title: Tip-enhanced fluorescence microscopy at 10 nanometer resolution.
abstract: We demonstrate unambiguously that the field enhancement near the apex of a laser-illuminated silicon tip decays according to a power law that is moderated by a single parameter characterizing the tip sharpness. Oscillating the probe in intermittent contact with a semiconductor nanocrystal strongly modulates the fluorescence excitation rate, providing robust optical contrast and enabling excellent background rejection. Laterally encoded demodulation yields images with <10 nm spatial resolution, consistent with independent measurements of tip sharpness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, MC 128-95, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Jordan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gerton
authors.forename: Lawrence A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Wade
authors.forename: Guillaume A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Lessard
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Quake
mesh_terms: D007834:Lasers; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D012666:Semiconductors; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon