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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 10, 2025

Sub-nanometer Resolution Imaging with Amplitude-modulation Atomic Force Microscopy in Liquid

Sub-nanometer Resolution Imaging with Amplitude-modulation Atomic Force Microscopy in Liquid

Published on: December 20, 2016

Visualizing nanometric structures with sub-millimeter waves.

Alonso Ingar Romero¹, Amlan Kusum Mukherjee², Anuar Fernandez Olvera¹

¹Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64283, Darmstadt, Germany.

Nature Communications

|December 8, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Far-field imaging achieves sub-wavelength resolution by analyzing Fabry-Pérot oscillations. This technique precisely measures nanoscale height profiles (31 nm) and centimeter thicknesses, surpassing near-field limitations.

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Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Extreme Nanowires and Other 1D Systems

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Last Updated: Oct 10, 2025

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Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Extreme Nanowires and Other 1D Systems

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Published on: April 28, 2016

Area of Science:

Optics and Photonics
Terahertz Spectroscopy
Metrology

Background:

Far-field imaging typically has resolution limited by wavelength.
Near-field techniques offer higher resolution but have limited dynamic range.
Coherent interference phenomena can enhance imaging resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate sub-wavelength resolution in far-field imaging.
To achieve high-precision height profile measurements using terahertz waves.
To overcome the dynamic range limitations of near-field techniques.

Main Methods:

Utilizing Fabry-Pérot oscillations within surface-structured samples.
Employing wavelengths between 0.375 mm and 0.5 mm (0.6-0.8 THz).
Applying a Hilbert-transform approach for optical thickness extraction.

Main Results:

Achieved height profile precision as low as 31 nm.
Visualized structures with heights of 49 nm (1:7500 to 1:10000 vacuum wavelengths).
Determined thicknesses in the centimeter range, demonstrating a large dynamic range.

Conclusions:

Far-field imaging can achieve precision comparable to near-field techniques.
The method offers a significantly larger dynamic range than near-field systems.
Wavelength stabilization is not required for accurate optical thickness extraction.