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Spectroscopy of levitated systems
The goal of this master project is to design and set up an RF trap for nano- and microparticles.
This trap should provide sufficient numerical aperture for the spectroscopic investigation of the suspended object. The final goal of the project is to collect a Raman spectrum from a levitated particle.
In recent years, optical trapping of dielectric nanoparticles has seen a revival and feedback cooling of their center-of-mass motion to a regime well below 10 quanta has been demonstrated [1, 2, 3]. Internal degrees of freedom of levitated objects have remained largely unexplored [4]. An alternative method to suspend a single (electrically charged) particle of microscopic or nanoscopic dimensions in free-space is by using RF-fields [5]. In such RF-traps, it is possible to levitate particles of different materials, possibly with interesting internal degrees of freedom [6]. One example would be lattice vibrations, which can be probed by Raman spectroscopy.
The goal of this master project is to design and set up an RF trap for nano- and microparticles. This trap should provide sufficient numerical aperture for the spectroscopic investigation of the suspended object. The final goal of the project is to collect a Raman spectrum from a levitated particle of a suitable material.
References:
[1] Ashkin, Optical Trapping and Manipulation of Neutral Particles Using Lasers, World Scientific
Publishing
[2] Gieseler et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 103603 (2012)
[3] Tebbenjohanns et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 013603 (2020)
[4] Preston et al., Langmuir 1, 365 (1985)
[5] Major, Charged particle traps, Springer (2005)
[6] Kane, Phys. Rev. B 82, 115441 (2010)
Prerequisites:
Good knowledge of and strong interest in optics and electronics, practical lab skills, quantitative approach.
In recent years, optical trapping of dielectric nanoparticles has seen a revival and feedback cooling of their center-of-mass motion to a regime well below 10 quanta has been demonstrated [1, 2, 3]. Internal degrees of freedom of levitated objects have remained largely unexplored [4]. An alternative method to suspend a single (electrically charged) particle of microscopic or nanoscopic dimensions in free-space is by using RF-fields [5]. In such RF-traps, it is possible to levitate particles of different materials, possibly with interesting internal degrees of freedom [6]. One example would be lattice vibrations, which can be probed by Raman spectroscopy. The goal of this master project is to design and set up an RF trap for nano- and microparticles. This trap should provide sufficient numerical aperture for the spectroscopic investigation of the suspended object. The final goal of the project is to collect a Raman spectrum from a levitated particle of a suitable material.
References: [1] Ashkin, Optical Trapping and Manipulation of Neutral Particles Using Lasers, World Scientific Publishing [2] Gieseler et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 103603 (2012) [3] Tebbenjohanns et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 013603 (2020) [4] Preston et al., Langmuir 1, 365 (1985) [5] Major, Charged particle traps, Springer (2005) [6] Kane, Phys. Rev. B 82, 115441 (2010)
Prerequisites: Good knowledge of and strong interest in optics and electronics, practical lab skills, quantitative approach.