Direct measurement of nanometric displacement under an optical microscope.
A novel method has been developed to measure nanometric displacement under a conventional optical microscope. The magnified image of a pinhole was divided into two parts using a prism-shaped mirror. The difference of light intensity between the divided images was determined, which was proportional to displacementof the pinhole. Using a 5-microm diam pinhole, the accuracy to determine displacement was ~1 nm. Instead of a pinhole, polystyrene microbeads were used in the new method. Displacement of the microbeads was also measured with nanometric accuracy. This technique could be used to probe nanometric phenomena using optical microscopes.
Kamimura
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