An overview of scanning near-field optical microscopy in characterization of nano-materials

Authors

• Z. Sobat ¹
• S. Sadegh Hassani ²

1. Catalysis and Nanotechnology Research Division, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, P. O. Box: 1485733111, Tehran, Iran.
2. Catalysis and Nanotechnology Research Division, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, P. O. Box: 1485733111, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy (SNOM) is a member of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) family which enables nanostructure investigation of the surfaces on a wide range of materials. In fact, SNOM combines the SPM technology to the optical microscopy and in this way provide a powerful tool to study nano-structures with very high spatial resolution. In this paper, a qualified overview of diverse SNOM methods mostly based on aperture and aperture-less is presented.

Keywords

• Nano structures
• Optical microscopy
• Aperture less SNOM
• Photon scanning tunneling microscopy
• Optical fiber
• Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy
• Scanning probe microscope