Search results for "Near-field scanning optical microscope"
showing 10 items of 55 documents
Towards the origin of the shear force in near-field microscopy
2001
The shear force from a gold or a graphite sample acting on an approaching near-field optical probe is studied in detail. The adiabatic and dissipative contributions to the force are clearly distinguished by monitoring the amplitude as well as the phase of the tip vibration when the tip approaches the surfaces. We also take into account that not only the damping and the resonance frequency but also the mass of the system changes when the tip approaches the surface. The relative strength of the contributions to the force varies differently but characteristically with the distance of the two samples, starting at a much larger distance in the case of graphite. The adiabatic contribution is lar…
Theoretical study of an absorbing sample in infrared near-field spectromicroscopy
2004
Abstract This paper is devoted to study the near-field spectrometry in the infrared spectral range. To understand the behavior of the infrared light diffracted by an object, numerical calculations have been carried out with Fourier Modale (FM) method within R-matrix algorithm. We consider the case of three-dimensional system including a translational symmetry in one direction, where is included an homogenous layer in which is buried an absorbing object. Using an optical near-field analysis and by calculating the electric field intensity distribution, both of the thickness effect and the lateral size of the absorbing sample are investigated. It is found that the distribution of the intensity…
SNOM study of ferroelectric domains in doped LiNbO3 crystals
2009
Abstract This work shows a study of the periodic ferroelectric domains formed in LiNbO3 crystals doped with rare earths by means of scanning near field optical microscopy (SNOM) technique. It has been observed periodic structures associated with ferroelectric domains with an unexpected high value of the optical contrast working under reflectance SNOM mode. From Raman-Nath diffraction patterns, a refractive index modulation of Δ n ∼ 1 0 − 4 has been calculated. These results were correlated with the ferroelectric periodic domains obtained by the SNOM technique. A light waveguide effects along the ferroelectric domains is suggested to explain the high reflectance contrast observed in SNOM exp…
Electromagnetic Singularities and Resonances in Near-Field Optical Probes
2007
Over the last two decades scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) has demonstrated its ability to provide optical resolution significantly better than the diffraction limit (<20 nm). The general principle of SNOM relies on the approach of a nanometer-sized object in the optical near-field of a sample to be studied. This nano-object (NO) is usually the extremity of a probe. Regardless of the nature of the observed SNOM signal (inelastic scattering, fluorescence, etc.), the detection of the light is achieved in the far-field regime where the NO acts as a mediator between the optical near-field and the detector. Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the SNOM principle.
Determinant role of the edges in defining surface plasmon propagation in stripe waveguides and tapered concentrators
2012
International audience; In this paper, we experimentally show the effect of waveguide discontinuity on the propagation of the surface plasmon in metal stripes and tapered terminations. Dual-plane leakage microscopy and near-field microscopy were performed on Au stripes with varied widths to imag29e the surface plasmon intensity distribution in real and reciprocal spaces. We unambiguously demonstrate that edge diffraction is the limiting process determining the cutoff conditions of the surface plasmon mode. Finally, we determine the optimal tapered geometry leading to the highest transmission.
Sub-wavelength imaging of light confinement and propagation in SOI based photonic crystal devices
2006
A light source is coupled into photonic crystal devices and a near field optical probe is used to observe the electromagnetic field propagation and distribution at a sub-wavelength scale. Bloch modes are clearly observed.
Computation of the field diffracted by a local surface defect: application to tip–sample interaction in the photon scanning tunneling microscope
1996
We use a method based on the Fourier transform of the electromagnetic field to compute the field diffracted by a local deformation of a plane boundary surface. We give a complete development of each step of the technique. To show the interaction that exists between the probe of a near-field optical microscope and the observed sample, we use the model of a truncated cone-shaped tip above a rectangular surface defect. We compute the electrical intensity along a line located between the tip and the local surface defect. We show the influence of the polarization of the incident wave and the effect of the position of the tip with respect to the position of the surface defect.
Scanning near-field optical microscopy using semiconductor nanocrystals as a local fluorescence and fluorescence resonance energy transfer source
2003
Local fluorescence probes based on CdSe semiconductor nanocrystals were prepared and tested by recording scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) images of calibration samples and fluorescence resonance energy transfer SNOM (FRET SNOM) images of acceptor dye molecules inhomogeneously deposited onto a glass substrate. Thousands of nanocrystals contribute to the signal when this probe is used as a local fluorescence source while only tens of those (the most apical) are involved in imaging for the FRET SNOM operation mode. The dip-coating method used to make the probe enables diminishing the number of active fluorescent nanocrystals easily. Prospects to realize FRET SNOM based on a single…
Photonic nanopatterns of gold nanostructures indicate the excitation of surface plasmon modes of a wavelength of 50-100 nm by scanning near-field opt…
2003
Scanning near-field optical microscopy images of metal nanostructures taken with the tetrahedral tip (T-tip) show a distribution of dark and bright spots at distances in the order of 25-50 nm. The images are interpreted as photonic nanopatterns defined as calculated scanning near-field optical microscopy images using a dipole serving as a light-emitting scanning near-field optical microscopy probe. Changing from a positive to a negative value of the dielectric function of a sample leads to the partition of one spot into several spots in the photonic nanopatterns, indicating the excitation of surface plasmons of a wavelength in the order of 50-100 nm in metal nanostructures.
Scanning probe microscopies applied to the study of the domain wall in a ferroelectric crystal.
2007
Summary Scanning near-field optical microscopy is capable of measuring the topography and optical signals at the same time. This fact makes this technique a valuable tool in the study of materials at nanometric scale and, in particular, of ferroelectric materials, as it permits the study of their domains structure without the need of chemical etching and, therefore, not damaging the surface (as will be demonstrated later). We have measured the scanning near-field optical microscopy transmission, as well as the topography, of an RbTiOPO4 single crystalline slab, which exhibits two different of macroscopic ferroelectric domains. A chemical selective etching has been performed to distinguish b…