AVS 45th International Symposium
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division Wednesday Sessions
       Session NS+AS-WeM

Paper NS+AS-WeM10
Tapping-Mode and Nonoptical Force Sensing Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy

Wednesday, November 4, 1998, 11:20 am, Room 321/322/323

Session: Innovative Force, Near-Field Optics, and Tunneling Measurements
Presenter: D.P. Tsai, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Authors: D.P. Tsai, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Y.Y. Lu, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
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We present a tapping-mode and nonoptical force sensing near-field scanning optical microscopy system. A high Q quartz tuning fork with resonance frequency of 32.768 kHz is used as a force sensing transducer. The piezoeletric current of the tuning fork is lock-in amplified and served as a signal for distance control. Excellent quality of tapping-mode sensing and imaging was obtained. The sensitivity of image is comparable to optical force sensing technique. Results show low background signal and high signal to noise (S/N)ratio for near-field optical contrast, and the elimination of possible optical excitations arising from the force sensing laser light source. Applications on the near-field optical writing and reading on the light sensitive samples show the advantages of this novel method.