Anasys Instruments Corporation

Bruker Nano Gmbh

Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp.

Veeco Instruments Inc.

Other

University of Illinois

Digital Instruments

Kevin Kjoller

Craig Prater

Roshan Shetty

Michael Reading

Ami Chand

Doug Gotthard

Kenneth Babcock

Honghua Yang

Sam Berweger

Michael K Harris

Konstantin L Vodopyanov

A Dazzi Dazzi

Clotilde Policar

Anthony Kurtz

Alexandre Dazzi

Rui Prazeres

Virgil B Elings

William P King

John A Gurley

Mikhail A Belkin

Markus B Raschke

Azzedine Hammiche

Nihat Okulan

Andrew Stuart

Jonathan R Felts

Michael Lo

Qichi Hu

Feng Lu

Khoren Sahagian

Vladislav V Yakolev

Chunzeng Li

Kenneth L Babcock

Eoghan Dillon

Detection of microplastics is accomplished using a combination of techniques. A position-detection technique such as crossed-polarization detection, autofluorescence detection, or photothermal infrared imaging is used to determine the locations of microplastics in a sample. Infrared absorption can be detected at those locations to characterize the microplastics. In this way the microplastic content can be located and characterized more quickly and accurately than using conventional techniques.

Automated spectroscopic analysis of micron-scale microplastic particles with optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy

Methods described herein provide improvements on composite infrared absorption imaging. Scanning patterns described herein reduce erroneous measurements caused by thermal drift, as well as optical interference that occurs between light scattering from the top surface of the sample and light scattering from an underlying substrate.

Method and apparatus for improved composite multi-wavelength photothermal infrared imaging

System for performing chemical spectroscopy on samples from the scale of nanometers to millimeters or more with a multifunctional platform combining analytical and imaging techniques including dual beam photo-thermal spectroscopy with confocal microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence detection, various vacuum analytical techniques and/or mass spectrometry. In embodiments described herein, the light beams of a dual-beam system are used for heating and sensing.

Method and apparatus for enhanced photo-thermal imaging and spectroscopy

Methods and apparatus for obtaining extremely high sensitivity chemical composition maps with spatial resolution down to a few nanometers. In some embodiments these chemical composition maps are created using a combination of three techniques: (1) Illuminating the sample with IR radiation than is tuned to an absorption band in the sample; and (2) Optimizing a mechanical coupling efficiency that is tuned to a specific target material; (3) Optimizing a resonant detection that is tuned to a specific target material. With the combination of these steps it is possible to obtain (1) Chemical composition maps based on unique IR absorption; (2) spatial resolution that is enhanced by extremely short-range tip-sample interactions; and (3) resonant amplification tuned to a specific target material. In other embodiments it is possible to take advantage of any two of these steps and still achieve a substantial improvement in spatial resolution and/or sensitivity.

Method and apparatus for resolution and sensitivity enhanced atomic force microscope based infrared spectroscopy

System and Methods may be provided for performing chemical spectroscopy on samples from the scale of nanometers with surface sensitivity even on very thick sample. In the method, a signal indicative of infrared absorption of the surface layer is constructed by illuminating the surface layer with a beam of infrared radiation and measuring a probe response comprising at least one of a resonance frequency shift and a phase shift of a resonance of a probe in response to infrared radiation absorbed by the surface layer.

Surface sensitive atomic force microscope based infrared spectroscopy

Methods and apparatus for performing chemical spectroscopy on samples from the scale of nanometers to millimeters or more with a multifunctional platform combining analytical and imaging techniques including atomic force microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, confocal microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. For infrared spectroscopy, a sample is illuminated with infrared light and the resulting sample distortion is read out with either a focused UV/visible light beam and/or AFM tip. Using the AFM tip or the UV/visible light beam it is possible to measure the IR absorption characteristics of a sample with spatial resolution ranging from around 1 &#x3bc;m or less to the nanometer scale. The combination of both techniques provides a rapid and large area survey scan with the UV/visible light and a high resolution measurement with the AFM tip. The methods and apparatus also include the ability to analyze light reflected/scattered from the sample via a Raman spectrometer for complementary analysis by Raman spectroscopy. Using a UV/vis source or IR source at higher intensity it is possible to thermally desorb material from a sample for analysis by mass spectrometry. The AFM tip can also be heated to desorb material for mass spec analysis at even higher spatial resolution.

Method and apparatus for sub-diffraction infrared imaging and spectroscopy and complementary techniques

Described are techniques for obtaining spectroscopic information from sub-micron regions of a sample using a probe microscope. The current invention uses the response of an AFM cantilever at a plurality of frequencies to substantially reduce the impact of background absorption away from the sub-micron region of interest. This innovation substantially improves the quality of spectra for top down illumination of samples that are not suitable for bottoms up illumination of the prior art.

Nanoscale infrared spectroscopy with multi-frequency atomic force microscopy

This invention involves measurement of optical properties of materials with sub-micron spatial resolution through infrared scattering scanning near field optical microscopy (s-SNOM). Specifically, the current invention provides substantial improvements over the prior art by achieving high signal to noise, high measurement speed and high accuracy of optical amplitude and phase. Additionally, it some embodiments, it eliminates the need for an in situ reference to calculate wavelength dependent spectra of optical phase, or absorption spectra. These goals are achieved via improved asymmetric interferometry where the near-field scattered light is interfered with a reference beam in an interferometer. The invention achieves dramatic improvements in background rejection by arranging a reference beam that is much more intense than the background scattered radiation. Combined with frequency selective demodulation techniques, the near-field scattered light can be efficiently and accurately discriminated from background scattered light. These goals are achieved via a range of improvements including a large dynamic range detector, careful control of relative beam intensities, and high bandwidth demodulation techniques. In other embodiments, phase and amplitude stability are improved with a novel s-SNOM configuration. In other embodiments an absorption spectrum may be obtained directly by comparing properties from a known and unknown region of a sample as a function of illumination center wavelength.

Method and apparatus for infrared scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy with high speed point spectroscopy

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Kevin Kjoller