Development of a scanning surface probe for nanoscale tip-enhanced desorption/ablation.
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.
Meyer
Kent A
KA
Organic and Biological Mass Spectrometry Group, Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6131, USA.
Ovchinnikova
Olga
O
Ng
Kin
K
Goeringer
Douglas E
DE