U.S. patent number 4,917,462 [Application Number 07/394,304] was granted by the patent office on 1990-04-17 for near field scanning optical microscopy.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Cornell Research Foundation, Inc.. Invention is credited to R. Eric Betzig, Alec Harootunian, Michael Isaacson, Aaron Lewis.
United States Patent |
4,917,462 |
Lewis , et al. |
April 17, 1990 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Near field scanning optical microscopy
Abstract
An aperture probe in the form of a tapered metal-coated glass
pipette having a thin tip provides near-field access to a sample
for near-field microscopy. The pipette is formed from a glass tube
drawn down to a fine tip, and then coated, as by evaporation, by a
metallic layer. The central opening of the tube is drawn down to a
submicron diameter, and the metal coating is formed with an
aperture at that opening. Aperture diameters down to 500 Angstroms
diameter are provided. Also disclosed is a microscope utilizing the
pipette aperture for scanning near-field imaging of samples.
Inventors: |
Lewis; Aaron (Ithaca, NY),
Isaacson; Michael (Ithaca, NY), Betzig; R. Eric (Ann
Arbor, MI), Harootunian; Alec (Syracuse, NY) |
Assignee: |
Cornell Research Foundation,
Inc. (Ithaca, NY)
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Family
ID: |
26902738 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/394,304 |
Filed: |
August 16, 1989 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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207927 |
Jun 15, 1988 |
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90408 |
Aug 27, 1987 |
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796356 |
Nov 8, 1985 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
359/368; 250/216;
359/558; 359/894 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B
6/00 (20130101); G01Q 60/22 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G02B
6/00 (20060101); G12B 21/00 (20060101); G12B
21/06 (20060101); G02B 005/18 (); G02B 021/00 ();
H01J 003/14 (); H01J 005/16 () |
Field of
Search: |
;350/1.1,162.11,319,507
;250/216 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
Review of Scientific Instruments, 49 (12), pp. 1735-1740, Dec.
1978, "Piezo driven 50 .mu.m Range Stage with Subnanometer
Resolution", by Frederick E. Scire et al. .
Ash, A. et al., "Super-Resolution Aperture Scanning Microscop",
Nature, vol. 237, pp. 510-512, Jun. 30, 1972. .
Harootunian, A et al., "ThN6. Near-Field Investigation of
Submicrometer Apertures at Optical Wavelengths", Optical Society of
America, Nov. 1984. .
Lewis, A et al., "Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy", Physics
Today, pp. S12-S13, Jan. 1985. .
Lewis, A et al., "Scanning Optical Spectral Microscopy with
500.ANG. Spatial Resolution", Biophysical Journal, vol. 41, p.
405a, Feb. 1983. .
Lewis, A et al., "Development of a 500 .ANG. Spatial Resolution
Light Microscope", Ultramicroscopy, vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 227-232,
1984. .
Moharir, P. S., "Two-Dimensional Encoding Masks for Hadamard
Spectrometric Imager", IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic
Compatibility, vol. EMC-16, No. 2, pp. 126-129, May 1974. .
Pohl, D. W. et al., "Optical Stethoscopy: Image Recording with
Resolution /20", Appl. Phys. Lett., pp. 651-653, Apr. 1, 1984, vol.
44, No. 7. .
Weisburd, S., "Light Returns with Resolve", Science News, vol. 125,
pp. 262, 1984..
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Primary Examiner: Bovernick; Rodney B.
Assistant Examiner: Kachmarik; Ronald M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Jones, Tullar & Cooper
Government Interests
This invention was made with Government support under AFOSR grand
84-0314 awarded by the U.S. Air Force. The United States Government
has certain rights in this invention.
The present invention relates to work supported in part by Grant
No. ECS 82-00312 of the National Science Foundation.
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/297,927, filed
June 15, 1988, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No.
090408, filed Aug. 27, 1987, now abandoned, which is a continuation
of Ser. No. 796,356, filed Nov. 8, 1985, now abandoned, all
entitled "Near - Field Scanning Optical Microscopy" and assigned to
the assignee of the present application.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Apparatus for near-field microscopy, comprising:
a tapered, generally tubular pipette having an axial central
opening, an upper body portion and a lower tip portion, a tapered
glass wall coated with an opaque, metallic layer, and a submicron
aperture at the end of said tip portion;
means for mounting said pipette for controlled axial motion, in a z
direction;
stage means for receiving a sample to be observed;
means for moving said stage means in an x-y plane with respect to
said aperture; and
means for determining the proximity of said aperture to the surface
of a sample, and for activating said means for mounting said
pipette to move said aperture with respect to a sample to position
the surface of the sample within the near-field region of said
aperture.
2. The apparatus of claim 12, further including vibration-absorbing
means for supporting said stage means and said means for mounting
said pipette.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said vibration-absorbing means
includes a support plate carried by pneumatic support means for
absorbing vibrations having a frequency above about 5 Hz.
4. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said means for mounting said
pipette includes:
a housing; and
positioning means mounted on said housing and supporting said
pipette, said positioning means being responsive to control signals
for incrementally moving said pipette in said z direction in steps
less than the extent of the near-field region of said aperture.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said positioning means
comprises a piezoelectric positioner for moving said aperture in
incremental steps of about 20 Angstroms.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said means for moving said
stage means includes a coarse x-y positioner for locating a sample
with respect to said aperture, and a fine x-y positioner for
incrementally scanning a sample with respect to said aperture.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said fine x-y positioner
includes a piezoelectric positioning means for moving said stage
means in incremental steps of about 20 Angstroms in an x direction
and a y direction.
