DISCRIMINATING SPECTROSCOPY OF THE OPTICAL PROFILE OF A TRANSPARENT OBJECT OBTAINED BY FRUSTRATED EVENESCENT FIELD SCANNING OPTICAL MICROSCOPY

摘要

A method of discriminating spectroscopy for use in frustrated vanishing field scanning optical microscopy, of the kind which makes it possible to obtain the ''standard'' optical profile of a transparent object, is characterized in that a preferentially differential variation is caused in at least one of the physical quantities on which the intensity (I) of the frustrated vanishing field depends, namely: the wavelength lambda of the electromagnetic radiation which is directed at the underside of a prism-like transparent body and generates said near field by total internal reflection; the optical refraction index n1 of said transparent body; the average optical refraction index n2 of the transparent object placed on top of said underside; and the incidence angle THETA of said electromagnetic radiation on said underside; in order to obtain a concomitant variation dI of said intensity I, which may be interpreted as a ''differential'' optical profile of said transparent object in relation to at least one of said physical quantities, or as providing an ''altered'' optical profile of said ''standard'' optical profile of this object.