SPEEDSCOPE · Advancing correlative nanoscale imaging by combining a compact high-speed atomic force microscopy with super-resolution optical microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy

Our ability to observe real-time nanoscale processes is essential for advancing research in various fields, including life and climate sciences. Current microscopes mostly rely on optical, electron, or scanning probe techniques, each limited to imaging samples in specific environments (air, water, or vacuum). By combining these techniques, their individual strengths can complement each other. For example, scanning probe microscopy can offer high spatial resolution to overcome the limitations of optical methods, while optical microscopy can reveal subsurface events that surface-sensing scanning probes cannot access.This project aims to overcome the limitations of existing microscopy technology by employing a correlative microscopy approach that operates in air, water, and vacuum environments. The SPEEDSCOPE project will develop a next-generation, compact high-speed atomic force microscope that seamlessly integrates with super-resolution optical microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy. By harnessing the strengths of each technique, SPEEDSCOPE will enable researchers to correlate surface and subsurface events, and also correlate chemical spectroscopy measurements with mechanical characterisation at sub-nanometer spatial resolution and video frame rate imaging speeds. This system will be developed by combining advanced technologies in self-sensing cantilevers and scanner designs. This advanced microscope will be used to observe unprecedented imaging of live cell membrane repair and study how micro-nano plastics influence ice crystal growth in clouds, which are key processes in life and climate sciences. Such demonstrations will open new possibilities in research at the nanoscale.