Numerical calculation of near-field in vicinity of three-dimensional nano-optical probes using boundary element method

The diffraction limit is one of the main obstacles in the development of microscopes to analyze the morphology and structure of materials. The main idea of near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) is to overcome the diffraction limit using sub-wavelength apertures. In this work, the near-field is simulated in the vicinity of three-dimensional nano-optical apertureless probes. For this purpose, the Helmholtz equation is solved using the boundary element method (BEM). The effects of different parameters on the near field generated in the vicinity of the optical probe are studied. These parameters consist of the length and radius of the probe, the size of the aperture, the angle of the tapered tip, and the geometry of the probe tip. The main advantages of the proposed method are the high accuracy, the very short calculation time, and the ability to calculate the near field inside and outside the optical probe without any approximation.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a method called near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) to overcome the diffraction limit using sub-wavelength apertures. By simulating the near field in the vicinity of three-dimensional nano-optical apertureless probes, the effects of different parameters on the generated near field are studied.