Fabrication of an ultraviolet light-emitting functional probe of sub-micron size by photochemical vapor deposition

We report a new fabrication technique of a sub micron sized probe consistin g of functional material on the aperture or a metal coated optical fiber pr obe tip for near field optical microscopy. The selective fixation of sub-mi cron size functional material has been achieved by photochemical vapor depo sition. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the selective fixation of z inc oxide, a wide gap semiconductor with ultraviolet emission ability, on s uch probe tips. Results reveal the efficient excitonic emission of 372 nm e ven at room temperature, which is characteristic of high quality zinc oxide .