| 摘要 |
This invention relates to a novel, all-fiber near-field scanning optical microscope that can have substantially improved sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio over the conventional NSOM design. The main advance for the all-fiber, high-SNR NSOM is the use of a cleaved, flat-top fiber (22, 26) for collecting the light below a NSOM fiber probe (14) with a tapered tip (10). The sample (20) is mounted on one end of the collecting fiber, while the other end is directly coupled to a light detector (30, 32). The use of fibers for both delivering and collecting light improves the sensitivity and SNR because the receiving fiber acts both as a position and angle filter, and the light is collected immediately after the sample. Moreover, for long and thin samples, the collecting fiber may be replaced by a planar waveguide structure such as a slab glass or semiconductor waveguide. |
