Propagation of the electromagnetic field in fully coated near-field optical probes

Fully metal-coated near-field optical probes, based on a cantilever design, have been studied theoretically and experimentally. Numerical simulations prove that these structures allow nonzero modal emission of the electromagnetic field through a 60-nm-thick metallic layer, that is opaque when deposited on flat substrates. The far-field intensity patterns recorded experimentally correspond to the ones calculated for the fundamental and first excited LP modes. Moreover, this study demonstrates that a high confinement of the electromagnetic energy can be reached in the near-field, when illuminated with radially polarized light. Finally, it was verified that the confinement of the field depends on the volume of the probe apex. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.