Micromachined photoplastic probe for scanning near-field optical microscopy

We present a hybrid probe for scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) , which consists of a micromachined photoplastic tip with a metallic apertu re at the apex that is attached to an optical fiber, thus combining the adv antages of optical fiber probes and micromachined tips. The tip and apertur e are batch fabricated and assembled to a preetched optical fiber with micr ometer centering precision. Rectangular apertures of 50 nmx130 nm have been produced without the need of any postprocessing. Topographical and optical imaging with a probe having an aperture of 300 nm demonstrate the great po tential of the photoplastic probe for SNOM applications. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.