Ultrabroadband infrared nanospectroscopic imaging
Abstract
Through direct measurement of intrinsic vibrational and electronic modes, infrared spectroscopy provides label-free, chemical characterization of molecules and solids. The long micrometer-sized wavelength of infrared light, however, has limited the application of this widely applied spectroscopic technique to ensemble studies, preventing nanoscale spatially resolved spectroscopy of heterogeneous materials. We overcome this limitation by combining scattering-scanning near-field optical microscopy with broadband infrared synchrotron radiation. Using this synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy (SINS) technique, we achieve spectroscopic imaging over the entire midinfrared with nanometer spatial resolution and high sensitivity. With a spatial resolution 100-1,000 times better than conventional FTIR microscopy, SINS enables the investigation of nanoscale phenomena in soft matter, even under ambient and environmental conditions that are essentially inaccessible by other techniques.
- Publication:
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- May 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1400502111
- Bibcode:
- 2014PNAS..111.7191B