Abstract
A trapped-particle near-field scanning optical microscope is constructed by use of submicrometer- or micrometer-sized metallic particles (gold and silver) to increase scattering efficiency. The image contrast of the evanescent-wave interference pattern on the surface of a prism upon total internal reflection, obtained with trapped gold particles of diameter 0.1 and 2 μm, is improved by a factor of approximately 2 and 1.5, respectively, compared with that obtained with trapped polystyrene particles of similar size. The use of a 2-μm gold particle leads to image contrast that is approximately three times as great as that obtained with a 0.1-μm gold particle, and interference patterns of a subwavelength period are obtained in both cases.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 74-76 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Optics Letters |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jan 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |