Single dye molecules are used as local probes to map the spatial distribution of the squared electric field components in the focus of a high numerical aperture lens. Simulated field distributions are quantitatively verified by experimentally obtained fluorescence excitation maps. We show that annular illumination can be used to engineer the field distribution in the focus at a dielectric/air i...

Depending on each nitrogen atom of adenine molecule to which a silver atom of a metallic tip approaches, tip-enhanced near-field Raman spectroscopy may show a potential to achieve atomic site-selective detection sensitivity. Molecular vibrational calculations show that silver atoms and adenine molecule create several isomers generating specific vibrational modes of each isomer that are shifted ...

We present measurements of the near-field heat transfer between the tip of a thermal profiler and planar material surfaces under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. For tip-sample distances below 10(-8) m, our results differ markedly from the prediction of fluctuating electrodynamics. We argue that these differences are due to the existence of a material-dependent small length scale below which the ma...

Metal nanostructures support plasmon oscillations on their surfaces, which normally decay very quickly. Nevertheless, the lifetime of these can be extended near a longer particle, e.g., molecule. We utilize this phenomenon for ultrahigh (single-molecule) resolution ultrafast apertureless (scattering) applications. demonstrate with numerical solutions 3D Maxwell equations. use nm-sized quantum e...

We numerically investigate the propagation of light through the photonic crystal (PhC) waveguide on low refraction index material for near-field light focusing at the visible wavelength (635 nm) by incorporating a center air slot and Fabry-Perot resonator on the scanning tip. Perturbations by water and substrate refraction index changes of the PhC are analyzed by the finite-difference time-doma...

In this contribution, we apply a microscopic technique that relies on the enhanced electric field near a sharp, laserirradiated metal tip that acts as a highly confined light source. The tip is used for the local excitation of the optical response of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) deposited on glass. We demonstrate photoluminescence and Raman imaging of the same SWNTs with a spatial reso...