Scanning Probe Optical Spectroscopy
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be used to enhance a near-field optical signal for spectroscopic or microscopic information, aiding in chemical characterization on the scale of tens of nanometers.
Techniques within this category are operated in modes allowing point spectroscopy, spectroscopic mapping, or imaging at specified wavelengths. Illuminating the sample with a specified wavelength allows local chemical imaging/mapping with lateral resolution in the tens of nanometers. Point spectroscopy aids in chemical identification at a single location on the sample. The resolution enhancement compared to far-field optical characterization comes from the AFM tip.
Scanning probe optical spectroscopy and imaging, AFM+optics, and chemical AFM techniques available in the MRL facilities include
- Photo-induced force microscopy (PiFM) and photo-induced force infrared spectroscopy (PiF-IR) for infrared characterization of material surfaces
- Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) for spectroscopic measurements of Raman-active material surfaces
- scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) to map local absorption of mid-IR wavelengths on a sample surface
| Equipment Name | Contact | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment Name | Contact | Location | |
| Neaspec NanoFTIR/NIM AFM, SSNOM |
|
0022 Supercon | Chemical information from FTIR near-field reflection spectroscopy/imaging and topographic characterization with 20 nm spatial resolution See More Details |
| Horiba XploRA-nano TERS/TEPL |
|
0022 Supercon | This equipment was funded through the Illinois MRSEC, NSF Award Number DMR-1720633. 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. See More Details |
| Molecular Vista PiFM-Raman |
|
0022 Supercon | The Vista One PiFM-Raman microscope from Molecular Vista enables nano-IR measurements with very high resolution (~10nm lateral resolution for mapping and spectroscopy) in the wavenumber range 1908 - 752 cm-1. See More Details |