Nanonics is pleased to announce the first Near-Field NanoPhotonics Workshop and a Multiprobe School. NSOM and MultiProbe NSOM have emerged as the premier tools in Photonics and Plasmonics characterization whether in silicon photonics, photonic band gap materials or plasmonic nanofocusing.
We are proud to announce that Professor Federico Capasso of Harvard University will be a plenary speaker at this event.
This symposium is hosted by the laboratory of Professor Michael Naughton of Boston College's Physics Department and will focus on fundamental and applied developments in near-field optics as a confluence of imaging with super-resolution the amplitude and phase of the electromagnetic field correlated with 3D structure. Nanonics users, who have been at the forefront of this rapidly growing field, will be featured and will present how they are using the near-field in defining new horizons in photonic nanocharacterization. The symposium will be followed by a hands-on near-field Multiprobe School.
Monday July 21 will feature invited and contributed presentations as well as a poster session for students.
The Multiprobe School will convene on Tuesday, July 22 and will feature hands-on instruction dedicated to explaining and exploring the revolutionary multiprobe technology as applied to near-field NanoPhotonics. All events will take place on the campus of Boston College.
Nanonics offers a nano-tool kit of glass based probes that enhances the functionality of the MultiView instrumentation series. Specially tailored for Nanonics instruments, these glass-based probes are fabricated and tested in-house and take advantage of over a decade's experience in manufacturing probes for sophisticated measurements. Integrated into Nanonics MultiProbe systems, these probes provide a NanoWorkstation for sample characterization.
All Nanonics probes are:
optically friendly
work in both tuning fork and beam bounce feedback
multiprobe friendly
deep trench and other customizable geometries
Below we highlight some of Nanonics' unique SPM probes:
NSOM probes.Apertured optical fiber probes for delivering and mapping light on the nanoscale.
The cantilevered, extended design provides a clear separation of the excitation and collection paths (see image on right) for true reflection NSOM imaging, while the waveguide characteristics makes for ideal collection mode NSOM. With a Nanonics MultiProbe system, one probe can be used for excitation and the other for collection for a true near-field experiment.
TERS probes. Extended and transparent cantilever design allows for all modes of TERS operation: reflection, transmission, and side illumination. The TERS probe (see image below) is a high dielectric constant gold nanoparticle probe with a defined plasmon resonance, coming in a variety of diameters and is embedded at the end of a glass cantilevered probe. This design enables reliable operation on all substrates including non-conducting surfaces with no Raman background.
Raman probes. Transparent AFM probes from fused silica with no Raman background enable true reflection Raman without obscuring the optical path. Allows for easy and accurate positioning. These non-interfereing cantilevers are high and out of the optical focus of the tip.
Cantilevered glass micro electrodes with a sealed nano-wire ideal for for electrical, ion/electrochemistry and capacitance measurements. The wire is completely sealed except at the apex critical for SECM and ion current measurements while the cantilevered design allows simultaneous topography to be measured. True coaxial probes are available as well.
Cantilevered Au/Pt microthermocouples for on-line thermal imaging. High sensitivity probes allowing for thermal, thermal conductivity and resistivity measurements.
Nanolithography Probes. Gas and chemical delivery NanoFountainTM Probes allow for writing a wide variety of materials on a large variety of surfaces. The cantilevered glass pipettes have a reservoir for over a week of writing.
Lensed fibers. Specially designed lensed optical fibers couple light in or out of small devices such as microwaveguides, microlasers, microdetectors etc. These fibers can be accurately designed by application need. Coupled into the Nanonics Optometronic workstation, these fibers makes for the ideal photonics workstation.
USER NEWS - NSOM tips as sources for azimuthally polarized light
German researchers report, for the first time, generation of azimuthually (z) polarized light from an NSOM fiber tip using Nanonics NSOM tips and a Nanonics Multiview 4000 system (see paper here) using both experiments and simulations. The ability of NSOM probes to generate z-polarized light has important applications in both near-field excitation and illumination protocols in nanophotonics and plasmonics. The generation of azimuthal polarization in the metal-coated fiber tip is attributed to Nanonics patented geometry of bent and tapered probe, symmetry breaking in the probe's bend and the tip's cone which acts as a plasmonic mode filter for selectively transmitting azimuthal and linear polarization. Nanonics NSOM probes allow for significant customization, and so the researchersfurther improved the efficiency of the polarization modes by controlled FIB processing of NSOM tip apexes.
