Multifunctional Nanoscopy for Imaging Cells

An apparatus comprising:

• a metal shunt;
• and
• a semiconductor material, wherein the semiconductor material and the metal shunt lie in different planes that are substantially parallel planes;
• an interface sandwiched between the metal shunt and the semiconductor material, the interface for passing a flow of current between the semiconductor material and the metal shunt in response to an application of an electrical bias to the apparatus;
• and
• wherein, when under the electrical bias, the interface is configured to exhibit a change in resistance thereof in response to a perturbation.

An apparatus comprising:

• an array comprising a plurality of sensors, wherein each of at least a plurality of the sensors comprises:
• a metal shunt;
• and
• a semiconductor material in electrical contact with the metal shunt, thereby defining a semiconductor/metal interface for passing a flow of current between the semiconductor material and the metal shunt in response to an application of an electrical bias to the sensor;
• wherein the semiconductor material and the metal shunt lie in different planes that are substantially parallel planes, the semiconductor/metal interface thereby being parallel to the planes in which the semiconductor material and the metal shunt lie;
• and
• wherein, when under the electrical bias, the semiconductor/metal interface is configured to exhibit a change in resistance thereof in response to a perturbation;
• and
• receiver electronics in cooperation with the array, the receiver electronics configured to (1) receive a plurality of voltage responses from the sensors while an object is in a location detectable by the array, the voltage responses corresponding to the resistance changes caused by the perturbation, and (2) process the received voltage responses to generate an image of the object based on the processed voltage responses.

A method of sensing a characteristic of an object, the method comprising:

• perturbing a sensor while an object is in a location detectable by the sensor, the sensor comprising:
• a metal shunt;
• and
• a semiconductor material in electrical contact with the metal shunt, thereby defining a semiconductor/metal interface for passing a flow of current between the semiconductor material and the metal shunt in response to an application of an electrical bias to the sensor;
• wherein the semiconductor material and the metal shunt lie in different planes that are substantially parallel planes, the semiconductor/metal interface thereby being parallel to the planes in which the semiconductor material and the metal shunt lie;
• and
• wherein the sensor is under the electrical bias, and wherein the semiconductor/metal interface is configured to exhibit a change in resistance thereof in response to a perturbation, the resistance change being indicative of a characteristic of the object;
• and
• measuring a voltage from the sensor in response to the perturbing step, the measured voltage response corresponding to the resistance change such that the measured voltage response is indicative of the object characteristic.