We fabricated ZnO/SiN films for use as a light source of a high-resolution optical microscope and characterized the properties of the films, and demonstrated images obtained with the microscope using the fabricated ZnO/SiN films. A 100-nm-thick ZnO film deposited on a SiN film showed a much higher CL intensity than the SiN film, and it was enhanced by high-temperature annealing of the ZnO film. Electron beam excitation assisted optical microscope images of gold particles of 200 nm diameter taken using the ZnO/SiN film and SiN indicated that the ZnO/SiN films can provide a higher signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and a higher frame rate than the SiN film. It was shown that the dynamic observation of living cells becomes possible using the high-resolution optical microscope with a bright light source. Moreover, this fact promises that such optical microscope can contribute to progress in the medical and biological fields.
Optical microscopes are effective tools for cellular function analysis because biological cells can be observed non-destructively and non-invasively in the living state in either water or atmosphere condition. Label-free optical imaging technique such as phase-contrast microscopy has been analysed many cellular functions, and it is essential technology for bioscience field. However, the diffraction limit of light makes it is difficult to image nano-structures in a label-free living cell, for example the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi body and the localization of proteins. Here we demonstrate the dynamic imaging of a label-free cell with high spatial resolution by using an electron beam excitation-assisted optical (EXA) microscope. We observed the dynamic movement of the nucleus and nano-scale granules in living cells with better than 100 nm spatial resolution and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) around 10. Our results contribute to the development of cellular function analysis and open up new bioscience applications.
We fabricated a bright and thin Zn₂SiO₄ luminescent film to serve as a nanometric light source for high-spatial-resolution optical microscopy based on electron beam excitation. The Zn₂SiO₄ luminescent thin film was fabricated by annealing a ZnO film on a Si₃N₄ substrate at 1000 °C in N₂. The annealed film emitted bright cathodoluminescence compared with the as-deposited film. The film is promising for nano-imaging with electron beam excitation-assisted optical microscopy. We evaluated the spatial resolution of a microscope developed using this Zn₂SiO₄ luminescent thin film. This is the first report of the investigation and application of ZnO/Si₃N₄ annealed at a high temperature (1000 °C). The fabricated Zn₂SiO₄ film is expected to enable high-frame-rate dynamic observation with ultra-high resolution using our electron beam excitation-assisted optical microscopy.
Eddy-current testing (ECT) has a large contribution to the maintenance of apparatus with a high reliability both in the past and the future. The needle type magnetic probe with the giant magneto-resistance sensor made it possible to inspect minute defects in narrow spaces (groove and hole). Moreover, the high resolution and sensitivity of the detection methodology could observe the ECT signal image inside of hole and groove. In this paper, we discuss the 2-dimensional signal recognition of magnetic fields and distinguish the relationship and discrepancy between a shape of notch inside of narrow hole and a signal image by both experimental and calculated results.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.