78

nanotimes Patents

Optical Microscopy With Photo- transformable Optical Labels (PAL-M Super-resolution Technology)

Patent No.: U.S. Patent 7,864,314 Inventors: Robert Eric Betzig and Harald F. Hess Carl Zeis

Abstract An apparatus includes a position-sensitive detector to detect intensities of radiation as a function of po- sition on the detector, and an optical system, cha- racterized by a diffraction-limited resolution volume, adapted for imaging light emitted from activated and excited phototransformable optical labels (“PTOLs”) in a sample onto the position sensitive-detector. A first light source provides activation radiation to the sample to activate a subset of the PTOLs that are dis- tributed in the sample with a density greater than an inverse of the diffraction-limited resolution volume of the optical system. A second light source provides excitation radiation to the sample to excite a portion of the PTOLs in the subset of the PTOLs. A controller controls one both of the activation radiation and the excitation radiation provided to the sample such that a density of PTOLs in the portion of the PTOLs is less than the inverse of the diffraction-limited resolution volume.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted Dr. Eric Betzig and Dr. Harald Hess another patent for their invention of super-resolution loca- lization microscopy. In 2007, the microscopy from Carl Zeiss received the exclusive rights to market the technology. Together with the previously issu- ed patents (U.S. 7,626,694, U.S. 7,828,695, U.S.

11-01 :: December 2010 / January 2011

7,626,703 and U.S. 7,782,457) substantial systems and methods of super-resolution microscopy are now protected. These methods are based on the separati- on and localization of molecules to achieve resoluti- on beyond the Abbe resolution limit.

U.S. Patent 7,864,314, published January 4 2011, expands the patent protection to systems and me- thods utilizing separation by photo-optical transfor- mation of molecules between different energy states. For example, only a few molecules can be activated from a dark state and then localized, or almost all molecules can be transformed into a dark state and the few remaining ones are localized.

http://www.zeiss.de

h t t p : / / p a t f t . u s p t o . g o v / n e t a c g i / n p h - Parser?patentnumber=7864314

Silicon Deposition by EBID/IBID

Abstract: Vapour deposition processes permitting the depo- sition of layers or structures of a defined material onto substrates are frequently used for the editing of microelectronic devices, the mending of masks or in different areas of nanotechnology. The present invention provides a new procedure for the direct deposition of silicon on substrates, based on the interaction of focused particle beams with polysi- lane-based precursors.

The present process permits a direct, i.e. mask- less deposition of silicon onto substrates. For