Nanospectroscopy Using a Near-Field Scanning Microspectrometer

Recent years have seen explosive growth in the use of organic materials, composites, or organics bound to an inorganic substrate, to solve engineering problems that traditionally were approached only with inorganics. The remarkable speed with which these new technologies are appearing is contrasted by the remarkable scarcity of non-destructive, invitro, and in-vivo techniques for characterizing the biophysical, chemical, and mechanical properties of these often delicate and nano-structured materials. Near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) for quantitative evaluation of surfaces is a practical solution for this type of evaluation. Traditional spectroscopy methods utilize 'far-field' light easily propagated through long distances. However, far field light is subject to diffraction effects, whether mirrors or lenses are used. Diffraction effects limit the amount of 'focus' that can be achieved, thus the spatial resolution for traditional microspectroscopy systems is limited to the wavelengths used; i.e. 10 microns for IR, ~1 micron for visible wavelengths.