A single gold particle as a probe for apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy
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Updated: Oct 8, 2026

Optical Trapping of Nanoparticles
Published on: January 15, 2013
T Kalkbrenner1, M Ramstein, J Mlynek
1Fachbereich Physik & Optik-Zentrum Konstanz, Fach M696, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany.
Abstract:
We report on the fabrication, characterization and application of a probe consisting of a single gold nanoparticle for apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy. Particles with diameters of 100 nm have been successfully and reproducibly mounted at the end of sharp glass fibre tips. We present the first optical images taken with such a probe. We have also recorded plasmon resonances of gold particles and discuss schemes for exploiting the wavelength dependence of their scattering cross-section for a novel form of apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy.
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