Three-dimensional manipulation with scanning near-field optical nanotweezers

Three-dimensional mapping of optical near field with scattering SNOM.

Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) is applied to investigate three-dimensional optical near field distribution, including both amplitude and phase information. A method analogous to the force volume mode of the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique is adapted for the measurement. The results show high lateral resolution of tens of nanometers, and even higher verti...

Scanning near-field optical microscopy.

An average human eye can see details down to 0,07 mm in size. The ability to see smaller details of the matter is correlated with the development of the science and the comprehension of the nature. Today's science needs eyes for the nano-world. Examples are easily found in biology and medical sciences. There is a great need to determine shape, size, chemical composition, molecular structure and...

Optical impedance matching with scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM)

An overview of scanning near-field optical microscopy in characterization of nano-materials

Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy (SNOM) is a member of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) family which enables nanostructure investigation of the surfaces on a wide range of materials. In fact, SNOM combines the SPM technology to the optical microscopy and in this way provide a powerful tool to study nano-structures with very high spatial resolution. In this paper, a qualified overview of ...

Near-field optical investigation of three-dimensional photonic crystals.

We show that the coupling of light from an external pointlike light source into a three-dimensional photonic crystal depends on the relative launching position with respect to the crystal lattice as well as on the frequency of light. The results are obtained with a near-field technique which is used to acquire optical information beyond the diffraction limit and to access optical details within...