Full simulations of the apertureless scanning near field optical microscopy signal: achievable resolution and contrast
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Assembly, Tuning and Use of an Apertureless Near Field Infrared Microscope for Protein Imaging
Published on: November 25, 2009
R Esteban1, R Vogelgesang, K Kern
1Max Planck Institute für Festkörperforschung, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany. ruben.esteban@institutoptique.fr
Abstract:
We simulate apertureless near-field optical imaging and obtain phase and amplitude scans of structured substrates for elastic scattering. The solution of the three-dimensional Maxwell equations does not involve approximations and we include large tips and substrates, strong interaction, interferometric detection and demodulation at higher harmonics. Such modeling represents a significant step towards quantitative simulations and offers the attractive possibility to study the individual influence of each relevant experimental parameter. We typically obtain highly localized signatures of the interaction of the tip with gold inclusions, superposed on a slowly varying background signal. The relative importance of both contributions and the achievable lateral resolution are strongly dependent on the geometry and scanning conditions. The simulations show sensitivity mostly to the first nanometers of the sample and underline the importance of scanning near the sample and being careful with mechanical anharmonicities on the tip oscillation. They also help to determine the influence of oscillation amplitude and demodulation harmonic.
Related Concept Videos
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
Overview of Electron Microscopy
Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy
Atomic Force Microscopy
The AFM Probe
The probe is regarded as the heart of any AFM setup and comprises the...
NMR Spectrometers: Resolution and Error Correction

