Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM)

for magneto-optics

Paolo Vavassori
INFM - National Research Center on nanoStructures and Biosystems at Surfaces (S3), Dipartimento
di Fisica, Universita` di Ferrara, Italy

SPM: main components

All Scanning Probe Microscopes contain some main
components:
- a probe tip;
- a piezoelectric scanner to move the tip (or the sample);
- the acquisition system to measure and convert the data
into an image.

SPM: Scanning Probe Microscopy

The piezoelectric scanner moves
the sample under the tip (or the
tip on the sample) in a raster
pattern.
A feedback system controls the
distance tip-sample.
A computer system measures in
each
points
the
different
interactions between the tip and
the surface of the sample.

Resolution

Protein
|

Small
Molecule
|

Atom

10 m|

Viral ribosome

100m|

1 m| 100nm|

10nm|

1nm|

1|

Bacterium

Animal Cell

Plant Cell
1 cm| 1mm|

0,40,7m*

10nm

Optical microscopy

52nm

|
0,1|

max
0,1nm

Electronic microscopy : SEM

TEM
Scanning Probe
Microscopy (SPM):

10nm

SNOM
AFM
STM
* The diffraction limit depends on used wavelength (

0,1

SNOM:
Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy
Snom is a scanning microscopy that use
an optical fiber as a probe.

The tip is a
Metal-Covered
Optical Fiber
with aperture
d <<

SNOM: Working principles

Visible light
Far field

Scattered
Far field

Tip Aperture
d <<

Near field
sample

Near-Field
An electromagnetic wave, when interacts with an object, is diffracted into two
components:

a propagating component (Far field)

an evanescent component (Near field), which decays exponentially with the

distance from the object

Conventional optics microscope use far field components of the

light. But there is a far field diffraction limit: Abbe barrier /2, where
is a wavelength of the incident ligth.
SNOM use the near field component, which make possible to overtake
this diffraction limit and obtain better resolution

3D layout of the MO-SNOM

Side view of MO-SNOM

Detail of the sample holder and tip stage

Snom probes
Fabbrication of an
aperture Snom probe

Toshiharu Saiki and Yoshihito Narita - JSAP International, n.5, January 2002

Snom Probes
Transmission coefficient of
aperture probe as a function
of aperture diameter for
single-tappered and doubletappered probes (with various
cone angles).

Toshiharu Saiki and Yoshihito Narita - JSAP International, n.5, January 2002

How to avoid depolarization effects?

Applications: magnetic study on the nanometer lateral scale.

E.g.: magnetization reversal of single nano-structures in MR
devices

Schedule
SNOM convenzionale nel layout che permette di applicare campi
H esterni, verra` consegnato da APE research entro la fine di
Ottobre.
In collaborazione con APE si effettueranno i test di
funzionamento e si comincera` a lavorare sulla realizzazione di
fibre ottiche adatte e alla loro caratterizzazione in termini di
polarizzazione.
Successivamente lo strumento vera` completato con stadi di
movimentazione piu` precisi.
Lo strumento sara` operativo a partire da ?