Abstract: A superlens that includes, in one example embodiment, a positive-index material adjacent to a negative-index material, wherein the negative-index material includes aluminum. In a more specific embodiment, the positive-index material includes a dielectric layer, such as Poly(Methyl MethAcrylate) (PMMA), which is less than 50 nanometers thick. The negative-index material includes a smoothed aluminum layer less than 50 nanometers thick. The aluminum layer is disposed on the dielectric layer or vice versa, forming a superlens comprising the aluminum layer and the dielectric layer. In another embodiment, the superlens further includes plural aluminum layers separated by one or more layers of positive-index material. A mask is adjacent to the positive-index material. The mask may include one or more features that extend into a transparent substrate. The mask is positioned so that the positive-index material separates the mask from the smoothed aluminum layer.

Abstract: A cost-effective broadband tunable Fabry-Perot interferometer uses entropic, rather than enthalpic, materials to provide the compliant support for the interferometer's movable mirror. Entropic materials exhibit an entropic plateau region over a wide frequency range with a Young's modulus much lower than enthalpic materials, linear elastic behavior over a wide deformation range, and, in certain geometries, energy and stress behavior that tend to stabilize the movable mirror during deformation. The compliant support can be configured in a variety of geometries including compression, tension, sheer and diaphragm and of a variety of materials including elastomers, aerogels or other long chained polymers.

Abstract: A apparatus for studying the effects of steady and transient flow fields on a sample. The apparatus includes: (a) a flow chamber through which a sample can flow comprising a port arranged to accommodate an analytical probe for measuring the properties of the sample as it moves through the flow chamber; (b) a temperature-controlled thermal reservoir that houses the flow chamber; (c) a sample reservoir comprising a chamber in communication with the flow chamber; (d) a displacement piston arranged to apply pressure, upon activation, to a sample residing in the chamber of the sample reservoir to force the sample into the flow chamber; and (e) an actuator arranged to apply pressure to the displacement piston to activate the displacement piston.