With the support of the Canadian Light Source (CLS), a live demonstration of the neaSNOM nano-FTIR microscope in August 2016 provided researchers the opportunity to show synchrotron infrared nano-spectroscopy at the CLS for the first time.
neaspec’s application engineer Tobias Gokus partnered with the Canadian Light Source scientists Scott Rosendahl and Stuart Read to implement the neaSNOM into the CLS. They successfully demonstrated infrared imaging beyond the diffraction limit at the CLS Mid-Infrared Beamline.
Researchers have long been interested in using infrared light to probe materials due to its high chemical specificity. Coupled to a microscope, the composition of a sample can routinely be measured at 2-5 micrometers spatially. The neaSNOM is able to measure beyond this diffraction limit with optical near-field techniques. This increases the spatial resolution by a factor of 1000 down to about 20 nm. This allows researchers to gain insight into their chemical systems at an ultra high level of detail to better understand structure-function relationships.