270053 UE Forschungsbeispiel Femto- und Nano-Technologie an Grenzflächen (2021S)

Practical participation and self-dependent experimental work with femtosecond laser systems on the topic of nanotechnology and physical chemistry.

Possible topics are, depending on current resources:

Naghilou
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Modification and characterization of spider silk
Spider silk is one of the most fascinating materials in nature and its characterization and tailoring its properties is of great interest. In this course the following will be covered:
A femtosecond solid-state laser will be used to modify spider silk by producing laser induced periodic surface structures along the silk fibers
We will employ µ-Raman spectroscopy to characterize the secondary protein structure of various spider silks in pristine and modified state.
The silks will also be imaged with scanning electron and cross polarized microscopy.

Saak
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In this course we will employ a technique called sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, used to study the molecular properties of different surfaces. SFG is a non-linear process which relies on the use of ultrafast femtosecond laser pulses.
One of our current research topics is the study of water surfaces, which play a key role in many atmospheric processes and their influence on the global climate is currently the largest source of uncertainty in predictive models.

Students participating in this course can work on:
- the building a new SFG experiment, or
- the experimental investigation of aqueous solutions using an existing setup.