Applications Of Time Resolved Optical Spectroscopy

Time-resolved optical spectroscopy has developed rapidly in recent years, and the development of various types of lasers for ultrashort light pulses has enabled spectroscopists to increase the temporal resolution to the picosecond, and even femtosecond, range. The field of ultrafast spectroscopy, while still in its early stages, is evolving rapidly and a compilation of methods and results, their classification and critical evaluation is therefore greatly in demand. This book meets that need by summarizing and classifying current knowledge on the application of ultrafast optical methods in photophysics, photochemistry, photobiology and other related fields. Written in textbook style, it begins with a short summary and discussion of the relevant methods and devices, ranging from millisecond flash photolysis to femtosecond devices, and covering the detection of short-lived intermediates by time-resolved Raman spectroscopy. This is followed by a detailed description of data analysis and interpretation of results for various experimental methods. The authors discuss very thoroughly the precision of experimental data, the potential of data-acquisition systems and the necessity of combining various experimental methods in order to investigate complex processes. Applications are discussed from the point of view of scientists interested in the detection and investigation of (photo)reactions by means of time-resolved optical methods. The processes occurring in photophysics, photochemistry and photobiology are therefore described in connection with the information available from time-resolved optical spectra. The book is suitable both as an advanced text for students of physics and chemistry, and as a reference work for professional spectroscopists. It provides them with an introduction to the variety of processes occurring after excitation of molecules and a thorough understanding of the potentials and limitations of various ultrafast spectroscopic methods which are used to observe these processes.

Time-Resolved Spectroscopy in Complex Liquids is intended to introduce the experimental researchers to state-of-the-art techniques in the study of the dynamics of complex liquids. The contributors concentrate on time-resolved optical spectroscopy, which recently produced many relevant results and new information about complex liquids. This is an emerging topic of soft-matter science and this book provides the most up-to-date account of new development.

Optical Spectroscopy bridges a gap by providing a background on optics while focusing on spectroscopic methodologies, tools and instrumentations. The book introduces the most widely used steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, makes comparisions between them, and provides the methodology for estimating the most important characteristics of the techniques such as sensitivity and time resolution. Recent developments in lasers, optics and electronics has had a significant impact on modern optical spectroscopic methods and instrumentations. Combining the newest lasers, advanced detectors and other high technology components researchers are able to assemble a spectroscopic instrument with characteristics that were hardly achievable a decade ago. This book will help readers to sourse spectroscopy tools to solve their problems by providing information on the most widely used methods while introducing readers to the principles of quantitative analysis of the application range for each methodology. In addition, background information is provided on optics, optical measurements and laser physics, which is of crucial importance for spectroscopic applications. * provides an overview of the most popular absorption/emission spectroscopy techniques* discusses application range, advantages and disadvantages are compared for different spectroscopy methods* provides introductions to the relevant topics such as optics and laser physics

For a host of reasons, nonlinear optical spectroscopy is a valuable tool for biochemical applications where minimally invasive diagnostics is desired. Biochemical Applications of Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy presents the latest technological advances and offers a perspective on future directions in this important field. Written by an international panel of experts, this volume begins with a comparison of nonlinear optical spectroscopy and x-ray crystallography. The text examines the use of multiphoton fluorescence to study chemical phenomena in the skin, the use of nonlinear optics to enhance traditional optical spectroscopy, and the multimodal approach, which incorporates several spectroscopic techniques in one instrument. Later chapters explore Raman microscopy, third-harmonic generation microscopy, and non-linear Raman microspectroscopy. The text explores the promise of beam shaping and the use of broadband laser pulse generated through continuum generation and an optical pulse shaper. Lastly, the book discusses the effects of spatial beam shaping on the generated nonlinear Raman signals in a tightly focused geometry and provides insight into the extension of nonlinear optical spectroscopy to the nanoscale through the use of plasmonic tip-enhanced arrangement. With novel experimental approaches to this technology expanding day-by-day, the book’s balanced coverage from a wide range of international contributors not only elucidates important achievements, but also outlines future directions in this dynamic and promising field.

Jöbsis was the first to describe the in vivo application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), also called diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS). NIRS was originally designed for the clinical monitoring of tissue oxygenation, and today it has also become a useful tool for neuroimaging studies (functional near-infrared spectroscopy, fNIRS). However, difficulties in the selective and quantitative measurements of tissue hemoglobin (Hb), which have been central in the NIRS field for over 40 years, remain to be solved. To overcome these problems, time-domain (TD) and frequency-domain (FD) measurements have been tried. Presently, a wide range of NIRS instruments are available, including commonly available commercial instruments for continuous wave (CW) measurements, based on the modified Beer–Lambert law (steady-state domain measurements). Among these measurements, the TD measurement is the most promising approach, although compared with CW and FD measurements, TD measurements are less common, due to the need for large and expensive instruments with poor temporal resolution and limited dynamic range. However, thanks to technological developments, TD measurements are increasingly being used in research, and also in various clinical settings. This Special Issue highlights issues at the cutting edge of TD DOS and diffuse optical tomography (DOT). It covers all aspects related to TD measurements, including advances in hardware, methodology, the theory of light propagation, and clinical applications.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry Collections presents critical reviews from the journal Topics in Current Chemistry organized in topical volumes. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field.

This concise and carefully developed text offers a reader friendly guide to the basics of time-resolved spectroscopy with an emphasis on experimental implementation. The authors carefully explain and relate for the reader how measurements are connected to the core physical principles. They use the time-dependent wave packet as a building block for understanding quantum dynamics, progressively advancing to more complex topics. The topics are discussed in paired sections, one discussing the theory and the next presenting the related experimental methods. A wide range of readers including students and newcomers to the field will gain a clear and practical understanding of how to measure aspects of molecular dynamics such as wave packet motion, intramolecular vibrational relaxation, and electron-electron coupling, and how to describe such measurements mathematically.

Time-Resolved Spectroscopy in Complex Liquids is intended to introduce the experimental researchers to state-of-the-art techniques in the study of the dynamics of complex liquids. The contributors concentrate on time-resolved optical spectroscopy, which recently produced many relevant results and new information about complex liquids. This is an emerging topic of soft-matter science and this book provides the most up-to-date account of new development.

The recent improvements in the techniques for producing very short duration pulses of laser light have allowed chemists to study processes taking place on similarly short timescales, now typically in the range of 10 to 10 seconds. This book describes methods for generating and characterising picosecond pulses, and then provides a discussion of current experimental techniques for the study of ultrafast chemical processes. The applications to specific chemical problems are divided into chapters on the vapour, liquid, and solid phases.