In article <3ei2ee$gb2@planchet.rutgers.edu> Luis Jahn, jahn@a.chem.upenn.edu
writes:
> I am working with a Near Field Optical microscope and I am having
> problems with static electricity. When I position my near-field fiber within
> 10-100 nm from the sample to be observed the sample is pulled from the slide
> to the fiber tip. I am looking at ways to remove static electricity and I
was
> told it is a problem that people in Atomic Force Microscopy encountered and
> solved. Some people suggested a radioactive source such as polonium but I am
> not sure about its efficacy.
I've seen this done with mica when I was up at Digital Instruments last. Worked like a charm. The "source" was the perforating clip of a scotchtape dispenser.
If the rest of your experiment and setup doesn't rule this out, you might try imaging under polar liquid, which will provide shielding.
Ely.
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