Luminescence induced by a scanning-tunneling microscope as a nanophotonic probe

The luminescence of nanostructured systems can be excited highly locally by the tip of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM). We first present briefly the principles of this STM-induced luminescence. Then we present a review of selected results in STM-induced luminescence from the point of view of nano-scale photonics. We illustrate various contrast mechanisms with different examples of nanostructured systems. To cite this article: F. Silly, F. Charra, C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 493–500.