C. Durkan et Iv. Shvets, REFLECTION-MODE SCANNING NEAR-FIELD OPTICAL MICROSCOPY - INFLUENCE OFSAMPLE TYPE, TIP SHAPE, AND POLARIZATION OF LIGHT, Journal of applied physics, 83(3), 1998, pp. 1171-1176
A reflection-mode aperture-type scanning near-field optical microscope
(R-SNOM) based on the external collection of the reflected light is p
resented. The light detection is based on an elliptical mirror setup,
with the tip and sample at one focus, and a photomultiplier tube at th
e other. Results are presented on the general imaging properties of th
is microscope. The results presented concentrate on an analysis of the
gap-width dependence of the optical signal, on resolution and on the
contrast mechanisms which may be used in R-SNOM imaging, including ref
lectivity, polarization/magneto-optics, and topographic effects. (C) 1
998 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(98)09503-6].