An approach to the optical investigation of probes for scanning near-field optical microscopes (SNOM tips) and recognition of their near-field parameters by far-field measurements is considered. The comparison of approximate calculations of vector light field diffracted by a subwavelength aperture with more rigorous calculations of the light field passing through a tapered end of a SNOM tip is presented. A numerical iterative procedure of the SNOM tip aperture reconstruction by the analytical continuation of the emerging light Fourier spectrum is presented. The approach is based on the use of plane waves covering a wide range of spatial frequencies. The results of experimental measurements and far-field data treatment with the definition of a subwavelength aperture are discussed.

Date Published: 2 April 2004
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 5399, Laser-Assisted Micro- and Nanotechnologies 2003, (2 April 2004); doi: 10.1117/12.563864

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5399:
Laser-Assisted Micro- and Nanotechnologies 2003
Vadim P. Veiko, Editor(s)