative transfer approach.

We study the deviation from diffusion theory that occurs in the dynamic transport of light through thin scattering slabs. Solving numerically the time-dependent radiative transfer equation, we obtain the decay time and the effective diffusion coefficient Deff. We observe a nondiffusive behavior for systems whose thickness L is smaller than 8l(tr), where l(tr) is the transport mean free path. We introduce a simple model that yields the position of the transition between the diffusive and the nondiffusive regimes. The size dependence of Deff in the nondiffusive region is strongly affected by internal reflections. We show that the reduction of approximately 50% of Deff that was observed experimentally [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 4369 (1997)] can be reproduced by the radiative transfer approach. We demonstrate that the radiative transfer equation is an appropriate tool for studying dynamic light transport in thin scattering systems when coherent effects play no significant role.

Diffusion↗
PubMed2003

Definition of the diffusion coefficient in scattering and absorbing media.

We revisit the definition of the diffusion coefficient for light transport in scattering and absorbing media. From an asymptotic analysis of the transport equation, we present a novel derivation of the diffusion coefficient, which is restricted neither to low absorption nor to a situation in which the specific intensity is quasi-isotropic. Our result agrees with previous expressions of the diffusion coefficient in the appropriate limit. Using numerical simulations, we discuss the implications of the proper choice of the diffusion coefficient for time-dependent transport.

Diffusion↗
PubMed2003

Influence of spatial coherence on scattering by a particle.

We analyze the effect of partial spatial coherence on the scattering of light by an arbitrary particle. We extend the definition of the extinction cross section to spatially partially coherent fields. We then discuss the effect of the partial coherence on the extinction scattering cross section by introducing the Wigner transform. It is shown that for rotationally invariant scatterers, the extinction cross section does not depend on the coherence of the incident field. The effect of partial coherence on the angular behavior of the scattered intensity is also discussed in the framework of the Wigner transform. The implications for practical applications are considered.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Coherent emission of light by thermal sources.

A thermal light-emitting source, such as a black body or the incandescent filament of a light bulb, is often presented as a typical example of an incoherent source and is in marked contrast to a laser. Whereas a laser is highly monochromatic and very directional, a thermal source has a broad spectrum and is usually quasi-isotropic. However, as is the case with many systems, different behaviour can be expected on a microscopic scale. It has been shown recently that the field emitted by a thermal source made of a polar material is enhanced by more than four orders of magnitude and is partially coherent at a distance of the order of 10 to 100nm. Here we demonstrate that by introducing a periodic microstructure into such a polar material (SiC) a thermal infrared source can be fabricated that is coherent over large distances (many wavelengths) and radiates in well defined directions. Narrow angular emission lobes similar to antenna lobes are observed and the emission spectra of the source depends on the observation angle--the so-called Wolf effect. The origin of the coherent emission lies in the diffraction of surface-phonon polaritons by the grating.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Theory of near-field magneto-optical imaging.

Scanning near-field optical microscopy has been recently applied to the imaging of magnetic samples. It was shown experimentally that an apertureless microscope suffers a substantial loss of resolution when used for magneto-optical imaging compared with that for conventional imaging. No such change is observed for aperture microscopes. We explain this observation by developing a model for the imaging process that incorporates the response of the probe. We calculate real observable properties such as the rotation of polarization at the detector or the circular dichroism signal and thus simulate magneto-optical images of a domain structure in cobalt for both aperture and apertureless microscopes.

Journal Article↗