PLASMON RESONATOR SCANNING NEAR FIELD OPTICAL MICROSCOPY

PARK SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (PSI) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A SCANNING NEAR FIELD OPTICAL MICROSCOPE (SNOM) THAT WILL BE CAPABLE OF WRITING AND ADDRESSING BITS STORED IN BACTERIORHODOPSIN FILMS AT TERABIT/CM(2) DENSITIES. THE SNOM WILL ACHIEVE 10 NM SPATIAL RESOLUTION BY USING A PLASMON RESONATOR (PR) AG NANOPARTICLE WHICH SERVES TO BOTH ENHANCE THE OPTICAL SCATTERING CROSS SECTION, AND TO LOCALIZE THE NEAR FIELDS. MEANS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED TO SELECT AG NANOPARTICLES WHICH HAVE DUAL PLASMON RESONANCE FREQUENCIES CENTERED AT 410 AND 570 NM. PRECISE NONHYSSTERETIC SCANNING OF THE AG PARTICLE RELATIVE TO THE BACTERIORHODOPSIN FILM WILL BE ACHIEVED BY COMGINING THE PR WITH AN ATTRACTIVE MODE ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPE (AFM) INSTRUMENTATION AS DEVELOPED BY PSI AND FURTHER OPTIMIZED FOR THIS PR-SNOM APPLICATION.