The atomic de Broglie microscope (also atomic nanoscope, neutral beam microscope, or scanning helium microscope when

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

is used as the probing atom) is an imaging system which is expected to provide resolution at the

nanometer 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the molecular scale. The nanometre (international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm) or nanometer (American and British English spelling differences#-re, ...

scale. It is sometimes referred to as a "nanoscope."

History

The resolution of optical microscopes is limited to a few hundred nanometers by the wave properties of the light. The idea of imaging with atoms instead of light is widely discussed in the literature since the past century. Atom optics using neutral atoms instead of light could provide resolution as good as the

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a ...

and be completely non-destructive, because short wavelengths on the order of a

can be realized at low energy of the probing particles. "It follows that a helium microscope with nanometer resolution is possible. A helium atom microscope will be unique non-destructive tool for reflection or transmission microscopy."

Focusing of neutral atoms

Currently, the atom-optic imaging systems are not competitive with

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a ...

and various types of

near-field Near field may refer to: * Near-field (mathematics), an algebraic structure * Near-field region, part of an electromagnetic field * Near field (electromagnetism) ** Magnetoquasistatic field, the magnetic component of the electromagnetic near f ...

probe. The main problem in the optics of

atomic beam Atomic beam is special case of particle beam; it is the collimated flux (beam) of neutral atoms. The imaging systems using the slow atomic beams can use the Fresnel zone plate A zone plate is a device used to Focus (optics), focus light or other ...

s for an imaging system is the focusing element. There is no material transparent to the beam of low-energy atoms. A Fresnel zone plate and

evanescent field In electromagnetics, an evanescent field, or evanescent wave, is an oscillating electric and/or magnetic field that does not propagate as an electromagnetic wave but whose energy is spatially concentrated in the vicinity of the source (oscillati ...

lens were suggested, as well as various atomic mirrors. Such mirrors use the quantum reflection by Casimir–van der Waals potential tails.

Ridged mirrors

Recently, the performance of solid-state atomic mirrors was greatly enhanced with so-called ridged mirrors (or Fresnel diffraction mirrors). The

specular reflection Specular reflection, or regular reflection, is the mirror-like reflection of waves, such as light, from a surface. The law of reflection states that a reflected ray of light emerges from the reflecting surface at the same angle to the su ...

of an atomic wave from a ridged mirror can be interpreted as spatial Zeno effect. At the appropriate

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

al profile, such a mirror could be used for focusing of an

into a spot of some tens of nanometers; the scattering of atoms from this spot brings the image of the object, like in the scanning confocal microscope, scanning electron microscope, or scanning probe microscopy. The scheme shown in the picture is one possibility. A similar scheme is posted at the homepage of the University of Cambridge;Atom Optics and Helium Atom Microscopy. Cambridge University, see an additional list of references there. Such an imaging system could also be realized with

holographic Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other applications. In principle, it ...

, Fresnel diffraction, and evanescent wave systems. Some of such systems may become competitive with established methods of visualization and measuring of nano-objects. See the overview at Nanowiki (

Nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atomic De Broglie Microscope Microscopes Nanotechnology Atomic, molecular, and optical physics

History

Focusing of neutral atoms

Ridged mirrors

See also

References