A specular variable angle absolute reflectometer. The device includes a light source and a mirror system in a light path of the light source. The mirror system is configured to reflect a light beam from the light source towards a sample that is optically reflective. The device also includes a roof mirror disposed in the light path after the sample. The roof mirror is configured to reflect the light beam back towards the sample. The device also includes a mechanism connected to the roof mirror. The mechanism is configured to rotate the roof mirror about an axis of the sample. The device also includes a detector in the light path after the roof mirror such that the detector receives light that has been reflected from the roof mirror, thence back to the sample, thence back to the mirror system, and thence to the detector.

Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) can be used to interrogate a surface of a sample such as a layered semiconductor structure. The SHG based sample interrogation systems may simultaneously collect different polarization components of the SHG signal at a time to provide different types of information. SHG imaging systems can provide SHG images or maps of the distribution of SHG signals over a larger area of a sample. Some such SHG imaging systems employ multiple beams and multiple detectors to capture SHG signals over an area of the sample. Some SHG imaging systems employ imaging optics to image the sample onto a detector array to form SHG images.

According to the invention there is provided a method of detecting an analyte including the steps of: i) providing a sample which contains the analyte and magnetic nanoparticles, in which the magnetic nanoparticles include a magnetic body portion which acts as a signalling vector and at least one receptor moiety attached to the body portion for binding to the analyte; ii) applying a magnetic field across at least a portion of the sample to orient the magnetic nanoparticles with respect to the applied magnetic field; iii) introducing electromagnetic radiation into the sample; iv) detecting a physical property which varies in dependence on the orientation of the magnetic nanoparticles with respect to the applied magnetic field, wherein the physical property is associated with the interaction of the electromagnetic radiation with the magnetic body portion which thereby acts as a signalling vector; and v) correlating the detected physical property with the presence of the analyte.

A system comprising a nonlinear medium (NLM), an optical transduction module, a dual homodyne detector and a processor is provided. The NLM receives at least a pump beam and issues the pump, probe and conjugate beams, where the beams are linearly polarized. Optics route the probe, the conjugate or both beams to the sample. The sample imparts polarization rotation to light that interacts therewith. The optical transduction module imparts to the interacted light an optical phase shift that is a 1:1 transduction of the polarization rotation, where at least one of the probe light or the conjugate light carries the imparted optical phase shift. The processor obtains the optical-phase shift based on respective detection signals from the dual homodyne detector and determines, based on the obtained optical-phase shift, at least one of a Faraday polarization rotation, a Kerr polarization rotation or a spin noise spectrum.

There is provided a chirped diffractive element (20) in the form of a grating (22) configured for supporting a plurality of guided mode resonances (54), which resonances (54) may be considered to comprise a standing wave. Chirping the grating (22) may allow guided mode resonances (54) to be distinguishable in terms of position within a section (34) the grating (22). An incident electromagnetic field may be coupled into at least one of the sections (34) when the electromagnetic field has a wavelength value within a predetermined wavelength range and a sample has a refractive index value within a predetermined index range. The incident electromagnetic field may be reflected by at least one of the sections (34) of the grating (22) exhibiting a guided mode resonance (54). The reflected electromagnetic field from the section (34) can then be detected by directly imaging the grating (22), thereby revealing the position of the exhibited guided mode resonance (54) in the grating (22), and thereby inferring the refractive index value of the sample.

A specular variable angle absolute reflectometer. The device includes a light source and a mirror system in a light path of the light source. The mirror system is configured to reflect a light beam from the light source towards a sample that is optically reflective. The device also includes a roof mirror disposed in the light path after the sample. The roof mirror is configured to reflect the light beam back towards the sample. The device also includes a mechanism connected to the roof mirror. The mechanism is configured to rotate the roof mirror about an axis of the sample. The device also includes a detector in the light path after the roof mirror such that the detector receives light that has been reflected from the roof mirror, thence back to the sample, thence back to the mirror system, and thence to the detector.

A semiconductor device inspection method of inspecting a semiconductor device which is an inspection object includes: a step of inputting a stimulation signal to the semiconductor device; a step of acquiring a detection signal based on a reaction of the semiconductor device to which the stimulation signal has been input; a step of generating a first in-phase image and a first quadrature image including amplitude information and phase information in the detection signal based on the detection signal and a reference signal generated based on the stimulation signal; and a step of performing, a filtering process of reducing noise on at least one of the first in-phase image and the first quadrature image and then generating a first amplitude image based on the first in-phase image and the first quadrature image.

An optical inspection device for an optical performance test of a display device including a lens part configured to transmit external light, a phase film part configured to change a phase difference of the external light and transmit the external light, and an image processor configured to obtain electrical information of the external light, in which a phase difference of the phase film part is at least 7000 nm.

An assay method for target molecules in a sample using optical emission from magnetic beads, comprising: a) preparing the magnetic beads so, if excited, they produce optical emission as a consequence of contact between the beads, reporter molecules and target molecules in the sample; b) providing the prepared magnetic beads in a solution in a container, with one or more magnets producing a magnetic field inside the container that causes the beads to aggregate into a clump inside the container in less than 30 seconds; c) exciting the optical emission from the magnetic beads in the clump; and d) measuring the optical emission from the magnetic beads in the clump.

An optical inspection device for an optical performance test of a display device including a lens part configured to transmit external light, a phase film part configured to change a phase difference of the external light and transmit the external light, and an image processor configured to obtain electrical information of the external light, in which a phase difference of the phase film part is at least 7000 nm.