Fabrication and characterization of optoelectronic near-field probes based on an SFM cantilever design

For the setting-up of near-field optical microscopes, the development of and investigation into new near-field probes is of fundamental importance. Up to now, the probes have predominantly been used as passive elements. In contrast to this practice, the principle of the optoelectronically active probe which has been presented on the NFO-1 conference in 1992 (H.U. Danzebrink and U.C. Fischer, in: Near Field Optics (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1993) [1]) will allow signal conversion into an electrical measuring signal to be directly integrated into the near-field probe itself. It will thus be possible to realize compact near-field microscopes without further waveguide structures or external photodetectors being necessary. The application of this principle to the microlithographic manufacture of optoelectronic probes is the main topic of our work in progress. These near-field probes are inserted in a Scanning Force Microscope (SFM) and measure simultaneously the topography as well as the optical near-field signal.