Method and apparatus for high spatial resolution spectroscopic microscopy
US6260997A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jul 17, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S977/867
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A sample and a scanning probe microscope system are used as the detector for an infrared spectrometer to circumvent the diffraction limit of conventional infrared microscopy, and to provide spectroscopic images with a greatly improved spatial resolution, potentially as low as a few tens of nanometers. The beam from an infrared spectrometer is directed at the sample. The sample is heated to the extent that it absorbs infrared radiation. Thus the resulting temperature rise of an individual region depends upon the particular molecular species present, as well as the range of wavelengths of the infrared beam. These individual temperature differences are detected by a miniature thermal probe. The thermal probe is mounted in a scanning thermal microscope. The scanning thermal microscope is then operated used to produce multiple surface and sub-surface images of the sample, such that the image contrast corresponds to variations in either thermal diffusivity, surface topography or chemical composition.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.