title: Development of a scanning surface probe for nanoscale tip-enhanced desorption/ablation.
abstract: We report on the development of a versatile scanning apparatus for nanoscale surface sampling that utilizes the interaction of laser radiation at a sharp probe tip to effect desorption/ablation on opaque substrates. The process, which currently yields surface craters as small as approximately 50 nm diameterx5 nm deep, has been demonstrated with both metal-coated and bare silicon tips. Desorption/ablation under the tip occurs at illumination intensities below the corresponding optical far-field threshold, suggesting that the latter process should not degrade the spatial resolution attainable for proposed chemical imaging methods based on the scanning surface probe.
authors.affiliation: Organic and Biological Mass Spectrometry Group, Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6131, USA.
authors.forename: Kent A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ovchinnikova
authors.forename: Kin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Douglas E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Goeringer