Open AccessA nanoplasmonic probe for near-field imaging
Author(s) -
Jonathan A.J. Backs,
Shawn Sederberg,
A. Y. Elezzabi
Publication year - 2011
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.19.011280
Subject(s) - optics , near field scanning optical microscope , near field optics , resolution (logic) , image resolution , microscope , materials science , near and far field , optical microscope , microscopy , aperture (computer memory) , point spread function , scanning probe microscopy , physics , scanning electron microscope , artificial intelligence , computer science , acoustics
We demonstrate a nanoplasmonic probe that incorporates a subwavelength aperture coupled to a fine probing tip. This probe is used in a hybrid near-field scanning optical microscope and atomic force microscope system that can simultaneously map the optical near-field and the topography of nanostructures. By spatially isolating but optically coupling the aperture and the localizing point, we obtained near-field images at a resolution of 45 nm, corresponding to λ/14. This nanoplasmonic probe design overcomes the resolution challenges of conventional apertured near-field optical probes and can provide substantially higher resolution than demonstrated in this work.