Course Contents
The lecture covers topics in materials optics and gives an overview on how to use light in order to characterize materials. Conventional light microscopy methods are discussed with respect to their applications in (bio)materials science. Theoretical and practical aspects of modern super-resolution techniques are discussed.

 

Electromagnetic Waves at interfaces

 Electromagnetic waves

Reflection and transmission: External reflection

Reflection and transmission: Internal reflection

Reflection and transmission: Frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR)

Reflection and transmission: Total internal reflection microscopy

 

Electromagnetic properties of materials

The dielectric response

The Lorentz model of dielectrics

Drude‘s model for metals

 

Birefringence

Optical Anisotropy

Anisotropic dispersion

Uniaxial Materials

Biaxial and other Materials

 

Optical Activity, Electro Optics, and Magneto Optics

Optical activity

Electro-Optics

Magneto-Optic Effects

 

Paraxial Optics: Thin Lenses, Thick Lenses, and ABCD Formalism

Curved mirrors

Thin Lenses

Thick Lenses

ABCD Matrices

 

Optical aberrations and stops

Aberrations

Stops in Optical Systems

Optical devices

 

Widefield Microscopy

The compound microscope

Resolution

Bright field microscopy

Dark field

Phase contrast

Differential Interference Contrast (DIC)

Polarisation microscopy

Fluorescence microscopy

 

Confocal Microscopy

The confocal principle

Scanning

The pinhole

Airy Scanning

 

Super resolution microscopy – Beating Abbe‘s limit

3-D methods based on nonlinear optical phenomena

Common ideas

2-photon excitation

Second harmonic generation

4Pi-microscopy:  Looking at the specimen from both sides

Structured illumination microscopy (SIM)

Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy

Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) or (fluorescence) photoactivation localization microscopy ((F)PALM)

 

Scanning nearfield optical microscopy (SNOM/NSOM)

The basic idea

Near field probes

Aperture SNOM

Scattering SNOM (s-SNOM)

 

 

Raman Microscopy

Raman Scattering

Raman microscopy

Symmetry of moleculatr vibrations

Symmetry of phonon modes

 

 

If time permits:

Light Sources, Lasers and Coherence

 

Literature
Eugene Hecht, Optics, Pearson, 5th Ed 2017

John Ferraro et al., Introductory Raman Spectroscopy, Academic Press, 2nd Ed. 2003

Jerome Mertz, Introduction to Optical Microscopy, Roberts and Co., 2009

Jörg Haus, Optische Mikroskopie: Funktionsweise und Kontrastierverfahren, Wiley-VCH 2014

Further Grading Information
Outcomes
Students understand the interaction of electromagnetic waves with ordered materials, in particular with non-isotropic materials in terms of polarization, electro- and magneto optics, optical activity and photon-phonon interaction. The student is able to design a simple optical device in order to perform optical measurements on materials, in terms of defining position and quality of lenses, filters, stops, mirrors, light sources and detectors. The student is able to handle a light microscope in order to achieve a homogenously exposed image with high contrast of typical specimen in (bio)materials science. The student understands the reason for Abbe’s resolution limit and knows how this limitation can be overcome in specific cases. The student is able to choose the appropriate super-resolution technique for a specific problem in (bio)materials science.

 

Semester: Verão 2024