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Tuesday, 31st October 2006 (6029 views)

Gold film is being used to help calibrate an entirely new form of scanning microscopy that could prove extremely useful in analysing the make-up and properties of nanoscale electronics and nanoparticles.

The JILA joint venture in the US, between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, is using nanostructured gold film to test the accuracy of its newly developed scanning photoionization microscopy (SPIM) method.

NIST fellow David Nesbitt said: "The method is in its infancy, but nevertheless it really does have the power to provide a new set of eyes for looking at nanostructured metals and semiconductors."

SPIM combines the excellent spatial resolution of optical microscopes with a high sensitivity to electrical activity, which could potentially allow the method to picture both the physical and electrical properties of materials.

Nanostructured gold film has been used to compare images created by the SPIM method with those created by atomic force microscopy. This has confirmed the correlations and physical mapping accuracy of the new technique.

The SPIM method combines a moving optical microscope in a vacuum, an ultra fast laser beam that can fire two photons simultaneously and sensitive measuring equipment, which records electron activity.

JILA is a leading US scientific institute with a faculty that includes three Nobel Laureates, and an eclectic research programme embraces quantum physics, precision optics and work that explores the formation of stars and galaxies.

 

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