Spectral Map Reconstruction Using Pan-Sharpening Algorithm: Enhancing Chemical Imaging with AFM-IR

Recent advances in chemical imaging allow material composition characterization at the nanoscale. This significantly boosts the fundamental understanding of materials, detailed understanding of their structure, and guides the overall design of novel functional materials. Chemical imaging methods (optical spectroscopy, secondary ion spectrometry, mass spectrometry to name a few) vary in data acquisition, sample preparation, and spatial resolution; and thus, offer common yet nonidentical applicability for different samples [1]. However, many of these methods have a common feature -the chemical composition assignment is based on spectral characteristics acquired in a well-defined nanoscale region. As the field matures, more instruments and operational modes become available generating more data and requiring relevant processing tools used to operate on images, spectra, and combinations of thereof.