Dielectric versus topographic contrast in near-field microscopy

Using a fully vectorial three-dimensional numerical approach (generalized field propagator, based on Green’s tensor technique), we investigate the near-field images produced by subwavelength objects buried in a dielectric surface. We study the influence of the object index, size, and depth on the near field. We emphasize the similarity between the near field spawned by an object buried in the surface (dielectric contrast) and that spawned by a protrusion on the surface (topographic contrast). We show that a buried object with a negative dielectric contrast (i.e., with a smaller index than its surrounding medium) produces a near-field image that is reversed from that of an object with a positive contrast.

[1]  Lukas Novotny,et al.  Light confinement in scanning near-field optical microscopy , 1995 .

[2]  Dominique Barchiesi,et al.  PSTM : an alternative to measure local variation of optical index , 1994 .

[3]  M. Diemeer,et al.  Computational modeling of diffused channel waveguides using a domain integral equation , 1990 .

[4]  M. Kawachi.  Silica waveguides on silicon and their application to integrated-optic components , 1990 .

[5]  N. F. van Hulst,et al.  Applications of near field optical microscopy: Fluorescence in situ hybridisation, Langmuir-Blodgett films and integrated optical waveguides , 1995 .

[6]  J. Goudonnet,et al.  Analysis of photon-scanning tunneling microscope images of inhomogeneous samples: Determination of the local refractive index of channel waveguides , 1995 .

[7]  Girard,et al.  Generalized Field Propagator for Electromagnetic Scattering and Light Confinement. , 1995, Physical review letters.

[8]  C. Bainier,et al.  Imaging of submicron index variations by scanning optical tunneling , 1992 .

[9]  García,et al.  Rough surface retrieval from the specular intensity of multiply scattered waves. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[10]  Jean-Jacques Greffet,et al.  Surface profile reconstruction using near-field data , 1995 .

[11]  Near field scattered by subsurface particles , 1993 .

[12]  J. Greffet,et al.  NEAR FIELD SCATTERED BY A DIELECTRIC ROD BELOW A METALLIC SURFACE , 1994 .

[13]  Olivier J. F. Martin,et al.  Iterative scheme for computing exactly the total field propagating in dielectric structures of arbitrary shape , 1994 .

[14]  C. Henry,et al.  Glass waveguides on silicon for hybrid optical packaging , 1989 .

[15]  Girard,et al.  Importance of confined fields in near-field optical imaging of subwavelength objects. , 1994, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[16]  Girard,et al.  Optical spectroscopy of a surface at the nanometer scale: A theoretical study in real space. , 1994, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[17]  Olivier J. F. Martin,et al.  Theory of near field optics , 1995 .

[18]  Joseph T. Boyd,et al.  Near field measurements of optical channel waveguides and directional couplers , 1994 .

[19]  C. Kittel.  Introduction to solid state physics , 1954 .

[20]  Lukas Novotny,et al.  Light propagation through nanometer-sized structures: the two-dimensional-aperture scanning near-field optical microscope , 1994 .

[21]  M. Nieto-Vesperinas,et al.  Near-field optics inverse-scattering reconstruction of reflective surfaces. , 1993, Optics letters.

[22]  R. Carminati,et al.  ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE SCATTERING FROM A CYLINDER IN FRONT OF A CONDUCTING SURFACE-RELIEF GRATING , 1994 .

[23]  F. Depasse,et al.  Modeling of the field transfer through thick dielectric lines: use in linewidth measurement. , 1991, Applied optics.

[24]  M. Nieto-Vesperinas,et al.  Direct solution to the inverse scattering problem for surfaces from near-field intensities without phase retrieval. , 1995, Optics letters.

[25]  R. Carminati,et al.  Influence of dielectric contrast and topography on the near field scattered by an inhomogeneous surface , 1995 .

[26]  C Gough,et al.  Introduction to Solid State Physics (6th edn) , 1986 .