This study took advantage of the unique and flexible design of Nanonics probes to provide important insights into understanding the true output of NSOM probes that will enable further understanding and manipulation of near-field effects.
SEM of NSOM tip (a). Colorized SEM of stepwise FIB cut-back to increase diameter (b) and polished tip apex (c)
Meet the Nanonics team!
This month we profile Dr. Danielle Honigstein.
Current position at Nanonics: Head of the software department. In this role Danielle develops new software, continually upgrading the capabilities and features of Nanonics systems software. She enjoys interacting with customers to learn about their needs and implementing them into the software.
Academic Background: Danielle holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics and a B.A. in Computer Science, all from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Family: Danielle is married and has 3 children: 2 sons age 7 and 5 and a 1.5 year old daughter Hobbies: fantasy books, singing, cooking
Fun Fact: Danielle was born in Bangkok Thailand while her father was serving in the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Where are you presenting your research?
Please let us know where you are presenting and publishing your research and we will be happy to share the news!
Co-located confocal Raman microscope with an AFM tip enabling simultaneous acquisition of AFM and Raman spectroscopy images from the same location on the surface.
AFM Raman TERS
Collective name for high resolution Raman measurements including Raman confocal microscope integrated with SPM microscope and metalized TERS probe.
Graphene TERS
TERS has been successful in measuring the spectral characteristics of graphene with very high spatial resolution.
SERS
Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). A well-known Raman enhancing effect where a roughened metal surface can provide orders of magnitude increase in Raman signal intensity.
Conventional TERS probes
Typically Au or Ag metalized AFM probes or STM probes.
Strained Silicon TERS
ERS measurements on strained silicon substrate for TERS probes characterization in terms of the enhancement efficiency.
TERS AFM
Same as AFM Raman TERS
TERS
Tip enhanced Raman scattering (see TERS effect)
TERS Effect
enhancement of the Raman signal using the metalized AFM tip as the source for enhancement. By using such a small dia
meter tip, enhancement occurs only in the immediate vicinity of the tip providing a high spatial resolution for the Raman measurement. TERS provides significant improvement in resolution over conventional AFM-Raman methods.
TERS Microscope
A microscope fitted with TERS equipment, including a lens (optical microscope), AFM head, TERS probes, Raman spectrometer, and CCD camera.
TERS Probes
Specialized probes suitable for AFM/TERS measurements. A gold or silver ball at a variety of diameters is embedded at the end of a glass cantilevered probe to generate the enhancement of the Raman signal near the probe
Nanonics probes are extended and transparent allowing for all modes of TERS operation: Reflection, transmission and side illumination.
TERS Raman
As TERS stands for “Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy”, this term is redundant on its own, but used by searchers to specify this particular meaning of the term “TERS”.- It is the same as “TERS” or “TERS effect”
TERS Tips
same as TERS probes.
Reflection TERS
TERS measurements on opaque sample, when the SPM integrated with upright confocal Raman microscope.
Transmission TERS
TERS measurements on transparent or half transparent samples, when the SPM integrated with inverted confocal Raman microscope.
Side illumination TERS
TERS measurements on opaque sample, when the SPM integrated with upright confocal Raman microscope, when the laser for Raman excitation illuminates the sample by the 45˚-60˚ relatively to the axis of the TERS probe.
Raman measurements are also possible in liquids, but they require the specialized liquid immersion objectives available on our systems. Below is a Raman image of a Si/SiO2 grid immersed in liquid collected at 532nm. The image on the right was collected using a 50x objective with an NA of 0.45, a typical optical objective used in an air environment. The periodic grid features are poorly resolved. On the left, the same grid was imaged with the water immersion optical objective clearly showing the grid features with excellent resolution.
Below is a short 15 minute video explaining the basics of AFM technology and feedback mechanisms:
Nanonics held a very successful workshop with our expert customers giving excellent talks. The talks, including the plenary lecture by Prof. Federico Capasso of Harvard, are now posted online on the Nanonics Youtube Channel or see individual links to the various talks here.
