2010 R&D 100 Winner
Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a widely used measurement technique for chemical composition. However, diffraction physics limits its practical spatial resolution to ~10 µm.
The nanoIR, developed by Anasys Instruments, Santa Barbara, Calif., is the first technology platform for nanoscale infrared spectroscopy and imaging. It provides chemical analysis of samples down to 100 nm in spatial resolution, an improvement of up to two orders of magnitude over conventional transmission IR microspectroscopy. Packaged as an atomic force microscope (AFM), the instrument offers robust sample characterization, performing chemical, mechanical, and thermal nanoscale property measurements with the same probe.
The nanoIR uses a pulsed, tunable IR source to excite molecular absorption in a sample. The IR beam illuminates the sample by total internal reflection similar to conventional ATR spectroscopy. As the sample absorbs radiation, it heats up, leading to rapid thermal expansion that excites resonant oscillations of the cantilever. The induced oscillations decay in a characteristic ringdown, which can be analyzed via Fourier techniques to extract the amplitudes and frequencies of the oscillations.
Technology
Nanoscale infrared spectroscopy technology
Developers
Anasys Instruments
University of Paris-Sud
Stanford University
Dow Chemical
Development Team
The nanoIR Development Team:
Kevin Kjoller, Anasys Instruments
Craig Prater, Anasys Instruments
Doug Gotthard, Anasys Instruments
Anthony Kurtz, Anasys Instruments
Alex Dazzi, University of Paris-Sud
Konstantin Vodopyanov, Stanford University
Greg Meyers, Dow Chemical
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