Coupled Atomic Force and Raman Microscope

对于许多纳米级样品，形貌和化学结构的分析对于揭示其组成和功能是非常有价值的。耦合原子力-拉曼显微镜非常适合于在大气或液体条件下以相关（即共定位）或甚至同时的方式记录化学、形貌以及机械信息。一个详细的结构信息，在纳米范围内的空间分辨率，获得使用原子力显微镜。然而，拉曼光谱的空间分辨率通常受到衍射极限的限制，即，获得几百纳米的化学信息。通过使用等离子体纳米颗粒或用等离子体材料功能化的AFM针尖，可以显著增强拉曼信号强度和空间分辨率。通过激发局部表面等离子体共振，可以实现多个数量级的信号增强，这甚至允许通过拉曼光谱检测单个分子。例如，该仪器将用于监测在金属纳米颗粒附近发生的单个分子的化学反应。通过同时测量纳米结构的形貌和拉曼信号，可以揭示纳米结构和信号增强之间的关系，并且可以详细研究各种条件下的化学反应。在波茨坦大学，原子力显微镜和（空间分辨）拉曼光谱被广泛使用，然而，还没有仪器允许这两种方法的相关性。所要求的仪器应该提供的工作能力的混合纳米结构在波茨坦大学的新教授，并使各种新的，部分合作，研究项目。

For many nanoscale samples an analysis of the topographic as well as the chemical structure is extremely valuable to reveal their composition und functions. A coupled atomic force – Raman microscope is ideally suited to record chemical, topographic as well as mechanical information in a correlative, i.e. colocalized, or even simultaneous way under atmospheric or liquid conditions. A detailed structural information with a spatial resolution in the nanometer range is obtained using atomic force microscopy. However, the spatial resolution of Raman spectroscopy is typically restricted by the diffraction limit, i.e. chemical information is obtained for several hundred nanometers. Through the use of plasmonic nanoparticles or AFM tips functionalized with plasmonic materials, the Raman signal intensity and the spatial resolution can be significantly enhanced. Through excitation of the localized surface plasmon resonance a signal enhancement of many orders of magnitude can be achieved, which even allows for the detection of single molecules by Raman spectroscopy. For example, the instrument will be used to monitor chemical reactions of individual molecules taking place in close vicinity to metallic nanoparticles. By measuring simultaneously the topography of nanostructures and the Raman signal, relationships between nanostructure and signal enhancement can be revealed, and chemical reactions can be studied in detail under a variety of conditions. At the University of Potsdam, both atomic force microscopy and (spatially resolved) Raman spectroscopy are extensively used, however, there is no instrument yet that allows for correlation of both methods. The requested instrument is supposed to provide the working ability of the new professorship for hybrid nanostructures at the University of Potsdam and to enable a variety of new, partly cooperative, research projects.