8. The apparatus of claim 4, further including optical means for
visually monitoring the position of said pipette with respect to a
sample.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, further including means for directing
intense visible light onto a sample on said stage means, and
optical means for visually monitoring the position of said pipette
with respect to such a sample.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said means for directing
light onto a sample includes a source of light, an objective lens
located to direct light from said source through said stage means
and toward said pipette, whereby a sample on said stage means will
be illuminated from one side and light emitted from its opposite
side will be detected within the near filled region of the surface
of the sample by said pipette aperture.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said means for directing
light onto a sample includes a source of light, means for directing
light from said source through said pipette and toward the upper
surface of said stage means, said pipette collecting reflected
light within the near-field region of the surface of a sample on
said stage means.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for determining
the proximity of said aperture to the surface of a sample on said
stage means includes means for applying a voltage between said
metallic layer on said pipette and said stage means, and means for
measuring the current flow therebetween, the current flow providing
a measure of the distance between said aperture and the surface of
a sample on said stage means.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, further including means for directing
intense, visible light onto a sample carried on said stage
means.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said means for directing
light is a laser.
15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said means for directing
light onto a sample comprises means for directing light through
said stage means and toward said pipette for transmission
illumination of a sample.
16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said means for directing
light onto a sample comprises means for directing light through
said pipette toward said stage means for epiillumination of a
sample.
17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said submicron aperture has
a diameter less than the wavelength of said visible light.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said tapered glass wall has
at its lower tip portion an outer diameter equal to or greater than
the wavelength of said visible light, and an inner diameter less
than the wavelength of said visible light, said metallic layer
covering the wall of said lower tip portion surrounding said axial
central opening of said pipette to provide said submicron aperture,
whereby light travelling in said pipette toward said aperture
travels in a propagating mode throughout the length of the pipette,
travels through said aperture in a decaying mode, and thereafter
again travels in a propagating mode, said pipette and aperture
producing collimated light in the projected image of said aperture
within the near-field region of said aperture.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said near-field region
extends a distance equal to at least one-half the diameter of said
submicron aperture.
20. Apparatus for near-field microscopy, comprising:
a pipette having a glass wall forming an upper body portion and a
lower elongated tip portion and including an axially extending
opening terminating in a submicron aperture at the lower end of
said tip portion;
an opaque metallic layer on the outer surface of said glass wall
and surrounding said submicron aperture;
means for mounting said pipette for motion with respect to a
sample; and
means for moving said pipette to position at least a portion of
said sample within the near field region of said aperture.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, further including light source means
for illuminating said sample, whereby light from said sample will
be detected by said pipette within its near field region.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said aperture has a diameter
less than the wavelength of light from said sample.
23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said near field region
extends a distance equal to at least one-half the diameter of said
submicron aperture.
24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said pipette glass wall
tapers in thickness from said upper body portion to said tip
portion.
25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the lower end of said tip
portion includes an annular bottom tip wall surrounding said
aperture, and wherein the outer surface of said annular tip wall
includes said metallic layer.
26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the outer diameter of said
elongated tip portion is greater than the wavelength of light from
said sample, and wherein the diameter of said aperture is smaller
than the wavelength of light from said sample.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to work supported in part by Grant
No. ECS 82-00312 of the National Science Foundation.
The present invention relates, in general, to optical microscopy,
and more particularly to near-field scanning for high-resolution
imaging.
With the advance of submicron technology, the need for a microscope
using light for use in the microanalysis of materials has steadily
increased. Although various devices, such as electron microscopes,
are available for detecting objects with a very high degree of
resolution, such prior devices have required that the samples to be
observed must be inserted into a vacuum or must be subjected to
ionizing radiation. These techniques result in serious damage or
destruction of the sample, and, particularly when biological
material is being studied, such techniques have been
unsatisfactory.
Nondestructive viewing of samples can be obtained with presently
available technology, using visible light in two different ranges.
At the lower end of the scale, fluorescence spectroscopy, coupled
with chemical methods, can be used to determine on a statistical
basis the dimensions between objects that are up to about 80
Angstroms apart. At the upper end of the scale, light microscopy,
when used in the fluorescence mode, can be used to determine
dimensions as small as about one-half the wavelength of the light
that is used; that is, down to about 2,500 Angstroms. However,
separations between objects, or feature dimensions, of between 80
Angstroms and 2,500 Angstroms are inaccessible when visible
wavelengths are used. The ability to determine such dimensions
using light microscopy would be very important since, unlike
electron microscopy, samples could be studied in their natural
environment without resorting to high-vacuum conditions and without
the risk of damage. Such actuability would be particularly useful
in biological applications where clinical testing or chemical
mapping are to be done.
As discussed in copending application Ser. No. 520,041, now U.S.
Pat. No. 4,662,747, filed Aug. 3, 1983, and assigned to the
assignee of the present application, visible radiation can be
transmitted in useful amounts through submicron apertures which are
on the order of one-sixteenth of the wavelength of the incident
radiation and the radiation emanating through the aperture will be
the geometric projection of that aperture. This feature is
essentially independent of the wavelength of the incident light.
