Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) is a widely used technique for measuring the size distributions of nano- and micro-particles dispersed in a liquid. The principle is based on the analysis of the temporal fluctuations of light scattered by the particles at a given scattering angle. However, single-angle DLS measurements may lack resolution and robustness, particularly for multimodal and/or polydisperse samples. Multi-angle Dynamic Light Scattering (MDLS) provides more robust, reproducible and accurate Particle Size Distributions (PSDs) than single-angle DLS. In this paper, a novel inversion method based on Bayesian inference is proposed for the estimation of the number PSD from MDLS measurements. The efficiency and robustness of this method is demonstrated through simulated and real data.

No abstract

We studied the behavior of the plasma induced by a nanosecond infrared (1064 nm) laser pulse on a metallic target (Al) during its propagation into argon ambient gas at the atmospheric pressure and especially over the delay interval ranging from several hundred nanoseconds to several microseconds. In such interval, the plasma is particularly interesting as a spectroscopic emission source for laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIBS). We show a convoluted effect between laser fluence and pulse duration on the structure and the emission property of the plasma. With a relatively high fluence of about 160 J/cm2 where a strong plasma shielding effect is observed, a short pulse of about 4 ns duration is shown to be significantly more efficient to excite the optical emission from the ablation vapor than a long pulse of about 25 ns duration. While with a lower fluence of about 65 J/cm2, a significantly more efficient excitation is observed with the long pulse. We interpret our observations by considering the post-ablation interaction between the generated plume and the tailing part of the laser pulse. We demonstrate that the ionization of the layer of ambient gas surrounding the ablation vapor plays an important role in plasma shielding. Such ionization is the consequence of laser-supported absorption wave and directly dependent on the laser fluence and the pulse duration. Further observations of the structure of the generated plume in its early stage of expansion support our explanations.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization signals on human metaphase chromosomes are detected by a near-field scanning optical microscope. This makes it possible to localize and identify several fluorescently labeled genomic DNA fragments on a single chromosome with a resolution superior to traditional fluorescence microscopy. Several nucleic acid probes have been used. The hybridization signals are well resolved in the near-field fluorescence images, and the exact location of the probes can be correlated to the topography as it is afforded by the shear-force feedback.

The realization of an optical fibre sensor applied to cryogenic temperature measurement in harsh environments is presented. The measurement principle is based on the analysis of the decay-time of the fluorescence emitted by special doped crystals, the excited state lifetimes of which are greatly dependent on temperature. The sensor is intended to work in the presence of strong perturbations encountered on the testing benches of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen turbo-pumps of the Ariane 5 Vulcan engine developed by 'la Societb Europbenne de Propulsion (SEP)'.