Search

The zeta ($\zeta$) potential is a pivotal metric for characterizing the electric field topology within an electric double layer - an important phenomenon on phase interface. It underpins critical processes in diverse realms such as chemistry, biomedical engineering, and micro/nanofluidics. Yet, local measurement of $\zeta$ potential at the interface has historically presented challenges, leading researchers to simplify a chemically homogenized surface with a uniform $\zeta$ potential. In the current investigation, we present evidence that, within a microchannel, the spatial distribution of $\zeta$ potential across a chemically homogeneous solid-liquid interface can become two-dimensional (2D) under an imposed flow regime, as disclosed by a state-of-art fluorescence photobleaching electrochemistry analyzer (FLEA) technique. The $\zeta$ potential' s propensity to become increasingly negative downstream, presents an approximately symmetric, V-shaped pattern in the spanwise orientation. Intriguingly, and of notable significance to chemistry and engineering, this 2D $\zeta$ potential framework was found to electrokinetically induce swirling flows in tens of nanometers, aligning with the streamwise axis, bearing a remarkable resemblance to the well-documented hairpin vortices in turbulent boundary layers. Our findings gesture towards a novel perspective on the genesis of vortex structures in nanoscale. Additionally, the FLEA technique emerges as a potent tool for discerning $\zeta$ potential at a local scale with high resolution, potentially accelerating the evolution and applications of novel surface material.

The interference phenomenon of light is a common but most important effect in physics. In this article, we compare and analyse the interference effects of both coherent and incoherent light; in particular, the interference of spatially incoherent light sources is described. Thermal light and a two-photon entangled source may both be regarded as incoherent sources which can generate similar second-order interference effects, but their underlying physics is quite different. First-order interference can be realized with both spatially coherent and incoherent sources in the same well-designed experimental setup, but exhibit different interference patterns; their different interference mechanisms will also be clarified., Comment: 46 pages,31 figures

Multifocal laser direct writing (LDW) based on phase-only spatial light modulator (SLM) can realize flexible and parallel nanofabrication with high throughput potential. In this investigation, a novel approach of combining two-photon absorption, SLM and vector path guided by scalable vector graphics (SVG) has been developed and tested preliminarily, for fast, flexible and parallel nanofabrication. Three laser focuses are independently controlled with different paths, which are according to SVG, to optimize fabrication and promote time efficiency. The minimum structure width can be as low as 74 nm. Accompanied with a translation stage, a carp structure of 18.16 $\mu$m by 24.35 $\mu$m has been fabricated. This method shows the possibility of developing LDW techniques towards full-electrical system, and provides a potential way to efficiently engrave complex structures on nanoscales.

Flow cytometry is a widespread and powerful technique, whose resolution is determined by its capacity to accurately distinguish fluorescently positive populations from negative ones. However, most informative results are discarded while performing the measurements of conventional flow cytometry, e.g., the cell size, shape, morphology, and distribution or location of labeled exosomes within the unpurified biological samples. We, herein, propose a novel approach using an anti-diffraction light sheet with anisotroic feature to excite fluorescent tags. Constituted by an anti-diffraction Bessel-Gaussian beam array, the light sheet is 12 $\mu$m wide, 12 $\mu$m high, with a thickness of $~ 0.8 \mu$m. The intensity profile of the excited fluorescent signal can, therefore, reflect the size and allow samples in the range from O(100 nm) to 10 $\mu$m (e.g., blood cells) to be transported via hydrodynamic focusing in a microfluidic chip. The sampling rate is 500 kHz provides a capability of high throughput without sacrificing the spatial resolution. Consequently, the proposed anti-diffraction light-sheet flow cytometry (ADLSFC) can obtain more informative results than the conventional methodologies, and is able to provide multiple characteristics (e.g., the size and distribution of fluorescent signal) helping to distinguish the target samples from the complex backgrounds.

The crucial zeroth-order light due to the pixelation effect of spatial light modulator (SLM) has been a serious issue in the field of light modulation, especially in applications with a high numerical aperture optical system. In this investigation, we report that by properly adjusting the high-level and low-level pixel voltages of an SLM, the zeroth-order light caused by the pixelation effect of SLM can be significantly eliminated. The method is further validated in an inverted fluorescence microscope. The experimental results show that the zeroth-order light can be inhibited up to 91.3%, accompanied by an improvement of the modulation efficiency from 77.5% to 92.6%., Comment: In this version, the mechanism underlined has been corrected. Accompanied, Figure 1 has been replaced

