Nano-Optomechanical Characterization and Manipulation of Photonic Crystals

We describe the application of scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) for the high-resolution visualization of light propagation in photonic crystal structures. We also demonstrate that nanoscopic elements such as sharp tips could be used for the mechanical manipulation of the optical properties of photonic crystals. In particular, our theoretical and experimental results show that narrow resonances of a photonic crystal cavity can be tuned without a substantial influence on its quality factor. Furthermore, we discuss the modification of the fluorescence of a nanoscopic emitter as a function of its location close to a photonic crystal