A Closed-Cycle Optical Cryostat and Improved Optical Elements for Studies of Dissipation at the Molecular Scale

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Natelson ◽  
Pavlo Zolotavin
Author(s):  
E. Betzig ◽  
A. Harootunian ◽  
M. Isaacson ◽  
A. Lewis

In general, conventional methods of optical imaging are limited in spatial resolution by either the wavelength of the radiation used or by the aberrations of the optical elements. This is true whether one uses a scanning probe or a fixed beam method. The reason for the wavelength limit of resolution is due to the far field methods of producing or detecting the radiation. If one resorts to restricting our probes to the near field optical region, then the possibility exists of obtaining spatial resolutions more than an order of magnitude smaller than the optical wavelength of the radiation used. In this paper, we will describe the principles underlying such "near field" imaging and present some preliminary results from a near field scanning optical microscope (NS0M) that uses visible radiation and is capable of resolutions comparable to an SEM. The advantage of such a technique is the possibility of completely nondestructive imaging in air at spatial resolutions of about 50nm.


Author(s):  
Y. Cheng ◽  
J. Liu ◽  
M.B. Stearns ◽  
D.G. Steams

The Rh/Si multilayer (ML) thin films are promising optical elements for soft x-rays since they have a calculated normal incidence reflectivity of ∼60% at a x-ray wavelength of ∼13 nm. However, a reflectivity of only 28% has been attained to date for ML fabricated by dc magnetron sputtering. In order to determine the cause of this degraded reflectivity the microstructure of this ML was examined on cross-sectional specimens with two high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM and HAADF) techniques.Cross-sectional specimens were made from an as-prepared ML sample and from the same ML annealed at 298 °C for 1 and 100 hours. The specimens were imaged using a JEM-4000EX TEM operating at 400 kV with a point-to-point resolution of better than 0.17 nm. The specimens were viewed along Si [110] projection of the substrate, with the (001) Si surface plane parallel to the beam direction.


Author(s):  
J. T. Woodward ◽  
J. A. N. Zasadzinski

The Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) offers exciting new ways of imaging surfaces of biological or organic materials with resolution to the sub-molecular scale. Rigid, conductive surfaces can readily be imaged with the STM with atomic resolution. Unfortunately, organic surfaces are neither sufficiently conductive or rigid enough to be examined directly with the STM. At present, nonconductive surfaces can be examined in two ways: 1) Using the AFM, which measures the deflection of a weak spring as it is dragged across the surface, or 2) coating or replicating non-conductive surfaces with metal layers so as to make them conductive, then imaging with the STM. However, we have found that the conventional freeze-fracture technique, while extremely useful for imaging bulk organic materials with STM, must be modified considerably for optimal use in the STM.


2003 ◽  
Vol 771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adosh Mehta ◽  
Pradeep Kumar ◽  
Jie Zheng ◽  
Robert M. Dickson ◽  
Bobby Sumpter ◽  
...  

AbstractDipole emission pattern imaging experiments on single chains of common conjugated polymers (solubilized poly phenylene vinylenes) isolated by ink-jet printing techniques have revealed surprising uniformity in transition moment orientation perpendicular to the support substrate. In addition to uniform orientation, these species show a number of striking differences in photochemical stability, polarization anisotropy,[1] and spectral signatures[2] with respect to similar (well-studied) molecules dispersed in dilute thin-films. Combined with molecular mechanics simulation, these results point to a structural picture of a folded macromolecule as a highly ordered cylindrical nanostructure whose long-axis (approximately collinear with the conjugation axis) is oriented, by an electrostatic interaction, perpendicular to the coverglass substrate. These results suggest a number of important applications in nanoscale photonics and molecular-scale optoelectronics.


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