Further, when an aperture is very close to or in contact with an
object which is to be imaged, radiation from the object passing
through the aperture is the geometric projection of that part of
the object which falls within the projection of the aperture. The
radiation pattern produced by light passing through a submicron
aperture becomes more diffuse as a result of the changing angular
distribution of the radiation, which occurs in the Fresnel region.
Eventually, a distance is reached where the angular distribution of
the radiation pattern becomes constant as a function of distance,
so that further motion does not change the shape or size of the
pattern. This is known as the far field of the light pattern.
Between the aperture and the beginning of the Fresnel region, the
radiation is collimated and essentially projecting the shape of the
aperture. This region is known as the near-field, and extends for a
distance from the surface of the material on which the aperture is
formed equal to about one-half the diameter of the aperture.
Over a decade ago, the principle of super-resolution microscopy was
demonstrated at microwave frequencies by E. A. Ash and G. Nicholls
("Super-Resolution Aperture Scanning Microscope", Nature 237,
p.510, 1972). In their experiment, a grating of 0.5 mm periodicity
was imaged with an effective resolution of one-sixtieth the
wavelength of the incident radiation. However, until the work
described in the above-described copending application Ser. No.
520,041, the applicants therein were unaware of any published
attempts to extend this technique to the visible region of the
spectrum. Not only did the minute physical dimensions of the
optical near-field demand aperture fabrication and micropositioning
technologies beyond those available at the time of the Ash, et al,
publication, it was also not known whether the results of the
microwave experiment could be extended to the visible region. U. C.
H. Fischer ("Optical Characteristics of 0.1 um Circular Apertures
in a Metal Film as Light Sources for Scanning Ultramicroscopy", J.
Vacuum Science Technology, B.3, p.386, 1985) discloses results
obtained by scanning a subwavelength aperture over a second, larger
aperture. However, the results obtained by that device are
difficult to interpret, since the opacity of the metal films used
therein was not large, so that the apertures were poorly defined.
In addition, coherent monochromatic illumination was used at a
grazing incidence, so that a series of standing waves may have been
generated to produce the reported results.
A near-field imaging system for use in the far infrared is
described by G. A. Massey, et al. ("Subwavelengths Resolution
Far-Infrared Microscopy", Applied Optics 24, p.1498, 1985).
Although this system may find many applications in the detection of
heat transport on a microscopic scale, for example, it does not
provide resolution capabilities on a submicron scale. Pohl, et al.
("Optical Stethoscopy: Image Recording With Resolution
.lambda./20", Applied Physics Letters 44, p.652, 1984), have
developed a system for superresolution microscopy, but the sizes
and the structure of the apertures used were not characterized.
Furthermore, the manufacturing techniques presented in that article
present considerable challenges in the attainment of
reproducibility.
The foregoing attempts to implement a near-field scanning technique
attest to the difficulty of obtaining success. To further
demonstrate the technical challenges inherent in this form of
microscopy, the transmission of light through a slit of infinite
length in a screen of finite thickness was calculated. The results
demonstrated that the radiation passing through such an aperture
remains collimated to a distance of at least one-half the slit
width and that the extent of the near-field increases with the slit
width. Further, the calculations indicated that the near-field
energy flux exhibited a close-to-exponential decrease in intensity
with increasing distance from the screen. These results suggested
that rigid stability requirements would be needed in the direction
perpendicular to the surface of the object and of the screen in
order to obtain reproducible results.
As described in the aforesaid copending application Ser. No.
520,041, an aperture plate incorporating apertures having diameters
on the order of 300 Angstroms has been constructed, and it has been
demonstrated that visible light can pass through such apertures,
independently of the wavelength of the light. Relatively high
transmission is obtained, sufficient to obtain detectable amounts
of light using an ordinary microscope illuminator lamp as the light
source.
Again, as set forth in Ser. No. 520,041, it was found that spectral
phenomena, produced by illuminating an object, also exhibit a
near-field radiation pattern; that is, spectral phenomena emanating
from an object are essentially perpendicular to the surface from
which they emanate, within the near-field region of an aperture
used to image the surface. This phenomenon, combined with the use
of extremely small apertures, permits observation, in the
near-field of an object, of a field of view which is limited to the
area of the aperture projected on the surface being observed. As
long as the surface is within the near-field of the aperture, the
spectral phenomena passing through the aperture will be collimated.
An image of the object can be formed if the aperture (or an
aperture array) is scanned in a raster-like fashion relative to the
object. Such a scanning system has a spatial resolution limited by
the aperture diameter instead of by the wavelength of incident
light or the spectral phenomena emanating from the surface, and
thus can have a resolution on the order of one-tenth to
one-sixteenth the wavelength of the incident light.
Although the aperture or aperture array of Ser. No. 520,041 works
well as described therein, it has been found that some difficulty
has been encountered in attempting to obtain precise observations
in those cases where the surface of the object is uneven or is
shaped in such a way as to prevent the aperture from being
positioned so that the object lies in the near-field of the
aperture. This condition severely limits the depth of field of the
imaging device, and is of particular concern in the study of
biological specimens where it may be desirable to view an object
having an extremely uneven surface while still avoiding injury to
that object.
When viewing objects through extremely small working distances, the
positioning of the viewing aperture becomes extremely critical. In
such cases it becomes essential that the instrument be isolated
from any environmental vibrations, that changes in materials due to
thermal drift be prevented or compensated, and that extremely
precise positioning of the aperture be available in all three
spatial dimensions. Further, since the light transmitted through a
submicron aperture is weak, a sensitive detection system is
extremely important, and care must be taken to reduce noise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an
improved method and apparatus for carrying out near-field optical
microscopy.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an
improved apparatus for near-field microscopy which apparatus is
scannable along an irregular surface.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
method for constructing an aperture for use in near-field
microscopy.
