Related papers: Near-field optical imaging with a CdSe single nano…
We present a method to realize active optical tips for use in near-field optics that can operate at room temperature. A metal-coated optical tip is covered with a thin polymer layer stained with CdSe nanocrystals or nanorods at low density.…
We review our recent developments of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) that uses an active tip made of a single fluorescent nanodiamond (ND) grafted onto the apex of a substrate fiber tip. The ND hosting a limited number of…
We introduce a point-like scanning single-photon source that operates at room temperature and offers an exceptional photostability (no blinking, no bleaching). This is obtained by grafting in a controlled way a diamond nanocrystal (size…
We investigate the modification of photoluminescence (PL) from single semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (NCs) in proximity of metal and semiconducting Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) tips. The presence of the tip alters the radiative…
We use fluorescent nanospheres as scalar detectors for the electric-field intensity in order to probe the near-field of an optical tip used in aperture-type near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM). Surprisingly, the recorded…
We recently (Optics Express 17, 19969 (2009)) introduced an all-optical method for grafting onto the apex of an optical tip a single 20 nm nanodiamond with single color-center occupancy and used the resulting single-photon tip in scanning…
We discuss theoretically the concept of spatial resolution in near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) in light of a recent work [Opt. Express 17 (2009) 19969] which reported on the achievement of active tips made of a single…
We present a new kind of fluorescent oxide nanoparticles with properties well suited to active-tip based near-field optics. These particles with an average diameter in the range 5-10 nm are produced by Low Energy Cluster Beam Deposition…
We present a scheme for remotely addressing single nano-objects by means of near-field optical microscopy that makes only use of one of the most fundamental properties of electromagnetic radiation: its polarization. A medium containing…
Leakage-radiation microscopy of a thin gold film demonstrates the ability of an ensemble of fluorescent diamond nanoparticles attached onto the apex of an optical tip to serve as an efficient near-field surface-plasmon polariton launcher.…
Current technologies for infrared detection have been based on epitaxially grown semiconductors. Here we review some of the recent developments relative to colloidal nanocrystals and their use as building blocks for the design of low-cost…
This paper reports on the excitation of surface plasmons on gold-coated nanofibre tips by side-illumination with a laser beam and the coupling of the surface plasmons to the optical fiber. The measurements show a strong dependence of the…
Near-field optical microscopy and spectroscopy provide high-resolution imaging below the diffraction limit, crucial in physics, chemistry, and biology for studying molecules, nanoparticles, and viruses. These techniques use a sharp metallic…
We discuss experimental studies of the interaction between a nanoscopic object and a photonic crystal membrane resonator of quality factor Q=55000. By controlled actuation of a glass fiber tip in the near-field of a photonic crystal, we…
Nanometer-sharp metallic tips are known to be excellent electron emitters. They are used in highest-resolution electron microscopes in cold field emission mode to generate the most coherent electron beam in continuous-wave operation. For…
Using a two-dipole model of an optical near-field of Scanning Near-field Optical Microscope tip, i. e. taking into account contributions of magnetic and electric dipoles, we propose and analyze a new type of 3D optical nanotrap found for…
Large surface to volume ratios of semiconductor nanocrystals cause susceptibility to charge trapping, which can modify luminescence yields and induce single-particle blinking. Optical spectroscopies cannot differentiate between bulk and…
Near-field optical microscopes with two independent tips for simultaneous excitation and detection can be essential tools for studying localized optical phenomena on the subwavelength scale. Here, we report on the implementation of a fully…
An atomic force microscope~(AFM) tip, with a few nm-thick noble metal coating, gives rise to strong electric-field at the near-field of tip apex, i.e. hot spot, when illuminated with a beam of light linearly polarized in the axial…
Measuring the field of visible light with high spatial resolution has been challenging, as many established methods only detect a focus-averaged signal. Here, we introduce a near-field method for optical field sampling that overcomes that…