Surface-enhanced ellipsometric contrast microscopy (SEEC) uses an upright or inverted

optical microscope The optical microscope, also referred to as a light microscope, is a type of microscope that commonly uses visible light and a system of lenses to generate magnified images of small objects. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of micros ...

in a crossed

polarization Polarization or polarisation may refer to: Mathematics *Polarization of an Abelian variety, in the mathematics of complex manifolds *Polarization of an algebraic form, a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by ...

configuration and specific supporting plates called surfs on which the sample is deposited for observation. It is described as an optical nanoscopy technique. SEEC relies on precise control of the reflection properties of polarized light on a surface, improving the axial sensitivity of an

by two orders of magnitude without reducing its lateral resolution. Applications could include real-time visualization of films as thin as 0.3 micrometers and isolated nano-objects in air and in water.

Principles

A 2006 study on polarized light coherence led to the development of new supports (the surfs) having contrast amplification properties for standard optical microscopy in cross-polarizer mode. Made of optical layers on an opaque or transparent substrate, these supports do not modify the

light polarization , or , is a property of transverse waves which specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. One example of a polarize ...

after reflection even if the numerical aperture of the incident source is significant. This property is modified when a sample is present on a surf; a non-null light component is then detected after it has been analyzed, rendering the sample visible. The performance of these supports is evaluated by measuring the contrast (C) of the sample defined as: C = (I₁-I₀)/(I₀+I₁) where I₀ and I₁ represent the intensities reflected by the bare surf and by the analyzed sample on the surf, respectively. For a one nanometer-film thickness, the surfs display a contrast 200 times higher than on silicon wafer. This high contrast increase allows the visualization with standard

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

microscope of films with thicknesses down to 0.3 nanometers, as well as nano-objects (down to a 2 nanometer diameter) and this, without any kind of sample labeling (neither

fluorescence Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with colore ...

, nor a radioactive marker). An illustration of the contrast enhancement is in the Figure for optical microscopy between cross polarizers of a Langmuir-Blodgett structure on a silicon wafer and on a surf.

Applications

Life sciences

*Biological films * Biochips *

Soft lithography In technology, soft lithography is a family of techniques for fabricating or Replication (disambiguation), replicating structures using "elastomeric stamps, molds, and conformable photomasks". It is called "soft" because it uses elastomeric mate ...

Thin films and surface treatment

* Langmuir-Blodgett films

Nano-materials

Nanoparticles A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is a particle of matter 1 to 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 100 nm in only two directions. At ...

Graphene Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...

Commercial applications

Nanolane's Sarfus Mapping Station is based on surface-enhanced ellipsometric contrast microscopy.

References

{{Optical microscopy Nanotechnology Microscopy Scientific techniques Biological techniques and tools Optical microscopy