The probe tip is the key component in scanning probe microscopes and their applications in the nanoscale imaging and nanofabrication. In this work, we have investigated the formation of near-field scanning optical microscopy probe tips from optical fiber by chemical etching. Static and dynamic etchings and their combinations are studied. The etching process is optimized, and tips with short tapers, small apertures ͑about 50 nm͒ and large aperture cone angles (40°) are successfully obtained. Multiple-tapered tips are also fabricated by using different dynamic regimes. It is found that the taper profiles are determined by the nonlinear dynamic evolution of the meniscus of the etchant near the fiber.
Development of a polarization-preserving optical-fiber probe for near-field scanning optical microscopy and the influences of bending and squeezing on the polarization properties Rev. Sci. Instrum. 76, 043703 (2005); 10.1063/1.1884269 Formation of glass fiber tips for scanning near-field optical microscopy by sealed-and open-tube etching Rev. Sci. Instrum. 76, 013702 (2005); 10.1063/1.1823778 Formation of fine near-field scanning optical microscopy tips. Part I. By static and dynamic chemical etching Rev. Sci. Instrum. 74, 3679 (2003); 10.1063/1.1589583Influence of tip modulation on image formation in scanning near-field optical microscopy
We developed coatable retarders for visible range of light. The Thin Birefringent Film (TBF™) retarders are based on the newly developed family of water-soluble salts of aromatic polycyclic compounds, which absorb light in the ultra violet region of light spectra. TBF™ retarders are produced by coating and subsequent drying of an aqueous formulation on plastic or glass surface, thereby transforming the liquid coating material into molecularly oriented crystalline or amorphous nano-film. The TBF™ retarders are transparent in the whole visible spectral region and exhibit dichroic polarization characteristics in the UV region. We have produced films with thicknesses in the range of 100 nm to 1100 nm. Obtained TBF™ exhibit the negative A-plate birefringence characterized by n ∆ = n e -n 0 = -0.35 at 550nm. The thin form factor and the ability to coat on a variety of substrates give coatable retarders a great degree of design flexibility and advantages in LCD related applications. LCD applications of TBF™ retarders are also discussed.
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