The Optical Spectroscopy and Microscopy Lab provides users with the ability to follow various optical processes with time scales ranging from femtoseconds to hours. The spectroscopy system measures pump-probe transient absorption and the microscopy system allows one to measure confocal time-lapse sequences.

Transient absorption spectroscopy measures the dynamics of electronically excited states as well as the recovery of the ground state population. We can assist in many different experimental systems such as biological complexes, molecules in solution, thin films, supramolecular structures, plasmonic systems, and nanoparticles.

Optical Pump – Terahertz Probe time domain spectroscopy allows us to follow the dynamics of charge carriers for research in many fields such as photovoltaic systems, water dynamics, and protein dynamics.

Our time-lapse confocal microscopy system can follow events in tissue cultures using various fluorescent probes for biological processes. We can monitor processes in small animals and tissue cultures by triggering photoactive molecules and following events in various wavelengths from the UV to the NIR.