Towards phonon photonics: scattering-type near-field optical microscopy reveals phonon-enhanced near-field interaction

Ultramicroscopy
R Hillenbrand

Abstract

Diffraction limits the spatial resolution in classical microscopy or the dimensions of optical circuits to about half the illumination wavelength. Scanning near-field microscopy can overcome this limitation by exploiting the evanescent near fields existing close to any illuminated object. We use a scattering-type near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) that uses the illuminated metal tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) to act as scattering near-field probe. The presented images are direct evidence that the s-SNOM enables optical imaging at a spatial resolution on a 10nm scale, independent of the wavelength used (lambda=633 nm and 10 microm). Operating the microscope at specific mid-infrared frequencies we found a tip-induced phonon-polariton resonance on flat polar crystals such as SiC and Si3N4. Being a spectral fingerprint of any polar material such phonon-enhanced near-field interaction has enormous applicability in nondestructive, material-specific infrared microscopy at nanoscale resolution. The potential of s-SNOM to study eigenfields of surface polaritons in nanostructures opens the door to the development of phonon photonics-a proposed infrared nanotechnology that uses localized or propagating surface phonon polarito...Continue Reading

References

Sep 27, 2000·Physical Review Letters·R Hillenbrand, F Keilmann
Apr 12, 2001·Journal of Microscopy·R HillenbrandF Keilmann
Jun 5, 2001·Journal of Microscopy·B Knoll, F Keilmann
Jul 12, 2002·Nature·R HillenbrandF Keilmann

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Citations

Oct 24, 2007·Chemphyschem : a European Journal of Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry·Edward M KosowerGalina Borz
May 14, 2010·Nanotechnology·A J HuberR Hillenbrand
Oct 13, 2007·Physical Review Letters·Jon A SchullerMark L Brongersma
Apr 23, 2020·Nano Letters·Haomin WangXiaoji G Xu

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