It is a further object of the resent invention to provide apparatus
for scanning in high resolution near-field microscopy.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of an
improved optical aperture which is capable of scanning an object in
the near-field and which is further capable of detecting
low-intensity visible light for near-field microscopy.
Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for
mounting and translating an aperture, the apparatus including
feedback techniques for positioning the aperture to permit scanning
of rough surfaces in the near-field region.
A particular object of the invention is the provision of a high
resolution scanning visible light microscope having a resolution
comparable to that of a scanning electron microscope, but also
having the ability to study live cells and cellular colonies in
their living aqueous environment without the need to destroy the
biological system by exposing it to ionizing radiation or by
putting it in a vacuum.
Briefly, the present invention is directed to an improved aperture
probe for placing a scannable aperture in close proximity to the
surface of an object to be imaged. The probe is in the form of a
highly tapered, metallized glass pipette, with the aperture being
formed at the smallest end thereof. The pipette is formed by
heating and pulling a glass tube to taper the pipette and then
further heating and pulling it until it breaks. By selecting
various wall thicknesses of the glass tube, inner tip diameters of
from less than 1,000 Angstroms to 5,000 Angstroms, with outer tip
diameters of from 5,000 to 7,500 Angstroms have been reproducibly
generated, with the thicker-walled tubes producing smaller inner
diameters. An aluminum coating is evaporated onto the outer surface
of the pipette so formed to increase the opacity of the glass wall.
This evaporation results in a uniformly metallized, tapered pipette
with a tip aperture smaller than 1,000 Angstroms, and, preferably,
about 500 Angstroms.
The taper of the pipette is of particular importance, for when
light is passed down the pipette, it is transmitted through the
outer glass wall as well as through the central region. The inner
diameter of the pipette rapidly tapers from the nominal dimension
of the tube body to dimensions of less than an optical wavelength
at the tip. Light transmitted through the pipette in the central
opening and in the glass wall remains in a propagating mode
throughout the length of the pipette since the outer diameter of
the glass wall is larger than the cutoff value that would be
expected if it were treated as a classical waveguide. Only at the
thin metallized region at the tip of the pipette is the cutoff
threshold reached, and, accordingly, a large throughput of light is
obtained with only a very small region of decay. Upon leaving the
aperture, the radiation once again exists in a propagating
mode.
The pipette is mounted on a stable platform such as an optical
table which isolates it from vibrations which may be present in the
building in which it is mounted. The platform preferably is massive
and is mounted on vibration-absorbing air mounts to reduce high
frequency vertical disturbances. A honeycomb plate resting on
pneumatic supports is then placed on top of the optical table to
provide isolation in the intermediate frequency range. Mounted on
this plate is a housing which surrounds the optical system. Within
the housing is a pair of x and y positioning stages which provide
coarse positioning for an object or sample to be observed. These
stages may be operated by motor-driven threaded actuators for rough
positioning of the sample which is to be imaged. Carried on the x
and y positioning stages is a piezoelectric high resolution
translation stage for very high resolution positioning of the
sample. Such high resolution micropositioning stages are
well-known, an example of such a stage being described in
"Piezo-driven 50 Micrometer Range Stage with Subnanometer
Resolution", Frederick E. Scire, et al., Review of Scientific
Instruments 49(12), pp.1735-1740, December 1978. A sample holder
stage is mounted on the micropositioner stage.
The pipette is positioned with approximately one micron accuracy
over the sample holder, and particularly over the section of the
sample to be scanned. A positioning stage is provided to located
the pipette in the x-y plane. The pipette is also adjustable in the
z direction, a stacked piezoelectric element being used for this
purpose. Application of a suitable voltage to the stacked
piezoelectric element moves the pipette in the z direction toward
and away from the surface of the object to be scanned.
A suitable light source is mounted to illuminate the sample, and
light detectors are provided in alignment with the upper end of the
pipette. The detectors may be in the form of a fiber optic bundle
leading to a photomultiplier or other detector circuitry. Incident
light is directed onto the sample and is transmitted through, or
reflected by the sample, or fluorescence is produced by the sample,
in a direction which is perpendicular to the sample surface in the
near-field region of the aperture. This light from the sample is
detected by the pipette in its near field, and is directed to the
detector circuit, which is in the far field of the aperture.
In one embodiment of the invention, light is transmitted down
through the pipette and onto the surface of the sample, with
returned light in the form of reflection or fluorescence being
returned upwardly through the pipette to the detector circuitry. In
another embodiment, light is transmitted continuously through the
sample, to the pipette.
During the imaging of a surface, the sample (or the pipette) is
moved in the x-y plane in discrete steps with respect to the
pipette (or the sample), with the steps preferably being about 150
Angstroms in length. Suitable sensors are provided on the pipette
probe to detect the distance between the probe tip and the surface
of the sample. Feedback signals to the probe positioning stack
adjusts the vertical (z-direction) position of the probe during the
scan so as to keep the tip in the near-field region.
