Highly localized nano-light-source for 3D imaging by near-field optical microscopy

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26600014
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Nanostructural physics
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Verma Prabhat 大阪大学, 工学研究科, 教授 (60362662)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ナノプローブ / 近接場顕微鏡

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Plasmon nanofocusing, a phenomenon that plasmon propagates on a tapered metallic structure and create strong near-field light at the apex, can be a very powerful tool for near-field scanning optical microscopy. Such unique property enables to remove background scattering by incident laser. Also, the near-field light induced by plasmon nanofocusing is highly localized at the tip apex so that it can open a door for 3D near-field optical imaging by adding z dimension in imaging. In this research, in order to apply plasmon nanofocusing for near-field optical microscopy, we have optimized structure of metallic tip for plasmon nanofocusing, and fabricated it. Using fabricated tips, we have confirmed that they could induce plasmon nanofocusing. Finally, we performed optical nano-imaging with the fabricate tips through plasmon nanofocusing.

Free Research Field

ナノ分光学