In-situ measurements of nanoscale phenomena using diffraction phase microscopy

Abstract

© 2015 SPIE. In this work, we present recent results on several novel applications including optically monitoring the dissolution of biodegradable materials proposed for use in biological electronic implants, the self-assembly of microtubes during semiconductor etching, and the expansion and deformation of palladium structures for use in hydrogen sensing applications. The measurements are done using diffraction phase microscopy (DPM), a quantitative phase imaging (QPI) technique, which uses the phase of the imaging field to reconstruct a map of the sample's surface. It combines off-axis and common-path geometries allowing for single-shot, high-speed dynamics with sub-nanometer noise levels.