IMR: Development of Near-Field Nanophotonic Scanning Microscope for Biomaterials Research and Education

IMR：开发用于生物材料研究和教育的近场纳米光子扫描显微镜

• 批准号: 0817541
• 负责人: Xiaojing Zhang
• 金额: $ 24.71万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0817541&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IMR; Development; Near; Field; Nanophotonic

Technical AbstractThe objective of this proposal is to build a novel near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM), integrating a scanning MEMS probe with a single-layer nanocrystals based light emitting diode (Nano-LED) fabricated on the probe tip, for molecular imaging and patterning of biological materials. The expected light source size is 5~10 nm, an order of magnitude reduction from that of a current advanced NSOM. The emission wavelength of the probe covers the spectrum from near-UV to the visible range, with imaging resolutions well beyond the diffraction limit. The ?Nano-Light source on chip? technology will open many exciting opportunities in biomedical and industrial applications including near-field microscopy of sub-cellular structures, direct material patterning, ultra high-density data storage, and compact light-on-chip biosensors and biochips.Non-technical AbstractThe proposed near-field imaging instrument will be developed using a new class of scanning probes with nanoscale light emitting probe tip, where the emission is well confined in a single layer of nanoparticles (diameter: 5~10nm). Downsizing the integrated light source on the probe directly leads to improvement of the resolving power of the microscope. The main benefits of the new instrument can be summarized as: (1) the silicon scanning probe is mass-producible; (2) no external light source is required; and (3) high optical resolution substantially beyond diffraction limit; The near-field scanning optical microscope has been used to explore nano-scale structures such as inorganic nanoparticles, organic thin films, and biomaterials. We expect that the novel probe based microscope with molecular resolution will be beneficial for significantly advancing these applications. In addition, direct integration of light source on probe is highly desirable to further extend the applications of the instrument into a compact assembly in biomedical applications such as biochips or portable devices for point-of-care technologies.

技术摘要本提案的目的是构建一种新型近场扫描光学显微镜 (NSOM)，将扫描 MEMS 探针与探针尖端上制造的单层纳米晶体发光二极管 (Nano-LED) 集成，用于分子成像和生物材料的图案化。预期光源尺寸为5~10 nm，比当前先进的NSOM减小了一个数量级。探头的发射波长覆盖从近紫外到可见光范围的光谱，成像分辨率远远超出衍射极限。 ？芯片上的纳米光源？该技术将为生物医学和工业应用带来许多令人兴奋的机会，包括亚细胞结构的近场显微镜、直接材料图案化、超高密度数据存储以及紧凑型片上光生物传感器和生物芯片。场成像仪器将使用具有纳米级发光探针尖端的新型扫描探针来开发，其中发射被很好地限制在单层纳米粒子（直径：5~10nm）中。缩小探头上集成光源的尺寸直接导致显微镜分辨率的提高。新仪器的主要优点可以概括为：（1）硅扫描探头可批量生产； (2)不需要外部光源； (3)远超衍射极限的高光学分辨率；近场扫描光学显微镜已用于探索纳米级结构，例如无机纳米粒子、有机薄膜和生物材料。我们期望具有分子分辨率的新型探针显微镜将有利于显着推进这些应用。此外，非常需要将光源直接集成在探头上，以进一步将仪器的应用扩展到生物医学应用中的紧凑组件，例如用于即时护理技术的生物芯片或便携式设备。