ACS Nano 3(3), 609-614 (2009).
We demonstrate high-resolution, high-speed 3D nanoparticle tracking using angled micromirrors. When angled micromirrors are introduced into the field
of view of an optical microscope, reflected side-on views of a diffusing nanoparticle are projected alongside the usual direct image. The experimental
design allows us to find the 3D particle trajectory using fast, centroid-based image processing, with no nonlinear computing operations. We have tracked
polystyrene particles of 190 nm diameter with position measurement precision <20 nm in 3D with 3 ms frame duration (i.e., at an imaging rate >330
frames per second). Because the image processing requires only ≈1 ms per frame, this technique could enable real-time feedback-controlled nanoparticle
assembly applications with nanometer precision.
Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology
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