Surface plasmon scanning-tunneling chemical mapping (SPSTM) system
US10436813B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 9, 2018 |
| Grant date | Oct 8, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 9, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01Q60/16
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A Surface Plasmon Scanning-Tunneling Chemical Mapping (SPSTM) system is disclosed that determines identification characteristics of a target material. An optical beam source launches an optical beam that propagates through a transparent optical element to a material layer to excite surface plasmons of the material layer. An optical probe with a nanometer-sized tip is positioned over a nanometer-sized region of the target material, which is positioned on the material layer, to measure a probe signal associated only with the surface plasmons that tunnel from the material layer through the nanometer-sized region of the target material and collected by the optical probe. An optical property analyzer is configured to determine at least one optical property associated with the nanometer-sized region based on the probe signal associated with the surface plasmons collected by the optical probe. The optical properties identify identification characteristics associated with the nanometer-sized region of the target material.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.