2011 Innovation Awards
300 nm. Te
structured illumination microscopy
real time. Te N-SIM is capable of multi-spectral two-dimensional and three-dimensional nanoscopy, with a temporal resolution of 0.6 seconds/frame, lateral resolution to approximately 85 nm, and axial resolution to approximately (SIM)
technology developed by Mats Gustafsson, David Agard, and John Sedat is licensed by the University of California—San Francisco to Nikon and is based on the structured illumination principle that uses the “moiré effect” to obtain finer spatial frequencies via Fourier transforms. Te sample is illuminated by a grid pattern of light. Several different light patterns are applied, and the resulting moiré patterns are captured by a digital camera. Computer soſtware algorithms then extract the information in the moiré images and translate it into high-resolution reconstructions. Using this concept,
two-
and three-dimensional, multicolor fluorescence images of dynamic live cell interactions with resolutions under 100 nm have been achieved. Te system is deployed on the Nikon Eclipse Ti-E research inverted microscope, incorporating Nikon’s Perfect Focus System and CFI Apo TIRF 100× oil objective lens (1.49 N.A.). Te N-SIM super resolution microscopy system differs
from other similar products in that the NSIM is currently the fastest super resolution system on the market with the proven ability to image dynamic live cell events. In addition, a newly developed N-SIM/TIRF illumination technique enables observation with twice the resolution of conventional TIRF microscopy and gives more detailed structural information near the cell membrane. Finally, the new 3D-SIM illumination technique has the capability of optical sectioning of specimens, enabling the imaging of cell structures up to 20-µm thick at higher spatial resolutions. Te N-SIM also uses the new Nikon LU-5 laser system, a modular system with up to 5 lasers providing true multi-spectral super resolution. Multi-spectral capability is essential for the study of dynamic interactions of multiple proteins of interest at the molecular level.
Electrochemical Strain Microscopy
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Asylum Research Corporation
Developers: Stephen Jesse, Nina Balke, Nancy Dudney, Amit Kumar, Sergei V. Kalinin, and Roger Proksch Electrochemical strain microscopy
(ESM) is a novel new scanning-probe- microscopy (SPM) technique capable of probing electrochemical reactivity and ionic flows in solids on the sub-ten- nanometer level. In ESM, a biased SPM tip concentrates an electric field in a
2011 September •
www.microscopy-today.com
nanometer-scale volume of material, inducing an interfacial electrochemical process at the tip-surface junction and diffusive and electromigrative ionic transport through the solid. Te intrinsic link between the concentration of ionic species and/or oxidation states of the host cation and the molar volume of material results in electrochemical strain and surface displacement. To detect minute surface displacements, the ESM uses differential detection in which ~2–5 pm surface displacements are measured at ~0.1 to 1 MHz frequencies using a conventional SPM optical beam deflection system. Tis high-frequency electrochemical strain signal constitutes the basis of ESM detection (as compared to DC or AC electronic current in conventional electrochemical methods). To address time- and voltage-dependent ionic dynamics on time scales close to diffusion times (0.1 to 100 seconds), ESM is implemented in spectroscopic modes. Here, the signal evolution is measured during triangular voltage sweeps (analogous to a conventional charge-discharge curve) as a function of time and voltage following the application of a bias pulse (similar to potentiostatic intermittent titration) or sweep frequency (similar to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). Tis approach allows direct mapping of diffusion times on the sample surface and decoupling of the electrochemical reaction and transport processes. To date, ESM has been demonstrated for Li-ion materials
(including layered transition-metal-oxide cathodes, Si anodes, and electrolytes such as LISICON), oxygen electrolytes (including yttria-stabilized zirconia and Sm-doped ceria) and mixed electronic-ionic conductors for fuel cell cathodes (including (LaSr)CoO3 and (LaSr)MnO3), as well as some proton conductors. However,
the ubiquitous presence of
electrochemical strains in virtually all solid-state ionics suggests that ESM will be applicable to all battery and fuel cell materials in energy technologies, as well as electroresistive/ memristive materials in information technologies.
Desktop Digital In-Line Holographic Microscope Resolution Optics
Developers: Hans Jürgen Kreuzer, Manfred Jericho, and Stefan Jericho
Te Desktop Digital In-Line
Holographic Microscope (D-DIHM) is a fully self-contained DIHM imaging system. Tis system includes a precision XY sample stage, a digital camera, and a
405-nm DIHM point source. Te
D-DIHM orientation is interchangeable between upright and lateral configura-
tions, allowing for both horizontal and vertical specimen observation. Te D-DIHM works in the following manner. Te microscope objective focuses light from a laser onto a pinhole, which acts as a point source from which a spherical wave emanates. Te wave illuminates an object or sample and forms a geometrically magnified diffraction pattern on a
45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84