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Technologies

Inexpensive Fluorescent Scanning Thermal Microscope

ID: 2016-046 A method of scanning across the surface of a sample, at a fraction of the cost of current solutions, to create a spatial map of the thermal property of a material.

Principal Investigator: Troy Munro

This invention uses a modified optical head of an HD DVD player to provide a fluorescent microscope that can scan in radial and tangential directions. Through the modulation of the IR laser diode and analysis software, the invention produces a spatial map of the thermal diffusivity of a material (typical laser induced fluorescence microscopes lack the ability to extract thermal properties of a material). The invention provides a high spatial resolution (near 0.5 microns) and the ability to scan across the surface of a sample at a fraction of the cost because it is based on commercial off-the-shelf parts (which provides a quick hot swapping ability when a module fails).

For more information, contact 801-422-6266

Links and Resources

  1. One Page Summary PDF
  2. Radio Broadcast - Aired February 13, 2017
  3. Inventor Webpage
  4. Temp Lab Webpage