Development of a Solid Immersion Lens Microscope for Optical Spectroscopy

该奖项来自主要研究仪器项目，支持亚利桑那州立大学的仪器开发。该仪器是一种固体浸没透镜（SIL）光学光谱显微镜，空间分辨率至少为200nm。SIL显微镜将具有自动对焦系统和SIL样品分离的主动控制。这些创新将使纳米尺度空间分辨率的光谱学常规可行。提出的应用将强调拉曼和荧光成像。基于sil的微拉曼光谱提供了与近场扫描光学显微镜相当或更好的空间分辨率。随着空间分辨率的提高，信号强度也随之增加。此外，SIL显微镜可以通过使用全局照明技术直接在检测器上收集光谱图像。最初的应用领域包括碳纳米管，硅上的Ge和SiGe量子点，以及光合膜的光学特性。该仪器将由研究生建造，他们将获得仪器开发方面的宝贵经验。该奖项来自主要研究仪器项目，支持设计和建造用于光谱成像的固体浸没透镜（SIL）显微镜，其空间分辨率至少为200纳米。由于可以以无与伦比的精度测量光的波长，因此对这种仪器的需求非常迫切，因此光谱学是研究材料的首选技术之一。然而，衍射效应对任何光学技术的空间分辨率构成了一个基本限制，对于传统仪器来说，这意味着通常不可能从纳米尺度的物体上获得空间分辨率的光谱信息。克服衍射极限的另一种技术是使用具有纳米尺寸孔径的光纤。与这种方法相比，sil -显微镜将具有两个基本优势：更高的光通量和记录光谱图像的能力，而无需在样品上物理扫描光纤尖端。该仪器将由研究生建造，他们将获得仪器开发方面的宝贵经验。

This award from the Major Research Instrumentation program supports instrument development at to Arizona State University. The instrument is a solid-immersion lens (SIL) microscope for optical spectroscopy with a spatial resolution of at least 200 nm. The SIL microscope will feature an autofocus system and active control of the SIL-sample separation. These innovations will make optical spectroscopy with nm-scale spatial resolution routinely practicable. The proposed applications will emphasize Raman and fluorescence imaging. SIL-based micro- Raman spectroscopy offers a spatial resolution comparable or better than Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy. The signal strength for SIL-based spectroscopy increases as the spatial resolution is improved. Furthermore, the SIL microscope makes it possible to collect spectroscopic images directly on a detector by using a global illumination technique. Initial areas of application include carbon nano-tubes, Ge and SiGe quantum dots on silicon, and the optical properties of photosynthetic membranes. The instrument will be build by graduate students who will gain valuable experience in instrument development.This award from the Major Research Instrumentation program supports a project to design and build a Solid Immersion Lens (SIL)microscope for spectroscopic imaging with a spatial resolution of at least 200 nm. There is a critical need for such an instrument because the wavelength of light can be measured with unmatched precision, so that optical spectroscopy is one of the preferred techniques for the study of materials. However, diffraction effects pose a fundamental limit to the spatial resolution of any optical technique, and for conventional instruments this means that it is generally impossible to obtain spatially resolved spectroscopic information from nanoscale objects.An alternative technique to overcome the diffraction limit is the use of optical fibers with nanometer-size apertures. The SIL-microscope will have two fundamental advantages over this approach a much higher light-throughput and the ability to record spectroscopic images without physically scanning a fiber tip over a sample. The instrument will be build by graduate students who will gain valuable experience in instrument development.