Abstract
A multimodal imaging instrument has been developed that integrates scanning near-field optical microscopy with nanofocused synchrotron X-ray diffraction imaging. The instrument allows for the simultaneous nanoscale characterization of electronic/near-field optical properties of materials together with their crystallographic structure, facilitating the investigation of local structure-property relationships. The design, implementation and operating procedures of this instrument are reported. The scientific capabilities are demonstrated in a proof-of-principle study of the insulator-metal phase transition in samarium sulfide (SmS) single crystals induced by applying mechanical pressure via a scanning tip. The multimodal imaging of an in situ tip-written region shows that the near-field optical reflectivity can be correlated with the heterogeneously transformed structure of the near-surface region of the crystal.
Highlights
Many functional materials exhibit structural and/or chemical heterogeneities at nano- and mesoscopic scales
We report the development of an integrated imaging platform combining synchrotron X-ray nanodiffraction imaging with SNOM
In order to illustrate the potential of this approach, we have examined the local tip pressure-induced insulator–metal phase transition (IMT) in samarium sulfide (SmS) single crystals
Summary
Many functional materials exhibit structural and/or chemical heterogeneities at nano- and mesoscopic scales. Coherent X-ray diffraction patterns were recorded from individual Au nanoislands during indentation (Dupraz et al, 2017) providing microscopic details about the material-deformation processes These beamline SPM instruments only provide limited imaging modalities, such as topography, while important nanoscale functional properties, such as local electronic and optical heterogeneities, cannot be simultaneously characterized. We report the development of an integrated imaging platform combining synchrotron X-ray nanodiffraction imaging with SNOM This new instrument is termed ‘XSNOM’ and enables correlative multimodal imaging of the crystal structure and near-field optical properties of materials at mesoscales.
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