Apertureless near-field Raman spectroscopy

We report on the tip‐enhanced Raman spectra of C60 obtained on a custom‐built apertureless scanning near‐field optical microscope. A commercial atomic force microscope tip coated with 100 nm thickness of gold was used to enhance locally the Raman signal and permit topographic and spectral information to be acquired simultaneously. We present preliminary data which demonstrate the tip enhancement effect using C60 as a test sample.     

Nanoscale optical imaging of chromosomes with apertureless microscopy.

Near-field optical structure of the centromere region of undyed polytene chromosomes has been observed using an apertureless near-field optical microscope that detects the intensity of light scattered from an atomic force microscope tip under laser illumination. The centromere is of primary importance to the functioning of the chromosome in the cell during cell division. It is also particularly interesting for structural/optical studies since its DNA repeat sequences are highly conserved among organisms and it is possible that they play a part in the centromere self assembly (Clark and Wall 1996).     

针尖增强拉曼光谱术原理与系统设计关键

最近10年,针尖增强拉曼光谱技术(TERS)以其极高的空间分辨率和探测灵敏度受到了人们的重视。针尖增强拉曼光谱技术为纳米科学与生命科学等学科的研究提供了强有力的工具,使得纳米尺度光谱学研究成为现实。简述了针尖增强拉曼光谱技术的基本原理,着重讨论了针尖增强拉曼光谱系统的结构、设计方法和评价指标。介绍了针尖增强拉曼光谱技术的最新应用和研究进展,并对目前面对的前沿问题和今后的发展方向进行了分析。     

Influence of metal roughness on the near-field generated by an aperture/apertureless probe

We study the influence of metal roughness on the near‐field distribution generated by an aperture or an apertureless (scattering) probe. Different experimental parameters are investigated: roughness magnitude, aperture form, distribution of the roughness. Our results show that aluminium roughness has a dramatic impact on the emission characteristics of a near‐field probe and in particular on its polarization sensitivity. Apertureless or scattering probes appear to be less sensitive to roughness and to provide a well confined field even with a somewhat rough probe.