High resolution photonic force microscopy based on sharp nano-fabricated tips

Sub-nm resolution images can be achieved by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) on samples that are deposited on hard substrates. However, it is still extremely challenging to image soft interfaces, such as biological membranes, due to the deformations induced by the tip. Photonic Force Microscopy (PhFM), based on optical tweezers (OT), represents an interesting alternative for soft scanning-probe microscopy. Using light instead of a physical cantilever to hold the scanning probe results in a stiffness ($k_{OT}\sim0.1-0.001$ pN/nm) which can be 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than that of standard cantilevers ($k_{AFM}\sim 10$ pN/nm). Combined with nm resolution of displacement measurements of the trapped probe, this allows for imaging soft materials without force-induced artefacts. However, the size of the optically trapped probe, often chosen as a $\sim \mu$m-size sphere, has so far limited the resolution of PhFM. Here we show a novel and simple nanofabrication protocol to massively produce optically trappable quartz particles which mimic the sharp tips of AFM. We demonstrate and quantify the stable trapping of particles with tips as sharp as 35 nm, the smallest used in PhFM to date. Raster scan images of rigid nanostructures with features smaller than 80 nm obtained with our tips compare well with AFM images of the same samples. Imaging the membrane of living malaria-infected red blood cells produces no visible artefacts and reveals the sub-micron structural features termed knobs, related to the parasite activity within the cell. The use of nano-engineered particles in PhFM opens the way to imaging soft and biological samples at high resolution.