Simultaneous scanning near-field optical and X-ray diffraction microscopy for correlative nanoscale structure–property characterization
Q. Li, S. D. Marks, S. Bean, M. Fisher, D. A. Walko, A. D. DiChiara, X. Chen, K. Imura, N. K. Sato, M. Liu, P. G. Evans and H. Wen
J. Synchrotron. Rad. 26, 1790 (2019)
A multimodal imaging instrument has been developed that integrates scanning near-field optical microscopy with nanofocused synchrotron X-ray diffraction imaging. The instrument allows for the simultaneous nanoscale characterization of electronic/near-field optical properties of materials together with their crystallographic structure, facilitating the investigation of local structure–property relationships. The design, implementation and operating procedures of this instrument are reported. The scientific capabilities are demonstrated in a proof-of-principle study of the insulator–metal phase transition in samarium sulfide (SmS) single crystals induced by applying mechanical pressure via a scanning tip. The multimodal imaging of an in situ tip-written region shows that the near-field optical reflectivity can be correlated with the heterogeneously transformed structure of the near-surface region of the crystal.