Near-field photochemical imaging of noble metal nanostructures.
The sub-diffraction imaging of the optical near-field in nanostructures, based on a photochemical technique, is reported. A photosensitive azobenzene-dye polymer is spin coated onto lithographic structures and is subsequently irradiated with laser light. Photoinduced mass transport creates topographic modifications at the polymer film surface that are then measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM images correlate with rigorous theoretical calculations of the near-field intensities for a range of different nanostructures and illumination polarizations. This approach is a first step toward additional methods for resolving confined optical near fields, which can augment scanning probe methodologies for high spatial resolution of optical near fields.
Hubert
Christophe
C
Laboratoire de Nanotechnologie et d'Instrumentation Optique, CNRS FRE 2671, Université de Technologie de Troyes, 12 rue Marie-Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes Cedex, France. christophe.hubert@utt.fr
Rumyantseva
Anna
A
Lerondel
Gilles
G
Grand
Johan
J
Kostcheev
Sergeï
S
Billot
Laurent
L
Vial
Alexandre
A
Bachelot
Renaud
R
Royer
Pascal
P
Chang
Shih-hui
SH
Gray
Stephen K
SK
Wiederrecht
Gary P
GP
Schatz
George C
GC