More Dots

I tried the HeNe laser on the quantum dots this morning. Just as I suspected... Extreme saturation! An enormous red peak at 633nm dominating the entire spectrum. So, I asked Michael for filters (just as he was about to go for lunch - I am so considerate). I used a 10^0.5 filter to reduce the power and it seemed to help find the little quantum dot-related emission range amongst the (still very large) red peak. I meant to spend approximately 30 minutes in the lab and I ended up there for two hours fiddling with filters and set-ups that might reduce stray red light.
Later, I'll talk about the experiment I'm going to be setting up over the next couple of months. I'm waiting on some components before I can start (attempting) to build it. I promised myself I'd spend the afternoon finishing my Nuclear & Particle homework (and look what time it is already!)...