We present results showing the potential of diamond nanoparticles with size less than 50 nm as photoluminescent nanoprobes for serving as stable point-like emitters attached at the tip apex of a near-field optical microscope to achieve enhanced spatial resolution.
We present a new kind of fluorescent oxide nanoparticles with properties well suited to active-tip based near-field optics. These particles with an average diameter in the range 5-10 nm are produced by Low Energy Cluster Beam Deposition (LECBD) from
a YAG:Ce3+ target. They are studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), classical photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence and near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM). Particles of extreme photo-stability as small as 10 nm in size are observed. These emitters are validated as building blocks of active NSOM tips by coating a standard optical tip with a 10 nm thick layer of YAG:Ce3+ particles directly in the LECBD reactor and by subsequently performing NSOM imaging of test surfaces.
We analyze the heat transfer between two nanoparticles separated by a distance lying in the near-field domain in which energy interchange is due to Coulomb interactions. The thermal conductance is computed by assuming that the particles have charge d
istributions characterized by fluctuating multipole moments in equilibrium with heat baths at two different temperatures. This quantity follows from the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT) for the fluctuations of the multipolar moments. We compare the behavior of the conductance as a function of the distance between the particles with the result obtained by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The formalism proposed enables us to provide a comprehensive explanation of the marked growth of the conductance when decreasing the distance between the nanoparticles.
Electron microscopy (EM) has been instrumental in our understanding of biological systems ranging from subcellular structures to complex organisms. Although EM reveals cellular morphology with nanoscale resolution, it does not provide information on
the location of proteins within a cellular context. An EM-based bioimaging technology capable of localizing individual proteins and resolving protein-protein interactions with respect to cellular ultrastructure would provide important insights into the molecular biology of a cell. Here, we report on the development of luminescent nanoprobes potentially suitable for labeling biomolecules in a multicolor EM modality. In this approach, the labels are based on lanthanide-doped nanoparticles that emit light under electron excitation in a process known as cathodoluminescence (CL). Our results suggest that the optimization of nanoparticle composition, synthesis protocols and electron imaging conditions could enable high signal-to-noise localization of biomolecules with a sub-20-nm resolution, limited only by the nanoparticle size. In ensemble measurements, these luminescent labels exhibit narrow spectra of nine distinct colors that are characteristic of the corresponding rare-earth dopant type.
A new type of excitations by highly focused electron beams in scanning transmission electron microscopes is predicted for nanoparticles. The calculated electron energy loss spectra of metallic (silver) and insulating (SiO(sub2)) nanoplatelets reveal
dramatic enhancement of radiative electromagnetic modes within the light cone, allowed by the breakdown of momentum conservation in the inelastic scattering event. These modes can be accessed with e-beams in the vacuum far-field zone, similarly to the recently developed far-field optics based on surface plasmon resonances.
We report the observation and the theoretical explanation of the parametric down-conversion nonlinear susceptibility at the $K$-absorption edge of diamond and at the $L_{23}$-absorption edge of a silicon crystal. Using arguments similar to those invo
ked to successfully predict resonant inelastic x-ray spectra, we derive an expression for the renormalization term of the non-linear susceptibility at the x-ray edges, which can be evaluated by using first-principles calculations of the atomic scattering factor $f_1$. Our model is shown to reproduce the observed enhancement of the parametric down-conversion at the diamond $K$ and the Si $L_{23}$ edges rather than the suppression previously claimed.