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INFM

Research Unit -University of Pisa

Research Group - Prof E. Arimondo

Probe Microscopy Laboratory - Prof M. Allegrini

The Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia -INFM , established in June 1994, operates mainly within Universities, integrating their resources with human, financial and structural resources of its own, acquired through research contracts with industries, institutions and the European Commission. INFM promotes, coordinates and performs basic and applied research, both within the 36 Research Units established in Italian Universities, and in its own national laboratories. The Probe Microscopy Laboratory is lead by Prof. M. Allegrini and operates in the INFM Research Unit at the Physics Department of the University of Pisa, in the Research Group of Prof. E. Arimondo.
We have started our activity in 1994, with the construction of a scanning force microscope, working as contact and non-contact AFM and/or as FFM, for friction plus visco-elasticity imaging. Our SFM was implemented in 1996 with a near field optical microscope head, in a stereo configuration which allows simultaneous transmission and reflection operation modes. At the moment our major efforts are towards the construction of an apertureless SNOM. This project, in collaboration with a INFM research group of the University of Messina, is carried out under the aegis of INFM, with the support of the EU Structural Funds and national contributions by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
In addition to the programme outlined in the TMR Network "Near Field Optics for Nanotechnology" which is primarily nanowriting and nanorecording in ferroelectric thin film, our research includes:

1. SNOM Spectroscopy:

subwavelength spatially resolved luminescence from thin films and/or quantum structures (porous silicon, polymers, ZnCdSe etc.);
- measurements of optical contrast in semiconductors thin films; strain studies in epitaxial films;
-investigation of SNOM artefacts.

2. AFM Nanomanipulation:

-dissipation measurements with the non-contact AFM;
- shear force with FM detection;
-measurement of the topographic artefact in SNOM images by vertical vibration of the probe or of the sample;
-ballistic force spectroscopy.

3. Use of AFM/SNOM techniques for fundamental physical problems:

- radiation pressure measurements;
- measurements of the photon linear momentum in dielectric media.

The group presently consists of one staff member, one post-doc., one electronic technician and two diploma students, and receives technical assistance from the local INFM workshop. Within the TMR Network there is one post-doc from Greece and one Ph.D student from France. In addition to the scanning probe microscopy equipment, we share within Prof. Arimondo group the state-of the-art equipment of a laser spectroscopy and a laser ablation laboratories.

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