Open AccessHigh-resolution mapping of the optical near-field components at a triangular nano-aperture
Author(s) -
D. Molenda,
Gérard Colas des Francs,
Ulrich Fischer,
N. Rau,
A. Naber
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/opex.13.010688
Subject(s) - optics , near field scanning optical microscope , aperture (computer memory) , resolution (logic) , numerical aperture , materials science , point spread function , near field optics , optical microscope , image resolution , electric field , microscope , near and far field , physics , scanning electron microscope , wavelength , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science , acoustics
A triangular nano-aperture in an aluminum film was used as a probe in a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) to image single fluorescent molecules with an optical resolution down to 30 nm. The differently oriented molecules were employed as point detectors to map the vectorial components of the electric field distribution at the illuminated triangular aperture. The good agreement of the experimental results with numerical simulations enabled us to determine both the field map at a triangular aperture and the exact orientations of the probing molecules.