New design and imaging concepts in NSOM

A normal force sensing NSOM probe has been developed based on a bent optical fiber. Using this near-field optical element a unique near-field optical head has been designed that can convert any far-field optical microscope into a multi-functional near-field optical, far-field optical and scanned probe imaging system. The design of this head is based on a singular flat scanning stage that includes the ability to achieve confocal imaging by altering the plane of the sample in relation to the lens by over 20 mu m. The microscope has been used to distinguish gold colloids with 80 and 40 nm diameters. This cannot be achieved by any far-field optical system. Extensions of these imaging applications into biological systems in aqueous media are straightforward.