Abstract: The emergence of tools at the forefront of nanoscale functional imaging has bolstered our fundamental understanding of heterogeneous materials and complex systems. Developments to improve the functionalities of atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been particularly impactful to probe the physical and chemical properties at the nanoscale.
In this talk, we will provide an overview of advances exploiting light-matter interaction to characterize and manipulate materials with an AFM probe. First, we will present how infrared light can be used to carry out nanoscale infrared (nanoIR) spectroscopy to map the chemical composition of homogeneous features with sub-20 nm lateral resolution. Next, we will discuss how the spatial resolution and penetration depth of the technique can be improved by applying multifrequency actuations to the AFM system and by exploiting heterodyne detection. We will illustrate the performance of the nanoIR spectroscopy and imaging with several examples spanning from two-dimensional materials to soft matter systems. Finally, we will demonstrate that the technique can be expanded for nanomanipulation and simultaneous monitoring of materials under inert or reactive conditions. We will conclude with a discussion of opportunities to refine the resolution and sensitivity and to expand the realm of applications and their respective challenges.
About the Speaker: Dr. Tetard is an Associate Professor in the Physics Department and NanoScience Technology Center at the University of Central Florida. She also holds joint appointments with the Materials Science and Engineering Department and CREOL. She received her PhD in Physics from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, in 2010. She spent two years (2011-2013) as Eugene P. Wigner Fellow and Research Staff in Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, before joining UCF in 2013. She currently serves as the Physics Department Associate Chair.
Dr. Tetard has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed publications. She is the recipient of a 2010 R&D100 award for her work on multi-frequency atomic force microscopy, which is also patented. She is a NSF CAREER awardee and a Scialog fellow. She has been an active member of the UCF Physics Bridge Program to increase the representation of students from traditionally underrepresented groups in Physics since 2015 and continues to showcase the benefits of training a diverse workforce in STEM at UCF and beyond.Achiever Award (2022). He is co-founder and technical advisor of Tunoptix, a startup commercializing software defined meta-optics.
Read More