APPLICATION OF FOURIER ALGORITHM TO NEAR-FIELD OPTICAL-IMAGES - LOCALRESOLUTION ESTIMATION

In Near Field Optics, the lateral resolution is better than the limit given by the Rayleigh criterion, but this fact was usually demonstrate d by using test samples. In this study we apply local Fourier algorith ms to near field optical experimental images, using a noise considerat ion to define resolution criterion. These algorithms are able to estim ate the resolution automatically and thus can lead to simple image pro cessing. We investigate the local resolution in scanning lines and we introduce the apparatus characterization. In the first part we discuss on the problem of resolution in near field optics.