The pipette aperture probe and positioning apparatus will provide
optical microscopy and dynamic measurements of intermolecular
interaction in living systems at a scale that bridges the gap
between fluorescence microscopy, with its 2,500 Angstroms
resolution, and fluorescence spectroscopy, which allows dimension
of less than 80 Angstroms to be measured. The availability of the
present probe will generate, at 500 Angstroms resolution,
chemically selective images of the molecular constituents of living
cells. Furthermore, the present device will permit dynamic
measurements at 500 Angstroms resolution and will yield
fundamental, new insights in biology and medicine.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and additional objects, features, and advantages of
the present invention will become apparent to those of skill in the
art from a consideration of the following detailed description of
preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the near field region of a
submicron aperture;
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the method of making a
submicron aperture pipette, in accordance with the present
invention;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged, partial, cross-sectional view of a pipette
in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a near-field microscope
using the submicron aperture pipette of the present invention;
and
FIG. 5 is a side elevation view, in partial section, of a
near-field scanning microscope system.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The fundamental principle underlying the near-field scanning
optical microscope of the present invention is illustrated in FIG.
1, where visible light is depicted by arrows 10 as being normally
incident upon a conducting screen 12 containing a small aperture 14
having a diameter less than the wavelength of the incident light
10. Because the screen is completely opaque, the radiation
emanating through the aperture and into the region beyond the
screen is first collimated to the aperture size rather than to the
wavelength of the radiation employed. This collimation occurs in
the aperture, but continues into the near-field region 16.
Eventually, the effect of diffraction is evidenced as a marked
divergence in the emanating radiation, indicated by arrows 18,
resulting in a radiation pattern that no longer reproduces the
geometrical image of the aperture. This occurs in the far field
region, generally indicated at 20.
If an object such as a cell membrane is placed within the
near-field region relative to aperture 14, the aperture acts as a
light source whose size is not determined by the considerations of
geometrical optics, but instead is a projected image of the
aperture itself. This light source can be scanned over the object,
and detected light, either transmitted through the object or
reflected therefrom, can be used to generate a high-resolution
image of the area on which the light falls. Because the resolution
is dependent upon the aperture size rather than upon the wavelength
of the incident radiation, it becomes possible to obtain a
resolution of 500 Angstroms or better if a sufficiently small
aperture is used. This technique can be applied in air, or in
aqueous environments, and uses nonionizing, visible radiation, thus
allowing functioning biological systems, as well as other objects,
to be imaged at high resolution.
Theoretical calculations of the pattern of radiation in the
near-field for light transmitted through a slit of infinite length
demonstrate that the radiation remains collimated to a distance of
at least one-half the slit width, and that its extent increases
with slit width. The near-field energy flux calculations showed a
close-to-exponential decrease in intensity with increasing distance
from the aperture screen. Thus, the radiation emanating from a 500
Angstroms wide slit would remain collimated to an approximate
distance of 250 Angstroms. Similar results are obtained with
circular apertures. Because the near-field region is so small, it
is apparent that an object to be scanned by such an aperture must
be positioned very accurately with respect to the aperture.
Furthermore, because the intensity in the near-field is so strongly
dependent upon distance, the separation between the aperture and
the object must be maintained with a high degree of precision.
Because of these strict positioning requirements, the use of the
present technique in optical imaging devices requires careful
attention to the positioning of the object, maintaining its
stability, and enhancing the signal to noise ratio for measurements
obtained thereby.
In a typical building environment, vibrations exist at frequencies
as low as two to four Hz, although most of the vibrational energy
is in the five to 30 Hz range. This can translate into
displacements of up to one micron, and if this energy were to be
transferred without attenuation to the critical components of a
near-field scanning optical microscope, and if the aperture and the
object were not held together with sufficient rigidity, then their
relative displacement could vary by two to three orders of
magnitude greater than the precision required to produce meaningful
measurements. Accordingly, it is necessary to isolate the optical
microscope from both horizontal and vertical vibrations from the
building. In addition, such a system must employ a damping
mechanism to ensure that any vibrations which are caused by the
motion of the object itself in the course of a scan are also
reduced or eliminated. Further, the system must be effectively
isolated from acoustic vibrations, which fall in the 20 Hz to 20
kHz range.
Although the thermal expansion coefficients of the various
components of a near-field scanning optical microscope system will
vary widely with composition and size, it can be expected that such
components will expand or contract roughly 0.1 to 1.0 microns for
every one degree Centigrade increase or decrease in temperature.
Thus, the differential rate of expansion of the aperture relative
to an object to be imaged presents a serious obstacle toward
obtaining the required micropositioning capabilities for
superresolution microscopy, unless the instrument is carefully
designed to ensure that the thermal expansion of the aperture
relative to the object is rather small or that stringent control is
maintained over the temperature of the entire apparatus.
A final requirement for accurate micropositioning of the object
with respect to the aperture is to translate the aperture and the
object accurately with respect to one another in all three spatial
dimensions. The translating system should position the aperture
with a precision of roughly 20 Angstroms in the z direction
(perpendicular to the plane of the object). It is equally necessary
to obtain accurate positioning in the x and y directions (in the
plane of the object), since the size of the steps taken during
scanning the in the x and y directions limits the resolution of
such systems. The step size during a scan should be shorter than
one-half of the desired resolution, so a system designed for 500
Angstroms resolution must include positioning control of better
than 250 Angstroms in the x and y directions.
The light transmitted through a submicron aperture is weak enough
to require the use of sensitive detection electronics, and good
detection becomes increasingly important when the aperture scans
quickly over the object. Weak signals can particularly be expected
in biological applications where contrast differences in a specimen
can be quite small. In such applications, a variety of
nondestructive methods can be used to increase contrast, ranging
from a computer enhancement of images to the fluorescent labelling
of specimens.
