Scanning Probe Microscopy with Active Optical Probes: A Novel Approach to Measurements and Nanomanufacturing

Actoprobe LLC proposes development of a novel class of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) active optical probes with dramatically increased sensitivity and spatial resolution for Near-Field Optical Nanospectroscopy and Nanoscopy. The innovation is accomplished by integrating a diode laser source and a photodetector into a silicon AFM probe in such a way that both the AFM tip and detector are inside the laser cavity. The internal laser and photodetector will be used to measure AFM tip deflection caused by Van der Waals forces between the tip and the sample surface. Since all excitation and detection parts are precisely integrated inside the probe, there is no need to perform optical alignment—that is, even a user inexperienced in optics will be capable of performing precise optical characterization on the single-molecule and even sub molecular scale. This technology can be directly applied to imaging and identification of new viruses and to DNA/RNA sequencing, thus helping with diagnostics, treatment, and prevention of dangerous diseases. This technology will be valuable wherever there is a need to focus light within a very small volume (comparable to or smaller than a single molecule).