title: Evaluation of nano-optical probe from scanning near-field optical microscope images.
abstract: We studied a nanometre-sized optical probe in a scanning near-field optical microscope. The probe profile is determined by using a knife-edge method and a modulated transfer function evaluation method which uses nanometre-sized line-and-space tungsten patterns (with spaces 1 microm to 50 nm apart) on SiO2 substrates. The aluminium-covered, pipette-pulled fibre probe used here has two optical probes: one with a large diameter (350 nm) and the other with a small diameter (10 nm). The small-diameter probe has an optical intensity approximately 63 times larger than that of the large-diameter probe, but the power is about 1/25 of that of the large probe.
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd., Kokubunji, Tokyo, Japan. hosaka@crl.hitachi.co.jp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hosaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shintani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kikukawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itoh