Since rather weak signals are expected, there can be a significant
amount of noise. This noise can be reduced by increasing the period
of data collection at any given location, but this is done at the
expense of scan speed. Noise can also be introduced if there is any
variation in the intensity of the light used to illuminate the
sample or the aperture. Furthermore, since the aperture screen may
not be completely opaque, any light which is transmitted through
it, rather than through this aperture, will contribute to noise.
There are also sources of noise related to the translation of the
object, for variations in the x-y positioning of the object
relative to the aperture can cause an apparent distortion in the
image or can smear the contrast and resolution information at a
selected point. Of even more significance are the large variations
in apparent signal strength which can be caused by slight changes
in the aperture to object separation. Finally, noise can be
introduced when scanning thick, translucent objects (which are
thicker than the near-field region of the aperture), because the
system will detect light scatter from the diffraction-limited far
field regions as well as from the collimated near-field
regions.
Although apertures formed in thin, planar membranes of the type
illustrated in FIG. 1 could be used in certain imaging
applications, as described in the aforesaid copending application
Ser. No. 520,041, it has been found that such apertures have a very
limited depth of field due to the limited extend of the collimation
of radiation in the near-field region. Because of this limitation,
apertures in a planar membrane cannot probe recessed regions in
rough surfaces. The present invention overcomes this problem
through the provision of a highly tapered, metallized glass pipette
which carries at its tip a submicron aperture.
The pipette, and a method of making it to produce the required
aperture diameter, are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, to which
reference is now made. As shown in FIG. 2, the pipette is formed
from a glass tube 24 by means of a simple gravity-driven pipette
puller. The puller includes a support clamp 26 for securing tube 24
in a vertical position, and a weight 28 secured to the tube below
the clamp. Midway between the clamp 26 and weight 28 is an
induction heating coil 30 which surrounds the tube and which, upon
application of a suitable current, heats the tube to near the
melting point. This causes the tube to elongate in the area of the
induction coil due to the force applied by the weight 28. By
controlling the temperature of the glass, the tube is drawn down
until near the breaking point, at which time the tube is cooled and
is then broken at the break line, generally indicated at 32, to
produce an upper pipette 34 and a lower pipette 44.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pulling action produces a highly
tapered glass pipette 34 having an inner surface 36 defining an
axial, circular central opening 38 and a tapered annular glass wall
portion 40 having an outer surface 42. Initially, the tube 24 from
which the pipette is formed has an inner diameter (I. D.). The
outer diameter (0. D.) of the glass tube 24 depends on the glass
thickness selected. As illustrated, the pulling of the pipette
causes the outer diameter of the tube to become reduced in size
from the nominal outer diameter of the tube 24 which forms the body
43 of the pipette, causes the wall 40 to be drawn down and reduced
in thickness T, and causes the central opening 38 to be drawn down
to a very small diameter at the tip portion 44 of the pipette. By
selecting different wall thicknesses T of the glass tube from which
the pipette is formed, the drawing down of the pipettes in the
manner illustrated in FIG. 2 produces inner diameters of from less
than about 1,000 Angstroms and, preferably, about 500 Angstroms, to
about 5,000 Angstroms, with the glass walls of the pipettes having
outer diameters at the tip region 44 of between 5,000 Angstroms and
7,500 Angstroms. Thicker-walled tubes were found to produce smaller
inner diameters at the tip region.
If desired, the exterior surface of the pipette can be etched with
a suitable etchant such as hydrogen fluoride to reduce the outer
diameter, whereby a wall thickness of less than 1,000 Angstroms can
be produced. This reduces the exterior diameter of the pipette from
that which can be obtained simply by pulling the glass tube, and is
desirable since the outer diameter of the pipette limits the
topography which can be imaged.
The exterior surface 42 of the pipette as well as the lower surface
46 of the pipette tip formed at the break line 32 are coated with a
layer 48 of metal, such as aluminum, which is evaporated onto the
surface of the pipette in conventional manner, as diagrammatically
illustrated by arrows 49. This layer of metal increases the opacity
of the glass wall of the pipette to cause the pipette to act as a
wave guide for light entering either end thereof, and also forms on
lower surface 46 an annular mask having an aperture 50 at the
central opening 38 of the tip 44. The mask blocks light propagating
in the glass wall, but provides a tip aperture smaller than 1,000
Angstroms. Aluminum is preferred for the layer 48, because of its
high absorption coefficient at the wavelengths of visible light.
Other metals such as chrome also have desirable properties, such as
smaller grain size, but such metals have lower absorption
coefficients.
The taper of the pipette in the intermediate region 52 from the
body portion 43 to the tip 44 is of particular importance. When
light is passed down the pipette in the direction of arrows 54, it
is transmitted through the outer glass wall 40, as well as through
the central opening 38. The inner diameter of the pipette, that is,
the diameter of surface 36, rapidly tapers in the region 52 to a
dimension of less than an optical wavelength for the light being
used. The light transmission through the glass and through the
center of the pipette suggests that the radiation exists in a
propagating mode throughout the length of the pipette, since the
outer diameter 0. D. of the pipette; that is, the diameter of the
outer surface 42, can remain larger than the wavelength of the
light. However, at the thin, metallized mask region at the tip 46
of the pipette, the cut-off threshold of the propagating light
waves is reached; that is, the propagation mode is terminated by
the metallized layer at the tip. A decaying evanescent wave is
thereby created within the aperture 50 formed in the metallic
layer. However, since the metallic layer 48 is thin, the region of
evanescence, or decay, is short, and large throughputs of light are
observed. Upon leaving the aperture, the radiation once again
exists in a propagating mode, but is in the form illustrated in
FIG. 1, with the radiation propagating in the near-field in the
shape of the aperture 50, and dispersing in the far-field
region.
