Ion beams in SEM: An experiment towards a high brightness low energy spread electron impact gas ion source

A next generation ion source suitable for both high resolution focused ion beam milling and imaging applications is currently being developed. The new ion source relies on a method of which positively charged ions are extracted from a miniaturized gas chamber where neutral gas atoms become ionized by direct electron impact. The use of a very...

Structured illumination microscopy using extraordinary transmission through sub-wavelength hole-arrays

A novel concept for a mid-field microscope

When light passes through a hole smaller than the wavelength of the light, the transmission is very low and the light is diffracted. This however changes if holes are arranged in a periodic array on metal. In that case the light couples to surface plasmons; this results in enhanced transmission, spectral selection and a small angular diffraction...

Toward the development of a Three-Dimensional Mid–Field Microscope

Recently, an extraordinary transmission of light through small holes (<200 nm) in a thin metallic film has been described. This phenomenon has been shown to be the result of the photon-plasmon interaction in thin films where a periodic structure (such as a set of holes) is embedded in the film. One of the extraordinary results is that the beam...