Friday July 1, 2005
11 AM - 12:30 PM
ENG Z-50 Auditorium

Office Hours:
Friday July 1, 2005
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
ENG B-30

"Characterization at Nano-Scale using Elastic- and Evanescent-Wave Scattering"
Prof. Pinar Menguc
University of Kentucky

Characterization of size, shape and structure of small particles (within the size range of 10 nm to 100 μm), is required in many engineering applications and materials and manufacturing processes. Light-scattering techniques are used extensively for these purposes. The change in polarization of light scattered by particles may yield a better measure of particle morphology. In this presentation two separate techniques to characterize fine particles within suspensions and on surfaces are discussed. Theoretical and experimental aspects of elliptically-polarized light scattering based particle characterization approach are outlined, and the extension of this approach to surface-wave based approach is given. The impact of this second approach for real-time monitoring of self assembly processes is explained. Additional characterization approaches using quantum dots and fluorescent tags are outlined, and future challenges are discussed.