An optical sensor apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus comprises: a sample holder, configured to hold a sample, in operation; a probe, comprising an arrangement of luminescent quantum dots; an optical source, configured to optically excite the luminescent quantum dots; an optical detector, configured to read optical signals from the quantum dots; and a circuit. The circuit is connected to the optical detector and configured to determine correlations between optical signals read by the optical detector. The probe is positioned or positionable relatively to, e.g., at a distance from, the sample, such that optical signals transmitted by each of the quantum dots are influenced by the sample, in operation. The present invention is further directed to related methods of operation and fabrication methods.

A method for determining the thermal donor concentration of a test sample made of a semiconductor material, includes providing a reference sample made of the same semiconductor material and having a known thermal donor concentration; measuring a photoluminescence signal of the reference sample for a photon energy comprised between 0.65 eV and 0.8 eV, the photoluminescence signal of the reference sample exhibiting an intensity peak in a photon energy range of 0.65 eV to 0.8 eV; determining, from the photoluminescence signal, an experimental relationship between the thermal donor concentration and a parameter representative of the intensity peak; measuring a photoluminescence signal of the test sample for at least one photon energy comprised between 0.65 eV and 0.8 eV; determining from the photoluminescence signal a specific value of the parameter; and determining the thermal donor concentration from the specific value of the parameter by using the experimental relationship.

An object carrier, a system and a method is disclosed for the back light inspection of transparent or semitransparent objects. The carrier has a carrier base layer with photo luminescent properties which carries the transparent or semitransparent object on top of the layer. The transparent or semitransparent object could be a wafer and the object carrier could be a wafer chuck. At least one light source being arranged above the object carrier such that excitation light emitted from the at least one light source is directed through the transparent or semitransparent object to the layer with photo luminescent properties. The light returned from the layer with photo luminescent properties is collected by an objective and registered by a sensor.

A diamond probe is suitable to be attached to an Atomic Force Microscope and is created with a tip that incorporates a one or more Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centers located near the end of the tip. The probe arm acts as an optical waveguide to propagate the emission from the NV center with high efficiency and a beveled end directs excitation light to the NV center and directs photoluminescence light emanating from the NV center into the probe arm. The light source (or a portion of the light source), a detector, as well as an RF antenna, if used, may be mounted to the probe arm. The probe with integrated components enable excitation of photoluminescence in the NV center as well as optically detected Electron Spin Resonance (ODMR) and temperature measurements, and may further serve as a light probe utilizing the physical effect of Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED).

A diamond probe is suitable to be attached to an Atomic Force Microscope and is created with a tip that incorporates a one or more Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centers located near the end of the tip. The probe arm acts as an optical waveguide to propagate the emission from the NV center with high efficiency and a beveled end directs excitation light to the NV center and directs photoluminescence light emanating from the NV center into the probe arm. The probe tip is scanned over an area of a sample with an electric charge, such as a field effect transistor or flash memory. Optically Detected Spin Resonance (ODMR) is measured as the probe tip is scanned over the area of the sample, from which a characteristic of the area of the sample with the electric charge may be determined.

Image processor quantifies a specific biological material in a region of interest of a sample stained with a first staining reagent capable of staining the biological material and stained with a second staining reagent capable of staining a specific region of a cell without interfering with staining with the first staining reagent. A first input means inputs a first image showing the position of expression of the biological material stained with the first staining reagent; a second input means inputs a second image acquired in the same field of view as the first image and shows the morphology of the specific region of the cell stained with the second staining reagent; second image specific region extraction means extracts the specific region from the second image; and derivation means derives the region of interest based on at least the second image undergoing extraction of the specific region among the first and second image.

The invention relates to a method of detecting the interaction between at least one entity and a dielectric layer containing different electron levels in the energy band gap of the dielectric layer, the method comprising the following steps: a) depositing the entity on the dielectric layer; b) subjecting the dielectric layer and the entity deposited thereon to exciting electromagnetic radiation that does not give rise to observable luminescence in the entity itself under the conditions implemented in step c); and c) detecting the luminescence of the dielectric layer, in which the radiative and non-radiative electron transitions between the energy levels of the band gap have been influenced as a result of its interaction with the entity.

A method for detecting a defect in a multi-junction solar cell is presented. The multi-junction solar cell comprises at least two vertically stacked p-n junctions. The method comprises exciting a first p-n junction of the at least two vertically stacked p-n junctions by illuminating the solar cell with excitation light in a first excitation wavelength range, detecting photoluminescence light emitted by photoluminescence of the first p-n junction, and generating a spatially resolved first photoluminescence image of the photoluminescence light emitted by the first p-n junction. Further, a computer program product and an apparatus for detecting a defect in a multi-junction solar cell are presented.

A method for photoluminescence measurement of a sample that includes a front face and a rear face linked by a contour, the sample resting, via the rear face of same, on a receiving face of an active base. The sample also includes a first region partially delimited by the contour and that emits a photoluminescence signal of an intensity, referred to as the first intensity, that is lower at any point to the average intensity of the photoluminescence signal of the sample, referred to as the reference intensity, the active base emitting a photoluminescence signal of an intensity, referred to as the secondary intensity, that is at least equal to the reference intensity. The active base includes an edge that is set apart from the contour by an overlap distance and that delimits, with said contour, a peripheral section of the active base.

Defect detection and photoluminescence measurement of a sample directing a beam of oblique-illumination wavelength light onto a portion of the sample, directing a beam of normal-illumination wavelength light for causing one or more photoluminescing defects of the sample to emit photoluminescent light onto a portion of the sample, collecting defect scattered radiation or photoluminescence radiation from the sample, separating the radiation from the sample into a first portion of radiation in the visible spectrum, a second portion of radiation including the normal-illumination wavelength light, and at least a third portion of radiation including the oblique-illumination wavelength light, measuring one or more characteristics of the first portion, the second portion or the third portion of radiation; detecting one or more photoluminescence defects or one or more scattering defects based on the measured one or more characteristics of the first portion, the second portion or the third portion of radiation.