Patent ID: 9719916
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: B82Y,G01N,G01Q

Claim:
1. An apparatus for measuring IR nanoabsorption of a sample, the apparatus comprising: an atomic force microscope (AFM) probe interacting with the sample in Peak Force Tapping (PFT) mode that uses feedback to control the interaction between the probe and the sample; a position detector for detecting a motion of the probe; a monochromatic light source mounted overhead of the probe for directing monochromatic light having a selected frequency, ω, towards a tip of the probe so as to produce a localized enhanced electric field between the tip and the sample; and a controller that monitors a property of probe-sample interaction based on the detected motion of the probe and identifies a change in a mechanical property of the sample induced by the localized enhanced electric field.