The technique of drawing a pipette down to a small point is an
inexpensive and easily reproducible method of fabricating large
quantities of apertures having known geometry and hole diameter. By
using the proper amount of tension and heat, it is possible to
produce pipettes having a tip opening of 500 Angstroms with the
interior opening 38 tapering away from the aperture at an angle
which permits light to be transmitted either out of the pipette in
the direction of arrows 54, or into the pipette in the direction of
arrow 55, while experiencing only negligible attenuation. The
pipette can, therefore, be used to direct light onto an object very
precisely, or can be used to detect light emanating from an object
to be studied.
The pipette described with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3 can be used to
image an object by using a scanning technique so that spectral
phenomena observed in the near-field of the aperture 50 can be
recorded at a far field distance. An image of the object can be
formed if the aperture is scanned in a raster-like fashion relative
to the object and will have a spatial resolution limited by the
aperture diameter, rather than the wavelength. Such a scanning
optical microscope is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 4
wherein a pipette 34 is mounted with its tip 44 adjacent an object
56 to be imaged. The object is carried on a stage 58 which may be
transparent, and which is adapted to be moved in very precise steps
in x and y directions in the plane of the stage, with, for example,
a 20 Angstrom resolution. Light from an intense, tunable light
source 60, such as a laser, is directed, in a transmission mode of
operation, by means of a mirror 62, through the transparent stage
58 and into the object, or sample 56 to be imaged. The light
excites spectral phenomena in the sample, either through
fluorescence or transmission. The probe is positioned sufficiently
close to the sample that the surface thereof is within the
near-field region of the aperture 50 to detect the low-level light
signals emitted from the sample. The light collected by the pipette
is supplied to a photomultiplier 64, which is in the far field of
the aperture on the opposite side thereof from the sample, where
the light signals are recorded. Motion of the stage 58 in the x and
y directions permits two-dimensional mapping of the sample. Because
the light collected is detected in the far field, standard methods
for analysis, such as the use of a spectrograph at an optical
multichannel analyzer can be used, and a spectral map of the
near-field excited region obtained thereby.
Positioning of the pipette with respect to the sample 56 may be
accomplished by means of an object lens 66 surrounding the pipette
34, an annular mirror 68 and an eye piece (not shown).
The objective lens 66 has a small diameter central hole in which
the pipette 34 can be inserted. The advantage of such a lens
arrangement is that the tip 44 of the pipette can be placed at the
focal plane of the objective lens so that the lens can be used to
obtain an image of the sample over a larger field of view than that
obtainable by the pipette to provide coarse positioning of the
pipette.
The lens/pipette combination illustrated in FIG. 4 provides a great
deal of flexibility in terms of illumination and detection. Thus,
the combination can be used not only in the transmission mode
discussed above, but also in an epiillumination mode. In the
transmission mode, the light transmitted through the sample is
collected by the objective lens 66 as well as by the aperture at
the tip 44 of the pipette 34. Because of the near exponential
decrease in light intensity with distance, the top surface of the
sample is imaged preferentially by the pipette, and a lens 70 at
the other end of the pipette focuses the radiation through an
aperture 72 in the annular mirror 68 and onto the detector 64. A
dichroic mirror 74, with filters or a beam-splitter filter
combination, may be placed in the aperture 72 if fluorescence is to
be detected by detector 64. The annular mirror 68 reflects the
light from the far field objective lens 66 onto a second detector
76. A second dichroic mirror 78 can be inserted in the light path
before detector 76 if fluorescence light is being imaged by the
objective lens 66.
In epiillumination in the fluorescence mode, the same sample and
pipette arrangement is used, but the incident light from source 60
is first reflected by a mirror 80 to the dichroic mirror 78 and
then by way of dichroic mirror 74 and annular mirror 68 to be
focused on the sample 56 by lens 66 and by way of mirror 74 and
lens 70 to be directed to the sample through the pipette 34. The
detection of fluorescence in this mode is the same as above. Such a
design can also be used for nonfluorescence reflectance
measurements in epiillumination, and for such measurement, both of
the dichroic mirrors 74 and 78 are replaced by beam splitters. For
all of these imaging modes, the sample is moved rather than the
lens system in order to get the highest resolution.
Since the aperture 50 must be in the near-field relative to the
object 56, the aperture-object separation must be determined with
great precision, and the pipette tip preferably is used for this
purpose. The metal coated tip 44 of the pipette constitutes a
small-diameter metal electrode having a radius of about less than
one-half micron. By applying a small potential between the pipette
and the stage 58 which is electrically conductive, as by way of
leads 82 and 84, a measurable current can be determined as by a
current detector 86, which will vary with the distance between the
surface of the object and the tip of the pipette. This current is a
sharp exponential function of the electrode to object separation,
and can be used to provide a feedback signal on line 87 to
accurately control the vertical position of the pipette through the
provision of suitable z-direction positioning transducers (not
shown) operated by a controller circuit 88 through lines 90 and 92.
