Dr. Eric Ayars

Here is a sample image take with my NSOM microscope. The features shown are Rubidium-doped regions in a KTP sample. They are 12nm high and 5 microns square.

The entire microscope---microscope head, electronics, and control software---was designed and built in the NCSU NSOM lab. My primary contribution to the effort was the microscope head design and construction. I built my own, rather than buy a commercial unit, because I needed long-term stability in order to characterize shifts in Raman spectra in the near field.