OBSERVATION OF TOPOGRAPHY AND OPTICAL-IMAGE OF OPTICAL-FIBER END BY ATOMIC-FORCE MODE SCANNING NEAR-FIELD OPTICAL MICROSCOPE

A scanning near-field optic/atomic force microscope (SNOAM) was improved using a novel optical fiber probe. The optical fiber probe has a mirror grounded on the ridge for the optical lever of AFM. The resonant characteristics of the optical fiber probe were adequate for a noncontact AFM cantilever: the typical Q factor and resonant frequency were 574 and 10.9 kHz, respectively. The topographical and optical resolution of the SNOAM was better than 100 nm for a standard sample of chromium patterns on a quartz substrate. The SNOAM successfully provided topographies and optical images of optical fiber ends simultaneously. These images indicated that the optical pattern of the core was markedly influenced by the surface roughness of the optical fiber end.