title: The origin of interferometric effect involving surface plasmon polariton in scattering near-field scanning optical microscopy.
abstract: Scattering near-field scanning optical microscopy (s-NSOM) has been developed to characterize optical near field with spatial resolution on the order of 10 nm. In this work we report investigation of the interferometric patterns commonly occurred in s-NSOM measurements. To reveal the origin of such interference patterns, a simple nanoslit is used. Comparing the measured result with a simplified analytical model as well as full-field numerical simulations, it is shown that the interference pattern is predominantly formed by the in-plane component of incidence light and surface plasmon polariton (SPP) launched by the nanoslit. This result helps to understand the responses of plasmonic nanostructures during s-NSOM measurements.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Edward C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Kinzel
authors.forename: Xifeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Xianfan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007368:Interferometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007909:Lenses; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*