Glass structures for nanodelivery and nanosensing

A device comprised of a tapered structure produced from an optical fiber by pulling technologies to generate an optimized geometry for high transmission efficiency of electromagnetic radiation, the device being bent near the tip to produce a cantilevered structure suitable for normal force sensing in a variety of attractive, repulsive and non-contact imaging modes.

A method of tapering a glass structure produced from glass tubes by glass pulling technologies to generate an optimized geometry for high transmission efficiency of electromagnetic radiation that is appropriately coated with metal that includes a tapered region which is above the cut-off for the transmission of this radiation having a cone angle of 6-10° and a subsequent tapered section that has a much larger cone angle that can be as much as 45° such a structure being optimized for both high throughput light transmission and excellent capabilities for force sensing as a result of having an ultrahigh resonance frequencies for example 500 kHz and a Q factor of 600 and can thus be used in a variety of force sensing protocols.

A method for the coating of tapered straight and cantilevered glass structures having straight glass tips so that thin films can be deposited on these glass structures by rotation about the axis of the straight glass tip and by accurately varying the angle of incidence between the film source and the tip target.

A method for the coating of tapered straight and cantilevered structures for maximal throughput of electromagnetic radiation by controlling the distance accurately between the point of evaporation and the tip of the straight micropipette or fiber or the cantilever of the bent micropipette or fiber and this distance control is related to the diameter of the central rotator of all the tips so that the cotan of the angle between the axis of the straight micropipette or fiber or the cantilever of the bent micropipette or fiber approaches the cos of this same angle.

A device for the coating of tapered straight and cantilevered structures having tips for maximal throughput of electromagnetic radiation by accurately controlling the distance between a point of evaporation and the tips of the structures, this distance control being related to the diameter of a central rotator of all the tips so that the cotan of the angle between the axes of the structures approaches the cos of this same angle.