Abstract
For the colloidal nanophotonic structures, a transmission electron microscope (TEM) grid has been widely used as a substrate of dark-field microscopy because a nanometer-scale feature can be effectively determined by TEM imaging following dark-field microscopic studies. However, an optically lossy carbon layer has been implemented in conventional TEM grids. A broadband scattering from the edges of the TEM grid further restricted an accessible signal-to-noise ratio. Herein, we demonstrate that the freely suspended, ultrathin, and wide-scale transparent nanomembrane can address such challenges. We developed a 1 mm by 600 μm scale and 20 nm thick poly(vinyl formal) nanomembrane, whose area is around 180 times wider than a conventional TEM grid, so that the possible broadband scattering at the edges of the grid was effectively excluded. Also, such nanomembranes can be formed without the assistance of carbon support; allowing us to achieve the highest signal-to-background ratio of scattering among other substrates.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1546-1554 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Nano Letters |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2023 Feb 22 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 American Chemical Society.
Keywords
- Dark-field spectroscopy
- Mie scattering
- Nanoparticles
- Nanophotonics
- Plasmonics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Bioengineering
- General Chemistry
- General Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanical Engineering