title: An absorption-based superconducting nano-detector as a near-field optical probe.
abstract: We investigate the use of a superconducting nano-detector as a novel near-field probe. In contrast to conventional scanning near-field optical microscopes, the nano-detector absorbs and detects photons in the near-field. We show that this absorption-based probe has a higher collection efficiency and investigate the details of the interaction between the nano detector and the dipole emitter. To this end, we introduce a multipole model to describe the interaction. Calculations of the local density of states show that the nano-detector does not strongly modify the emission rate of a dipole, especially when compared to traditional metal probes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, Leiden, 2333CA, The Netherlands. wang@physics.leidenuniv.nl
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Michiel J A
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: de Dood
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000295:instrumentation*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055096:Optical Devices; D014159:Transducers