Fiber-optic probe near-field optical microscopy

The term probe or proximal probe used in this document refers to any of die wide variety of tips used in tunneling, force, and near-field optical microscopies. That is, a metallic, semiconducting, or optical-fiber probe is positioned in close proximity to a sample for die purposes of recording images. 

Figure 19. Micrographs of a tapered fiber probe for illumination mode scanning near-field optical microscopy. The upper two panels are optical micrographs with light emeig-ing from the aperture. The electron micrograph in die lower panel shows the apex of the tip with the aluminum coating.

Near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) is a type of microscopy where a sub-wavelength light source is used as a scanning probe. This fiber optic probe is coated with metal except for a small region at the tapered fiber tip, which is... 

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