Microwaves Are Everywhere: “SMM: Nano-Microwaves”

Abstract

If the Twentieth Century boasted of the Space Age and the Computer Age, the Twenty-First Century is certainly starting off with the Age of Biology, or at least Biochemistry. The enormous impact of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification), cryo-EM (electron microscopy), and many other nano-techniques in the biosciences is transforming the world in so many ways, not the least of which are the diagnostic tests and vaccines that are helping our global pandemic. Microwaves are huge compared to the likes of optical wavelengths and, at least for the world of bio-spectroscopy, being able to perform and take advantage of standard microwave materials measurements at a cellular (micron) and even molecular (nanometer) scale has been a major impediment to applications for this well-developed electronics technology and instrumentation. In the early part of the 21 st Century, the fields of AFM (atomic force microscopy) and SMM (scanning microwave microscopy) came together and spun off a handful of commercial applications and instruments stimulated by some very clever engineering and bio researchers and partnerships. In this, our fourth tutorial article in our continuing series on the ubiquitous presence and applications of microwaves, we take a look at the origins, instruments, biological applications, and goals for "nano-microwaves" the use of microwaves at nanometer scales.INDEX TERMS Scanning microwave microscopy (SMM-VNA), THz near-field scattering microscopy (SMM-THz), near-field microwave imaging, near-field THz spectroscopy, nano-microwaves.This article has been accepted for inclusion in a future issue of this journal. Content is final as presented, with the exception of pagination.

Fabrication of Ultra-Sharp Tips by Dynamic Chemical Etching Process for Scanning Near-Field Microwave Microscopy

“…Probes are the most important features in any scanning probe microscopy system and particularly in near-field microwave microscopy where the geometry of the probe tip plays an important role in defining the spatial resolution as well as the sensitivity of the microwave microscopy setup [ 1 , 2 ]. Taking advantage of the near-field or evanescent field in microscopy systems has enabled researchers to overcome the classical diffraction limit in the spatial resolution of the microscopy [ 3 , 4 ].…”

Introduction to the Spring 2023 Issue

“…Our total usage through March 1, 2023 is now above 288,000. Even without the record count from this past January, we have moved up in the IEEE Xplore usage per article published 2 chart to #3 of 233 IEEE journals, with a count 1 Usage count is the number of times an individual article is either accessed directly online or downloaded to a user through IEEE Xplore. This usage count is recorded in the separate Publishing Operations Production Portal (POPP) Analytics database and updated at the start of each calendar month.…”

Nanoscale Characterization of Graphene Oxide-Based Epoxy Nanocomposite Using Inverted Scanning Microwave Microscopy

“…The scanning microwave microscope (SMM) [1] is one of the scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques [2], a family that includes the well-known atomic force (AFM) and scanning tunnelling (STM) microscopes. In fact, SMM makes use of other SPM techniques to control and keep constant the distance between the probe and the sample.…”