MSURJ • Volume 3, Issue 1 Abstract Many areas of cell biology have remained unexplored due to the limitations of conventional optical microscopy for image structures smaller than the diffraction limit of light. Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) is an emerging technique which allows sub-diffraction limit optical resolution and hence access to nanoscale structures such as those in bio...

A core component of all scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) systems is the optical probe, which has evolved greatly but still represents the limiting component for the system. Here, we introduce a new type of optical probe, based on a Fractal Fibre which is a special class of photonic crystal fibre (PCF), to directly address the issue of increasing the optical throughput in SNOM probe...

A new method for high-resolution quantitative measurement of the dielectric function by using scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) is presented. The method is based on a calibration procedure that uses the s-SNOM oscillating dipole model of the probe-sample interaction and quantitative s-SNOM measurements. The nanoscale capabilities of the method have the potential to enab...

Due to its surface sensitivity and high spatial resolution, scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) has a significant potential to study the lateral organization of membrane domains and clusters. Compared to other techniques, infrared near-field microscopy in the spectroscopic mode has the advantage to be sensitive to specific chemical bonds. In fact, spectroscopic SNOM in the infrared sp...

BACKGROUND The morphology of spermatozoa is a fundamental aspect to consider in fertilization, sperm pathology, assisted reproduction and contraception. Head, neck, midpiece, principal and terminal part of flagellum are the main sperm components to investigate for identifying morphological features and related anomalies. Recently, scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM), which belongs to ...

Polarization properties of apertureless-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (a-SNOM) were measured experimentally and were also analyzed using a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. Our study reveals that the polarization properties in the a-SNOM are maintained and the a-SNOM works as a wave plate expressed by a Jones matrix. The measured signals obtained by the lock-in dete...

High-resolution analysis of activities of live cells is limited by the use of non-invasive methods. Apparatuses such as SEM, STM or AFM are not practicable because the necessary treatment or the harsh contact with system probe will disturb or destroy the cell. Optical methods are purely non-invasive, but they are usually diffraction limited and then their resolution is limited to approximately ...

BACKGROUND Despite a widespread shift to selective non-operative management (SNOM) for blunt splenic trauma, there remains uncertainty regarding the role of adjuncts such as interventional radiological techniques, the need for follow-up imaging, and the incidence of long-term complications. We evaluated the success of SNOM (including splenic artery embolization, SAE) for the management of blunt...

Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. Thesis directed by Professor Markus Raschke Scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) is a powerful technique for measuring spectroscopic properties of materials with s...