Non-propagating evanescent fields play an important role in the development of nano-photonic devices. While detecting the evanescent fields in far-field can be accomplished by coupling it to the propagating waves, in practice they are measured in the presence of unwanted propagating background components. It leads to a poor signal-to-noise ratio and thus to errors in quantitative analysis of the local evanescent fields. Here we report on a plasmonic near-field scanning optical microscopy (p-NSOM) technique that incorporates a nanofocusing probe for adiabatic focusing of propagating surface plasmon polaritons at the probe apex, and for enhanced coupling of evanescent waves to the far-field. In addition, a harmonic demodulation technique is employed to suppress the contribution of the background. Our experimental results show strong evidence of background free near-field imaging using the new p-NSOM technique. Furthermore, we present measurements of surface plasmon cavity modes, and quantify their contributing sources using an analytical model.
Near-field optical techniques exploit light-matter interactions at small length scales for mechanical sensing and actuation of nanomechanical structures. Here, we study the optical interaction between two mechanical oscillators—a plasmonic nanofocusing probe-tip supported by a low frequency cantilever, and a high frequency nanomechanical resonator—and leverage their interaction for local detection of mechanical vibrations. The plasmonic nanofocusing probe provides a confined optical source to enhance the interaction between the two oscillators. Dynamic perturbation of the optical cavity between the probe-tip and the resonator leads to nonlinear modulation of the scattered light intensity at the sum and difference of their frequencies. This double-frequency demodulation scheme is explored to suppress unwanted background and to detect mechanical vibrations with a minimum detectable displacement sensitivity of 0.45 pm/Hz1/2, which is limited by shot noise and electrical noise. We explore the demodulation scheme for imaging the bending vibration mode shape of the resonator with a lateral spatial resolution of 20 nm. We also demonstrate the time-resolved aspect of the local optical interaction by recording the ring-down vibrations of the resonator at frequencies of up to 129 MHz. The near-field optical technique is promising for studying dynamic mechanical processes in individual nanostructures.
Ultrasonic waves are sensitive to the elastic properties of solids and have been applied in a variety of nondestructive materials characterization and metrology applications. The spatial resolution of established ultrasound techniques is limited to the order of the ultrasound wavelength, which is insufficient for nanomechanical characterization and imaging of nanoscale aspects of a material microstructure. Here, we report of an ultrasonic near-field optical microscopy (UNOM) technique that enables local mapping of ultrasound with deep sub-optical wavelength spatial resolution. In this technique, ultrasonic waves generated by a pulsed laser are detected by a scanning near-field optical probe over a broad frequency bandwidth. The scanning probe features a plasmonic nano-focusing lens that concentrates light to a strongly localized focal spot at the tip of the probe. The plasmonic probe enhances the scattering of evanescent light at the probe-tip and enables reliable measurement of the dynamic motion of a vibrating surface. The measurements made by the UNOM are purely optical; therefore, it is independent of mechanical coupling between the probe and the sample, which is one of the limitations of force based scanning probe microscopy methods. The UNOM technique allows for spatially and temporally resolved optical measurements of ultrasound with greater penetration depth, and it combines the benefits of local sensitivity to elastic and optical properties. Experimental results are presented, which demonstrate the potential of the technique for local mapping of subsurface optical absorbers in a soft material with high spatial resolution.
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