Scanning Head for the Apertureless near Field Optical Microscope

Scanning Head for the Apertureless near Field Optical Microscope

The design and characterization of a tip control unit for an apertureless scanning near field optical microscope (ASNOM) is reported. To make the instrument operation easier, the cantilever control parts (piezo excitation of the cantilever vibration for the dynamic mode feedback and the parts necessary for the optical lever scheme of the vibration control) were placed in a separate detachable a...

Apertureless near-field optical microscope

We demonstrate a new method whereby near-field optical microscope resolution can be extended to the nanometer regime. The technique is based on measuring the modulation of the scattered electric field from the end of a sharp silicon tip as it is stabilized and scanned in close proximity to a sample surface. Our initial results demonstrate resolution in the 3 nm range--comparable to what can be ...

Apertureless scanning near field optical microscope with sub-10nm resolution

An apertureless near-field scanning optical microscope for imaging surface plasmons in the mid-wave infrared

ABSTRACT An apertureless near-field scanning optical microscope (a-NSOM) setup is described. Special consideration is given to important system components. Surface plasmons are defined, as is their relationship to aNSOM and their interaction with the scanning probe tip. We used this set-up to measure a metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) antenna integrated with a quantum cascade laser (QCL). The forme...

Field enhancement in apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy.

The near field of an apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy probe is investigated with a multiple-multipole technique to obtain optical fields in the vicinity of a silicon probe tip and a glass substrate. The results demonstrate that electric field enhancements of >15 relative to the incident fields can be achieved near a silicon tip, implying intensity enhancements of several orde...