Horiba XploRA-nano TERS/TEPL
The XploRA PLUS Raman Microscope head-based tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) and tip enhanced photoluminescence (TEPL) from Horiba, Inc. is a fully integrated TERS/TEPL system based on SmartSPM state of the art scanning probe microscope (SPM) and XploRA Raman micro-spectrometer. It uses a feedback light source with wavelength of 1300 nm. Filters at the feedback light source and detector avoid interference from the lasers used for spectroscopy. This allows for co-localized and simultaneous TERS and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements with excitation wavelengths of 532 nm and 638 nm. Some of the main instrument features are:
- Fully motorized and automated SPM feedback laser alignment.
- Automatic cantilever to the spectroscopic laser alignment after AFM tip exchange.
- Motorized sample scanning stage with 10 nm step resolution and 70 x 50 mm X-Y movement range.
- SPM/TERS scanner range 100 µm x 100 µm x 15 µm.
- Conductive AFM measurement module allows low current Kelvin Probe measurements in a range of 100 fA to 10 μA .
- Top-down and side spectroscopy excitation and collection allowing different measurement geometries.
- The SPM and the optical microscope can be operated as stand-alone instruments.
- The optical microscope is fully automated, truly confocal and capable of point and fast spectroscopic imaging.
- Objective lenses available for confocal mode include:
- 100x/0.9; WD = 0.21 mm
- 10x/0.25; WD = 10.6 mm
- 5x/0.1; WD = 20 mm
- Confocal Raman / PL operation with a spatial resolution of 500 nm in XY and 1.5 μm in Z.
- In TERS / TEPL mode, spatial resolution is dictated by SPM probe diameter and can be better than 10 nm.
- Objective lenses available in TERS mode include:
- 100x/0.7; WD = 2 mm
- 10x/0.28; WD = 34 mm
- Integrated spectrometer with four automated tunable gratings (600, 1200, 1800, and 2400 gr/mm) enabling different spectral ranges and resolutions.
- Spectral resolutions of 1.4 cm-1 (532 nm laser) and 1.2 cm-1 (638 nm laser) at 520 cm-1 .
- The spectral detector is a deep-cooled, front-illuminated low-noise / high-sensitivity EMCCD detector featuring a dark current of < 0.003 e- /pixel/s and readout noise < 1 e- at 3 MHz.
- Fully motorized, software-controlled polarization optics.
- High efficiency filters allow Raman detection from 50 cm-1 and 60 cm-1 for the red and the green laser, respectively.
- Photocurrent mapping module for photocurrent, photovoltage, electroluminescence applications, which provides precision voltage and current sourcing and measurement capabilities.
*****************************************************************************
This tool was purchased with funds from the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (I-MRSEC). Please include the following acknowledgement in all your scientific publications that benefited from the use of this equipment:
“This work was carried out in part in the Materials Research Laboratory Central Research Facilities, University of Illinois, using equipment funded through Illinois MRSEC, NSF Award DMR-2309037.”
Also, please use the following link to report your publications (DOI or full reference) that acknowledge the use of the MRL facilities in general: