Nanoindenter multimodal microscope objective for mechanobiology

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9588327-B2
Application number	US-201414537096-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2014
Priority date	Dec 12, 2013
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for characterizing a sample in situ as to both its mechanical and optical characteristics. The apparatus comprises a reflective microscope with a concave primary mirror and a convex secondary mirror sharing a common optical axis, and an actuator vignetted by the convex secondary mirror for applying a force to a nanoprobe in a direction having a component along the common optical axis. The apparatus may addition include a source for generating an illuminating beam, a detector, and a processor for forming an image based on a signal provided by the detector.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for characterizing a sample in situ, the method comprising:
a. applying a force, by means of a nanoprobe, disposed within an umbral zone occluded by a secondary mirror of a reflective microscope objective and centered upon a probed locus on the surface of a sample;
b. focusing light with the reflective microscope objective onto a region of the sample including the said probed locus on the surface of the sample;
c. measuring a mechanical response of the sample to the applied force; and
d. imaging the region of the sample including the probed locus, concurrently with measuring the mechanical response of the sample.

2. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the nanoprobe is a nanoindenter.

3. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the nanoprobe is a tip of an atomic force microscope.

4. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the mechanical response is a displacement as a function of force.

5. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the optical interaction is light scattering.

6. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the optical interaction is a non-linear optical interaction.

7. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the optical interaction is fluorescence.

8. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the optical interaction is second-harmonic generation.

9. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the optical interaction is two-photon fluorescence.

10. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 1 , wherein characterizing the optical interaction includes spectral resolution of light scattered by the region of the sample including the probed locus.

11. The method for characterizing a sample in accordance with claim 1 , wherein characterizing the optical interaction includes spectral resolution of light interacting with the region of the sample including the probed locus.

12. An apparatus for characterizing a sample in situ, the apparatus comprising:
a. a source for generating an illuminating beam;
b. a reflective objective for focusing the illuminating beam onto an illuminated region of a surface of a sample;
c. a nanoindenter probe disposed within an umbral zone occluded by a secondary mirror of the reflective objective adapted for applying a force to a locus of the sample included within the illuminated region of the surface of the sample;
d. a detector for receiving light emanating from the illuminated region of the surface of the sample coupled via the reflective objective and for generating a detector signal; and
e. a processor for forming an image based at least upon the detector signal.

13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 12 , wherein the reflective objective is a Schwartzchild objective.

14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 12 , wherein the nanoindenter includes an actuator for applying a force to a nanotip.

15. The apparatus in accordance with claim 14 , wherein the actuator includes a MEMS force probe.

16. The apparatus in accordance with claim 14 , wherein the actuator includes a MEMS electrostatic comb drive.

Assignees

• Univ Illinois

Inventors

• Toussaint Kimani
• Ferreira Placid
• Johnson Amy Wagoner
• Wilson William

Classifications

• G01Q60/366

  Nanoindenters, i.e. wherein the indenting force is measured · CPC title

• G02B21/04 Primary

  involving mirrors · CPC title

• G01Q30/025

  Optical microscopes coupled with SPM · CPC title