Brewster Angle Microscope Nanofilm EP3

The BAM utilizes the fact that when p-polarized light is guided towards an air-water interface, no reflection occurs at a certain incident angle. This angle, the Brewster angle, is determined by Snell’s law and depends on the refractive indices of the materials in the system. The Brewster angle for the air-water interface is 53°, and under this condition the image of a pure water surface appears black. Addition of material to the air-water interface modifies the local refractive index (RI), and hence, a small amount of light is reflected and displayed within the image. The image displayed contains areas of varying brightness determined by the particular molecules and packing densities across the sampling area.

Lateral resolution ≥1µm