High spatial resolution absorption contrast imaging with electron-beam excitation assisted optical microscope

Wataru Inami; Masahiro Fukuta; Yoshimasa Kawata; Susumu Terakawa

doi:10.1117/12.2268277

14 December 2016 High spatial resolution absorption contrast imaging with electron-beam excitation assisted optical microscope

Wataru Inami, Masahiro Fukuta, Yoshimasa Kawata, Susumu Terakawa

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10176, Asia-Pacific Conference on Fundamental Problems of Opto- and Microelectronics; 1017617 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2268277
Event: Asia-Pacific Conference on Fundamental Problems of Opto- and Microelectronics, 2016, Khabarovsk, Russia

Abstract

We present high spatial-resolution label-free imaging with an electron-beam excitation-assisted optical microscope (EXA microscope). The EXA microscope improves the spatial resolution down to 100 nm. To realize the high spatial resolution, a nanoscale optical spot is generated by irradiating a fluorescent thin film with a focused electron beam whose spot size is less than 10 nm. The size of the optical spot becomes smaller than the diffraction limited spot size and is reduced to about 100 nm, because the light emission is localized in nanometer-sized region. In this microscopy, it is not necessary to label a specimen for imaging beyond the diffraction limit of the light. The specimen stage is separated from the vacuum chamber of the scanning electron microscope by the fluorescent thin film and a specimen under atmospheric pressure can be imaged.

We demonstrated that the high spatial resolution absorption contrast imaging of the crystal of vitamin B9 having absorption at UV wavelengths. The absorption wavelength matches with the wavelength of the emission of the fluorescent thin film we deposited. The fine crystal structure was imaged beyond the optical diffraction limit. The image contrast corresponded with the thickness of the crystal measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The illumination light is absorbed with the vitamin B9 crystal and the intensity of the transmitted light depends on the thickness of the vitamin B9 crystal. The EXA microscope is useful for analysis of growth of a crystal, bio-imaging, and so on.

Citation Download Citation

Wataru Inami, Masahiro Fukuta, Yoshimasa Kawata, and Susumu Terakawa "High spatial resolution absorption contrast imaging with electron-beam excitation assisted optical microscope", Proc. SPIE 10176, Asia-Pacific Conference on Fundamental Problems of Opto- and Microelectronics, 1017617 (14 December 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2268277

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