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Transient optical elements: application to near‐field microscopy
Author(s) -
Simanovskii D.,
Palanker D.,
Cohn K.,
Smith T.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2818.2003.01156.x
Subject(s) - optics , materials science , lens (geology) , wafer , transient (computer programming) , microscopy , optical microscope , oil immersion , near field scanning optical microscope , optoelectronics , semiconductor , microscope , refractive index , near and far field , numerical aperture , microlens , scanning electron microscope , physics , computer science , operating system , wavelength
Summary We report methods of near‐field infrared microscopy with transient optically induced probes. The first technique – a transient aperture (TA) – uses photoinduced reflectivity in semiconductors to generate a relatively large transient mirror (TM) with a small aperture at its centre. We report the optical properties of the TM and TA and experiments performed on near‐field imaging with the TA. The second technique is based on solid immersion microscopy, in which high resolution is achieved when light is focused inside a solid with a high refractive index. By creating a transient Fresnel lens on the surface of a semiconductor wafer via photoinduction, we were able to form a solid immersion lens (SIL) for use as a near‐field probe. The use of transient probes eliminates the need for mechanical scanning of the lens or sample, and thus provides a much faster scanning rate and the possibility to work with soft and liquid objects.