Infrared near-field microscopy with the Vanderbilt free electron laser: overview and perspectives

Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) makes it routinely possible to overcome the fundamental diffraction limit of standard (far-field) microscopy. Recently, aperture-based infrared SNOM performed in the spectroscopic mode, using the Vanderbilt University free electron laser, started delivering spatially-resolved information on the distribution of chemical species and on other laterally-fluctuating properties. The practical examples presented here show the great potential of this new technique both in materials science and in life sciences. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.