{"paper":{"title":"Nanoscale Thermotropic Phase Transitions Enhance Photothermal Microscopy Signals","license":"http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/","headline":"","cross_cats":["cond-mat.mtrl-sci"],"primary_cat":"physics.optics","authors_text":"A. Nicholas G. Parra-Vasquez (LP2N), Brahim Lounis (LP2N), Laura Oudjedi (LP2N), Laurent Cognet (LP2N)","submitted_at":"2012-09-26T12:51:18Z","abstract_excerpt":"The photothermal heterodyne imaging technique enabled studies of individual weakly absorbing nano-objects in various environments. It uses a photo-induced change in the refractive index of the environment. Taking advantage of the dramatic index of refraction change occurring around a thermotropic liquid crystalline phase transition, we demonstrate a 40-fold signal-to-noise ratio enhancement for gold nanoparticles imaged in 4-Cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) liquid crystals over those in a water environment. We studied the photothermal signal as a function of probe laser polarization, heating powe"},"claims":{"count":0,"items":[],"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"source":{"id":"1209.5918","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":null,"model_set":{},"created_at":null,"strongest_claim":"","one_line_summary":"","pipeline_version":null,"weakest_assumption":"","pith_extraction_headline":""},"references":{"count":0,"sample":[],"resolved_work":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}