Open AccessAnalytical model for quantitative prediction of material contrasts in scattering-type near-field optical microscopy
Author(s) -
A. Cvitkovic,
N. Ocelic,
Rainer Hillenbrand
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.15.008550
Subject(s) - optics , scattering , materials science , microscopy , dielectric , nanoscopic scale , nanometre , field (mathematics) , light scattering , computational physics , physics , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , mathematics , pure mathematics
Nanometer-scale mapping of complex optical constants by scattering-type near-field microscopy has been suffering from quantitative discrepancies between the theory and experiments. To resolve this problem, a novel analytical model is presented here. The comparison with experimental data demonstrates that the model quantitatively reproduces approach curves on a Au surface and yields an unprecedented agreement with amplitude and phase spectra recorded on a phonon-polariton resonant SiC sample. The simple closed-form solution derived here should enable the determination of the local complex dielectric function on an unknown sample, thereby identifying its nanoscale chemical composition, crystal structure and conductivity.