Follow the light in the discovery of the wonders of nano
Ellipsometry is a versatile, non-destructive technique that works in real time in any transparent medium, based on the fact that when light is reflected from a surface of a material its polarization state undergoes some change depending on its own characteristics.
The word ellipsometry was first introduced in a scientific publication by Alexander Rother in 1945, and is based on the fact that the polarization of the light is generally elliptical. In the last years of the XIX century, Paul Drude derived the mathematical equations that allowed the calculation of the optical constants. In the 60’s, due to the availability of computers for numeric processing, ellipsometry suffered a renaissance. Besides measuring the thickness of a film of few nanometers or its optical constants, today, ellipsometry finds applications in different areas like semiconductor and data storage solutions, biosensors, optical coatings, microelectronics, surface chemistry.
The one recently acquired by INL is a spectroscopic imaging ellipsometer. With spectroscopy it is possible to know the optical constants as a function of the wavelength of light, enlightening to greater detail the secrets of complex materials. The imaging feature enables, for example, analyzing biochips without any labeling of the probes, an advantage when compared with techniques based on fluorescence or radioactivity. It is thus possible to examine the surface structure of, for instance DNA, on substrates like glass, silicon or gold with high spatial resolution and also in real-time to measure adsorption reactions by using diverse solid-liquid cells for in vitro conditions.
Follow the light in the discovery of the wonders of nano and be amazed with the beauty!
The photos show INL Engineer, Adelaide Carvalho, the author of this post, monitoring ellipsometry tests. The spectroscopic imaging ellipsometer, recently acquired by INL. Testing the equipment has been her main concern for the last couple of months.
INL – News
New INL researcher Marta Prado
Marta Prado is INL´s latest researcher and has just settled in in Braga. She has an advanced degree in Food Science and Technology and studies in Biology Science from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Marta has a PhD from the same university in the program of Nutrition, Bromatology and Food technology.
Between the years 1999 and 2006, our new Spanish colleague has been working as a researcher in the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences (Lugo, Spain) from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). Between 2006 and 2010, she has been working as Scientific Officer in the Institute of Reference Materials and Measurements from the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC-JRC-IRMM) in Geel, Belgium.
Most of her research experience is related with genomic analysis tools and its application to food analysis, since she had worked on the development and optimization of PCR-based methods for the control of food and animal feeds. In the INL, she will work on the application of magnetic nanobiosensors for the detection of ruminant origin meals in feed.
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