Electronics:
Resistive networks, filters, and op-amp circuits
for measurement
Three weeks of the course is focused on electronics and will include a
series of labs covering resistive networks, filters, and op-amp circuits
that are commonly used for measurement. This section will also provide
an introduction to computer control and acquisition with Labview and Matlab.
Mechanics: Scanning probe microscopy
Home-built scanning probe microscopes will be configured for imaging
surfaces with nanometer-scale resolution, conducting sensitive force
measurements, and exploring the ultimate detection limits of microcantilevers.
Such instruments are essential for investigating the mechanics of single
biomolecules, cellular adhesion and modulus, as well as the physical
properties of biomaterials. The goal of these labs is to gain hands-on
experience with these instruments in the lab and understand the basic
principles that they use to achieve exquisite sensitivity.
Optics: Fluorescent microscopy, image processing,
and optical traps
Approximately half of the semester is devoted to optical microscopy
and imaging. In the labs, we will build microscopes for fluorescent
imaging and apply them to immunolabeling and single particle tracking
experiments. We will also construct an optical trap for high sensitivity
force measurements. The lectures will cover Fourier optics and various
approaches for image processing.