Coherent evanescent wave imaging
First Claim
1. A method of gathering information concerning nanostructure characteristics including:
- (a) providing a waveguide of a first medium having a surface bounding a second medium;
(b) irradiating the waveguide with an electromagnetic wave to produce a surface wave at the surface bounding the second medium and an evanescent wave in the second medium contiguous with the surface;
(c) locating at least one nanostructure in the second medium proximate the surface where it will encounter the evanescent wave; and
(d) determining a characteristic of the nanostructure by observing at least one effect of electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the at least one nanostructure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for gathering image information from nanostructures includes a composite waveguide of conductive nanoparticles in a dielectric medium. The waveguide is irradiated with preferably coherent blue light to form a slow surface wave. The evanescent wave that is the “tail” of the surface wave exists outside the waveguide contiguous to its surface. The nanostructures are located to encounter the evanescent wave. The slowing of the wave that occurs in the waveguide reduces the wave'"'"'s speed and wavelength sufficiently such that nanostructures can be imaged. Upon encountering the evanescent wave, the nanostructures radiate. This radiation causes a backward scattering from the structures and a forward perturbation of the wavefront of the surface wave. From the scattering and perturbation information about the physical characteristics of the nanostructures sufficient to form an image is derived.
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Citations
65 Claims
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1. A method of gathering information concerning nanostructure characteristics including:
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(a) providing a waveguide of a first medium having a surface bounding a second medium;
(b) irradiating the waveguide with an electromagnetic wave to produce a surface wave at the surface bounding the second medium and an evanescent wave in the second medium contiguous with the surface;
(c) locating at least one nanostructure in the second medium proximate the surface where it will encounter the evanescent wave; and
(d) determining a characteristic of the nanostructure by observing at least one effect of electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the at least one nanostructure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of gathering information concerning nanostructure characteristics including:
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(a) providing a waveguide of a first medium having a surface bounding a second medium;
(b) irradiating the waveguide with an electromagnetic wave to produce a surface wave at the surface bounding the second medium and an evanescent wave in the second medium contiguous with the surface;
(c) locating at least one nanostructure in the second medium proximate the surface where it will encounter the evanescent wave;
(d) observing at least one effect of electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the at least one nanostructure; and
wherein irradiating the waveguide comprises irradiating the waveguide with electromagnetic energy having a free space wave length in the range from 400 nm. to 1000 nm. to create within the first medium a surface wave that is a slow wave having a wavelength that is ten times smaller or less. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of gathering information concerning nanostructure characteristics including:
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(a) providing a waveguide of a first medium having a surface bounding a second medium;
(b) irradiating the waveguide with an electromagnetic wave to produce a coherent surface wave at the surface bounding the second medium and an evanescent wave in the second medium contiguous with the surface;
(c) locating at least one nanostructure in the second medium proximate the surface where it will encounter the evanescent wave; and
(d) observing at least one effect of electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the at least one nanostructure by providing a reference coherent electromagnetic wave and applying to the reference coherent electromagnetic wave at least one of scattered electromagnetic energy and perturbed electromagnetic energy of the surface wave resulting from impingement of the evanescent wave upon the at least one nanostructure. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of gathering information concerning nanostructure characteristics including:
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(a) providing a waveguide of a first medium having a surface bounding a second medium;
(b) irradiating the waveguide with an electromagnetic wave to produce a surface wave at the surface bounding the second medium and an evanescent wave in the second medium contiguous with the surface;
(c) locating at least one nanostructure in the second medium proximate the surface where it will encounter the evanescent wave; and
(d) observing at least one effect of electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the at least one nanostructure; and
wherein step (c) comprises moving at least one of the waveguides and the at least one nanostructure to bring the at least one nanostructure from farther into closer proximity with the surface and step (d) comprises-observing the electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the at least one nanostructure at differing degrees of proximity to the surface.
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28. A method of gathering information concerning nanostructure characteristics including:
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(a) providing a waveguide of a first medium having a surface bounding a second medium;
(b) irradiating the waveguide with an electromagnetic wave to produce a surface wave at the surface bounding the second medium and an evanescent wave in the second medium contiguous with the surface;
(c) locating at least one nanostructure in the second medium proximate the surface where it will encounter the evanescent wave;
(d) observing at least one effect of electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the at least one nanostructure; and
wherein the at least one nanostructure comprises a plurality of nanostructures of varying heights, step (c) comprises varying the proximity of the nanostructures to the surface, and step (d) comprises observing the electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the nanostructures at differing degrees of proximity to the surface.
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29. A method of gathering information concerning nanostructure characteristics including:
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(a) providing a waveguide of a first medium having a surface bounding a second medium;
(b) irradiating the waveguide with an electromagnetic wave to produce a surface wave at the surface bounding the second medium and an evanescent wave in the second medium contiguous with the surface;
(c) locating at least one nanostructure in the second medium proximate the surface where it will encounter the evanescent wave; and
(d) observing at least one effect of electromagnetic interactions between the evanescent wave and the at least one nanostructure; and
wherein irradiating the waveguide comprises providing a conductive member optically coupled to the waveguide, and illuminating the conductive member with a laser to create a plasmon irradiating the waveguide with coherent light as a substantially point source of light from which the surface wave emanates. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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- 36. A structure examination transducer including an electromagnetic illumination pattern detector comprising an array of fluorescent particles, at least a plurality of the particles differing in fluorescent characteristic to emit light of different wavelengths upon fluorescing, means for directing electromagnetic illumination from a structure under examination to the array and means for directing to the array a reference electromagnetic illumination having a frequency causing interfering cancellation and reinforcing enhancement of the illumination from the structure whereby the frequencies of fluorescent emissions from the array are indicative of characteristics of the structure.
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42. In a transducer for examining nanostructures by irradiating with electromagnetic energy;
- the improvement including a surface wave conducting waveguide for slowing the speed of electromagnetic energy irradiating the waveguide, and forming the surface wave therein, the waveguide comprising;
(a) an array of spaced conductive metal particles having cross-sectional dimensions in the range from 1 to 100 nm., and spaced 10 to 50 nm. apart, (b) a binder material of higher dielectric constant coating the particles and filling separations therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
- the improvement including a surface wave conducting waveguide for slowing the speed of electromagnetic energy irradiating the waveguide, and forming the surface wave therein, the waveguide comprising;
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47. A nanostructure examination transducer including:
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(a) a waveguide comprising an array of conductive, spaced-apart particles having cross-sectional dimensions in the range 1 to 100 nm. and an interstitial binder having a permittivity greater than that of the particles, said waveguide forming a surface for the propagation of a slow surface wave, (b) means for coupling a source of radiant energy to the waveguide, (c) a detector coupled to the waveguide, and (d) means for locating nanostructures in proximity to the surface to be irradiated by an exponentially decaying evanescent wave associated with a slow surface wave propagated at the surface. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A method of displaying characteristics of an object comprising:
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(a) illuminating the object with electromagnetic energy;
(b) providing an array of discrete fluorescent units having varying wavelengths of fluorescence when illuminated;
(c) providing a reference illumination of electromagnetic energy illuminating the array;
(d) directing the illuminating electromagnetic energy that has illuminated the object to the array;
whereby fluorescent emissions from the array represent reinforcing combining of the reference illumination and the illuminating electromagnetic energy, and a lack of fluorescent emissions from the array represents a canceling combining of the reference illumination and the illuminating electromagnetic energy. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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Specification