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Scanning Near‐field Optical Microscope Designed for Operation in Liquids
Author(s) -
Mertesdorf M.,
Schönhoff M.,
Lohr F.,
Kirstein S.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9918(199709)25:10<755::aid-sia297>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - optical microscope , near field scanning optical microscope , polystyrene , optics , microscope , resolution (logic) , chemistry , microscopy , analytical chemistry (journal) , aqueous solution , materials science , scanning electron microscope , polymer , composite material , physics , chromatography , artificial intelligence , computer science
We report on the construction of a scanning near‐field optical microscope (SNOM), which has been designed to permit imaging at the solid/liquid interface. The probe consists of a tapered fibre tip and the so called lateral shear force is used for the tip‐sample distance regulation. The liquid environment causes damping of the tip vibration and lowering of the resonance frequency by approx. 20% which can not be explained by the model of a harmonic oscillator. We demonstrate the optical and topographical resolution of the instrument utilizing test grids for atomic force microscopy. First results of in ‐ situ observation of adsorption of human serum albumin proteins at a thin film of polystyrene from aqueous buffer solution are presented. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.