Nanotomography

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) can be expanded to volume imaging. As an example, the core of a dislocation within the three-dimensional (3D) spatial microdomain structure of poly(styrene-block-butadiene-block-styrene) was imaged with approximately 10 nm resolution. The specimen was eroded step by step and its chemical composition in layers beneath the original surface was imaged with SPM. Similar to computed tomography, the 3D distribution of polystyrene and polybutadiene was reconstructed from a series of images. This approach might provide a simple means for real-space volume imaging with nanometer and even atomic resolution of various materials and physical properties.