Computational ghost imaging or single-pixel imaging enables the image formation of an unknown scene using a lens-free photodetector. In this Letter, we present a computational panoramic ghost imaging system that can achieve the full-color panorama using a single-pixel photodetector, where a convex mirror performs the optical transformation of the engineered Hadamard-based circular illumination pattern from unidirectionally to omnidirectionally. To our best knowledge, it is the first time to propose the concept of ghost panorama and realize preliminary experimentations. It is foreseeable that ghost panorama will have more advantages in imaging and detection in many extreme conditions (e.g., scattering/turbulence, cryogenic temperatures, and unconventional spectra), as well as broad application prospects in the positioning of fast-moving targets and situation awareness for autonomous vehicles., Comment: 5 pages, 4figures

In previous single-pixel imaging systems, the light source was generally idle with respect to time. Here, we propose a novel image fusion and visible watermarking scheme based on Fourier single-pixel imaging (FSPI) with a multiplexed time-varying (TV) signal, which is generated by the watermark pattern hidden in the light source. We call this scheme as TV-FSPI. With TV-FSPI, we can realize high-quality visible image watermarking, encrypted image watermarking and full-color visible image watermarking. We also discuss the extension to invisible watermarking based on TV-FSPI. Furthermore, we don't have to recode illumination patterns, because TV-FSPI can be extended to existing mainstream illumination patterns, such as random illumination mode and Hadamard illumination mode. Thus TV-FSPI has the potential to be used in single-pixel broadcasting system and multi-spectral single-pixel imaging system., Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures

We report the first experimental observation of quantum holographic imaging with entangled photon pairs, generated in a spontaneous parametric down-conversion process. The signal photons play both roles of "object wave" and "reference wave" in holography but are recorded by a point detector providing only encoding information, while the idler photons travel freely and are locally manipulated with spatial resolution. The holographic image is formed by the two-photon correlation measurement, although both the signal and idler beams are incoherent. According to the detection regime of the signal photons, we analyze three types of quantum holography schemes: point detection, coherent detection and bucket detection, which can correspond to classical holography using a point source, a plane-wave coherent source and a spatially incoherent source, respectively. Our experiment demonstrates that the two-photon holography in the point detection regime is equivalent to the one-photon holography using a point source. Physically, the quantum holography experiment verifies that a pair of non-commutable physical quantities, the amplitude and phase components of the field operator, can be nonlocally measured through two-photon entanglement., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

We report an experimental observation of quantum Airy disk diffraction pattern using an entangled two-photon source. In contrast to the previous quantum lithography experiments where the subwavelength diffraction patterns were observed in the far field limit, we perform the Fraunhofer diffraction experiment with a convex lens. The experimental result shows that the two-photon Airy disk is provided with the super-resolution spot, which surpasses the classical diffraction limit. In particular, the spot size can be well controlled by the focal length, which adapted to optical super-focusing. Our experiment can promote potential application of quantum lithography., Comment: 4 pages, 2figures

Phase reversal occurs in the propagation of an electromagnetic wave in a negatively refracting medium or a phase-conjugate interface. Here we report the experimental observation of phase reversal diffraction without the above devices. Our experimental results and theoretical analysis demonstrate that phase reversal diffraction can be formed through the first-order field correlation of chaotic light. The experimental realization is similar to phase reversal behavior in negatively refracting media., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

It is well known that direct observation of interference and diffraction pattern in the intensity distribution requires a spatially coherent source. Optical waves emitted from portions beyond the coherence area possess statistically independent phases, and will degrade the interference pattern. In this paper we show an optical interference experiment, which seems contrary to our common knowledge, that the formation of the interference pattern is related to a spatially incoherent light source. Our experimental scheme is very similar to Gabor's original proposal of holography[1], just with an incoherent source replacing the coherent one. In the statistical ensemble of the incoherent source, each sample field produces a sample interference pattern between object wave and reference wave. These patterns completely differ from each other due to the fluctuation of the source field distribution. Surprisingly, the sum of a great number of sample patterns exhibits explicitly an interference pattern, which contains all the information of the object and is equivalent to a hologram in the coherent light case. In this sense our approach would be valuable in holography and other interference techniques for the case where coherent source is unavailable, such as x-ray and electron sources., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

We propose a new scheme to achieve sub-Rayleigh resolution of interference pattern with independent laser beams. We perform an experimental observation of a double-slit interference with two orthogonally polarized laser beams. The resolution of the interference pattern measured by a two-photon detection is doubled provided the two beams illuminate the double-slit with certain incident angles. The scheme is simple and can be in favor of both high intensity and perfect visibility., Comment: 2 pages, 6 figures