Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has drawn immense interest among researchers worldwide since its development in 2015. The laser writing strategy used to synthesize LIG is particularly advantageous, as it enables the direct patterning of graphene with micron-sized features. There have been many attempts to reduce the feature size of LIG in recent years, however, the studies have shown wide variations in the methods and findings. As such, this work presents a rigorous study on the irradiation of polyimide via an ultraviolet (355-nm) laser to realize micron-scale, high-quality LIG. Our work shows that there is often a tradeoff between micron-scale features and high-quality material, as the tightly focused beams that are demanded for small features are predisposed to ablation of the material. This work investigates such LIG synthesis by correlating the characteristics of the material, via scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, to the optical fluence incident on the polyimide substrate, providing a measure of applied optical energy per unit area. The findings reveal that—given suitable attention to the optical fluence—high-quality LIG with Raman 2D-to-G peak height ratios approaching 0.7 can be synthesized with feature sizes down to 18 ± 2 μm. Furthermore, optical fluences between 40 to 50 J/cm2 produced the optimal LIG characteristics, as such optical fluences promote graphenization while minimizing ablation. The authors hope the findings of this study provide a foundation for the use of LIG in future integrated technologies.
In this work, we consider the governing limits of spatial resolution and spectral bandwidth in pursuing implementations of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy on the subwavelength scale. We discuss the need for effective focusing elements in driving sufficient levels of power from the (macroscopic) incident THz beam down to the (microscopic) focal spot. Such elements, when effective, enable large signal strengths and wide bandwidths, but this has proven to be challenging in contemporary implementations of near-field THz imaging and spectroscopy. To this end, we show theoretical and experimental results for focusing via parabolic mirrors, high-resolution lenses, and engineered dielectric spheres, with the latter yielding THz microjets with especially intense and small focal spots. We then discuss the need for near-field spatial constriction, to drive the spatial resolution down to an even smaller scale, and show that this constriction can lead to dispersive (i.e., frequency-dependent) characteristics. In this work, we demonstrate spatial constriction via simple circular apertures, which function as high-pass filters. Ultimately, our theoretical and experimental results reveal that implementations of THz spectroscopy on the subwavelength scale are governed by a spatial-spectral product—whereby reductions in the aperture's diameter (to improve the spatial resolution) raise the aperture's cutoff frequency (at the expense of spectral bandwidth).
This work demonstrates the realization of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy on a subwavelength scale. We do so by using dielectric spheres as focusing elements and apertures as spatially constricting elements for THz radiation. Such a configuration forms intense, subwavelength-sized THz microjets. Two implementations are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of THz microjets, as follows: apertured THz plane waves and apertured THz microjets. Seven aperture diameters were chosen for each implementation to discern their capabilities at the subwavelength scale. We investigated the effectiveness of each implementation in mapping the material characteristics of the sample onto the THz beam. Such analyses show that apertured THz microjets were able to map material characteristics (via refractive index and extinction coefficient) onto the beam (via phase and amplitude) effectively and reliably. This is expected as the beam produced by apertured THz microjets has a small cross-sectional area (apertures) and high intensity (THz microjets). Here, we illustrate the capabilities of apertured THz microjets for a biological specimen, being lactose, to show the potential for biological applications. Overall, this work demonstrates the ability of apertured THz microjets to perform THz spectroscopy at a subwavelength scale. Such findings could bring about biological characterization with cellular-scale resolution.
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