Scanning Optical Microscopy at 500 A Resolution

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A near field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) will be designed and constructed which will have at least 500A spatial resolution (using visible light) and spectral selectivity. It will be based on the near field collimation of radiation and on recent demonstration of techniques to transmit visible light through apertures as small as 1/16 the wavelength. Contrast and resolution tests will be completed on patterns generated with the electron beam lithographic capabilities at the National Research and Resource Facility for Submicron Structures at Cornell. Various modes of illumination and detection will be investigated to maximize the contrast and signal to noise in this new form of super-resolution light microscopy. The working scanning optical microscope that will be constructed will have a spatial resolution comparable to that of a scanning electron microscope but will be inherently non-destructive since it does not use ionizing radiation and does not require the sample to be placed in a vacuum. It will have enormous potential in biology and medicine since it will be able to view living systems at a resolution between 80A (the limit of chemical labeling methods) and 2500A (the limit of fluorescence microscopy). Such an instrument will permit non-destructive measurements for integrated circuit metrology.