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Near-field nanoprobing using Si tip-Au nanoparticle photoinduced force microscopy with 120:1 signal-to-noise ratio, sub-6-nm resolution

Rajaei, M., Almajhadi, MA., Zeng, J., Wickramasinghe, HK.
Opt Express

Abstract

We propose using a Si tip-Au nanoparticle (NP) combination system in photoinduced force microscopy (PiFM) to fundamentally improve its accuracy in the nanoscale characterization of light-matter interaction. Compared to conventional PiFM with Au-coated tips, such Si tip and Au NP combination enables superior photo-induced force detection while overcoming the tip-induced anisotropy by Au-coating. We map the near-field distribution of Au NPs in different arrangements achieving 120 signal-to-noise ratio and sub-6-nm resolution, even surpassing the tip-curvature limitation; we also map the azimuthally polarized beam profile showing an excellent symmetry. The proposed approach is essential to the promising single molecule spectroscopy.

DOI: 10.1364/OE.26.026365