Through the use of this feedback loop, the aperture pipette 34 can
be moved in the z direction to keep the detected current constant,
while simultaneously scanning the object in the x and y directions
and recording the measured light signals. In this fashion, a
topographic map of the surface being studied can be obtained from a
measure of the feedback current, and a chemical map of the object
can be obtained from the optical signals.
Alternatively, the position of the pipette in the z direction can
be determined and controlled without resorting to the
current-detecting method. This alternative method utilizes
fluorescent chromophores to uniformly label the sample being
measured, which may be a membrane and/or the cytoskeletal proteins
in contact with the membrane. In terms of the membrane label, an
intermediate chain (C14-C16) fluorescent lipid is used to get a
nonspecific, uniform labelling. At room temperature, such a label
takes at least 10 minutes to internalize, and if the temperature is
somewhat lower than ambient temperature, this time can be
considerably extended. With such a label, as a direct analogy to
the scanning current method discussed above, the near-exponential
change in the near-field fluorescence signal with object to
aperture separation can be used to accurately position the aperture
in the ear-field relative to the sample.
Because such small positional measurements are involved in the
present invention, vibrational and mechanical stability are vital:
accordingly, a scanning system which is isolated from vibrations is
required. Such a system is illustrated in diagrammatic form in FIG.
5, and includes a mechanism for isolating the microscope from floor
vibrations by way of a high-quality optical table, includes eddy
current damping, and includes controls for acoustical vibration
disturbances. Furthermore, the system reduces ambient temperature
fluctuations in the vicinity of the microscope to provide
additional stability.
Turning now to FIG. 5, there is illustrated a mounting system for a
pipette 34 which includes an optical table 100 which may be
supported on pneumatic supports (not shown) and which carries a
plurality of resilient mounts 102, 103, and 104. These resilient
mounts also may be pneumatic, and reduce low frequency and high
frequency vertical disturbances. An optical board 106 is carried on
the resilient mounts 102-104 by means of legs 107-109 to provide
damping of vibrations in the intermediate frequency range of 10 to
50 Hz.
Mounted on the top surface of plate 106 is a steel housing, or
shell 112, which surrounds the optical microscope to provide
additional shielding both for acoustic vibrations and for
temperature changes. Mounted at the ends of the plate 106 are a
pair of permanent magnets 114 and 116 mounted on corresponding
stands 118 and 120 which are supported on the optical table 100.
Copper plates 122 and 124 are mounted on the plate 106 adjacent the
magnets 114 and 116, respectively, to provide eddy current damping
of any motion of the plate 106. An acoustic curtain (not shown) may
surround the entire device to shield the microscope from external
acoustic vibrations.
An object 56 to be imaged and its mounting stage 58 are carried by
an x-y piezoelectric positioning stage 130. This stage is capable
of producing motion of the sample 56 in the x and y directions with
less than a 0.01 micron resolution. Stage 130 is mounted on an
x-direction coarse positioning stage 132 driven by a suitable
actuator (not shown). The stage 132 is, in turn, mounted on a
y-direction coarse positioning stage 134 which is driven by a
motorized actuator 136. Both the x and y direction actuators for
stages 132 and 134 have about a 0.1 micron resolution.
The y positioning stage 134 is carried on a base 138 which is, in
turn, mounted on plate 106 within the housing 112.
An objective lens 140 may be mounted on a base 138 within openings
formed centrally within the x and y positioning stages 132 and 134
to direct light though a central opening 142 in the
fine-positioning stage 130. Light is directed through the objective
lens 140 from a suitable light source 150, which may be mounted on
a precision jack 152 to align the light source with a focusing tube
154 mounted adjacent the plate 106 by means of a support stand 156.
The focusing tube 154 directs the light through suitable optics to
a light-tight tube 158 which directs the light through the shield
112 and through the base 138 to a mirror 160, and thence through
the lens 140 to the sample 56. The optics at the focusing tube 154
may include an eye piece 162 for viewing the sample, as well as a
beam splitter 164. The light source 150 may be a laser, or other
suitable source such as a Xenon lamp.
For coarse z positioning of the pipette, a microscope 170 having an
objective 172, a tube 174, and an eye piece 176 may be mounted on
the plate 106 to extend through the housing 112 to the vicinity of
the sample 56. The microscope may be mounted on a conventional
pitch and yaw stage 178 and may include a focusing micrometer 180
mounted on an angle bracket 182 and a variable height stand
184.
The pipette 34 is, in this embodiment, mounted within the hollow
central shaft 190 of a differential micrometer 192 which permits
coarse vertical (z-direction) adjustment of the pipette with
respect to the surface of sample 56. The micrometer and the pipette
are both carried by a conventional piezoelectric expander 194 which
is mounted on the housing 112. The expander 194 consists of a stack
of piezoelectric devices to which a controlled voltage may be
applied by way of leads 90 and 92 from a controller such as that
illustrated at 88 in FIG. 4, to move the pipette 34 vertically with
a resolution of less than 0.01 micron.
Light collected by the pipette 34 is supplied, in this embodiment,
by way of fiber optics 198 to detector 64, which may be a
photomultiplier, the output of which is supplied by way of line 200
to suitable amplifier, discriminator, and counting electronics.
Because the images are obtained in step-by-step scans, digital
techniques can be used for imaging.
Although the invention has been described in terms of preferred
embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that
numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing
from the true spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the following
claims:
* * * * *