Plasmon coupled tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy

Summary form only given. Scanning near-field optical microscopy aims at optically resolving subwavelength structures. The most common technique relies on the local excitation of the sample surface by the optical fields near a nano-aperture which is commonly produced at the end of a glass fiber tip. Alternatively, high resolution microscopy can also be achieved by using the local field enhancement produced at the end of a sharp metal tip when illuminated by a highly focused laser beam. By combining these techniques in the form of a sharp metal tip at the end of an overcoated fiber, we propose a new method that does not require the delicate technologies to produce nano-apertures, nor require the intense external focused beam responsible for the field enhancement.