New nanoimaging process developed

23 October 2008

The liquid crystal including ordered polymers, emulsions, gels etc are used in a number of digital devices. Electrical or magnetic field can orient the molecules in these crystals and that’s how these devices work. Presently there is not much information available on the nano level.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a new technique for 3 D optical imaging of crystals having a volumetric resolution one thousand times smaller that the current techniques. He current technique will significantly improve the existing devices and will also open the new application areas.

Charles Rosenblatt, professor of Physics and Macromolecular Science and his team selected the existing near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) for 2 D imaging and by using polarized light and immersing the fiber into the fluid, the team collected images over different heights above the substrate. Using the technique NSOM, researchers converted result into polarized optical nanotomograpgy (ONT), used for 3D mapping.

The researchers took a newmatic liquid crystal for ONT imaging process as they can easily calculate its structure so that they match the expected and experimental results. A 60 nm optical fiber was immersed into a liquid crystal just above substrate. The experiment was carried out at different heights and molecular orientation profile was observed. The experimental results obtained were inline with the theoretical calculations.

Related Posts: