Topography and refractometry of nanostructures using spatial light interference microscopy.
Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) is a novel method developed in our laboratory that provides quantitative phase images of transparent structures with a 0.3 nm spatial and 0.03 nm temporal accuracy owing to the white light illumination and its common path interferometric geometry. We exploit these features and demonstrate SLIM's ability to perform topography at a single atomic layer in graphene. Further, using a decoupling procedure that we developed for cylindrical structures, we extract the axially averaged refractive index of semiconductor nanotubes and a neurite of a live hippocampal neuron in culture. We believe that this study will set the basis for novel high-throughput topography and refractometry of man-made and biological nanostructures.
Wang
Zhuo
Z
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Chun
Ik Su
IS
Li
Xiuling
X
Ong
Zhun-Yong
ZY
Pop
Eric
E
Millet
Larry
L
Gillette
Martha
M
Popescu
Gabriel
G
D000818:Animals; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology; D008027:Light; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D051381:Rats; D012031:Refractometry / Q000379:methods*; D012666:Semiconductors
D002244:Carbon