This volume focuses on fundamental aspects of nano-electro-optics. Starting with fiber probes and related devices for generating and detecting the optical near-field with high efficiency and resolution, the next chapter addresses the modulation of an electron beam by optical near-fields. Further topics include: fluorescence spectroscopy, in which sample molecules are excited by the evanescent surface plasmon field close to metallic surfaces; spatially resolved near-field photoluminescence spectroscopy of semiconductor quantum dots, which will become an essential issue in future electro-optical devices and systems; and, finally, the quantum theory of the optical near-field. This latter theory accounts for all the essential features of the interaction between optical near-fields and nanomaterials, atoms and molecules. Together these overviews will be a valuable resource for engineers and scientists working in the field of nano-electro-optics.

Klappentext

An up-to-date status report presenting the current state-of-the-art in nano-optics, this volume also deals with near-field optical microscopy. Each chapter is written by a leading scientist in the field. It will be useful to all researchers working at the forefront of near-field optics and nanoelectro-optics.

Inhalt

High-Throughput Probes for Near-Field Optics and Their Applications.- 1 High-Throughput Probes.- 1.1 Mode Analysis in a Metallized Tapered Probe.- 1.2 Light Propagation in a Tapered Probe with Ideal Metal Cladding.- 1.3 Measurement of the Spatial Distribution of Optical Near-Field Intensity in the Tapered Probe.- 1.4 Further Increase in Throughput.- 2 Application to High-Density and High-Speed Optical Memory.- 2.1 Using an Apertured Fiber Probe.- 2.2 High-Density and High-Speed Recording Using a Pyramidal Silicon Probe on a Contact Slider.- 3 Outlook.- References.- Modulation of an Electron Beam in Optical Near-Fields.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Review of Experiments.- 2.1 Smith-Purcell Effect.- 2.2 Schwarz-Hora Effect.- 3 Basic Principle.- 4 Microgap Interaction Circuits.- 4.1 Circuit Configuration.- 4.2 Transition Rates of Electrons.- 5 Theoretical Analyses of a Microslit.- 5.1 Near-Field Distributions.- 5.2 Wave Number Spectrum.- 5.3 Numerical Simulations.- 6 Experiment.- 6.1 Experimental Setup.- 6.2 Electron Energy Spectrum.- 6.3 Modulation with Laser Field.- 6.4 Wave Number Spectrum.- 7 Multiple-Gap Circuit.- 7.1 Inverse Smith-Purcell Effect.- 7.2 Experimental Setup.- 7.3 Phase Matching Condition.- 7.4 Field Distributions.- 8 Microslit for Visible Light.- 9 Conclusion.- References.- Fluorescence Spectroscopy with Surface Plasmon Excitation.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Theoretical Considerations.- 2.1 Surface Plasmons at the Interface Between a (Noble) Metal and a Dielectric Medium.- 2.2 Optical Excitation of Surface Plasmons.- 2.3 Surface Plasmons for the Characterization of Thin Layers.- 2.4 Electromagnetic Field Distribution near the Interface.- 2.5 Fluorescent Chromophores near Metal Surfaces.- 3 Experimental.- 4 Results and Discussion.- 4.1 Experimental Verifcation of Surface Field Enhancement.- 4.2 Frontside Versus Backside Emission.- 5 Conclusions.- References.- Optical Characterization of In(Ga)As/GaAs Self-assembled Quantum Dots Using Near-Field Spectroscopy.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Relaxation Mechanism.- 3 Optical Properties of Self-assembled Quantum Dots: Far-Field Analysis.- 3.1 Photoluminescence Spectroscopy.- 3.2 Magneto-Optical Spectroscopy.- 3.3 Photoluminescence Excitation Spectrosopy.- 3.4 Raman Spectroscopy.- 4 Near-Field Optical Spectroscopy.- 4.1 Ground-State Emission.- 4.2 Interaction with Phonons.- 4.3 Carrier Relaxation.- 4.4 Dephasing of Excited Carrier.- 4.5 Spin Relaxation.- 5 Conclusion.- References.- Quantum Theoretical Approach to Optical Near-Fields and Some Related Applications.- 1 Introduction.- 1.1 Basic Idea and Massive Virtual Photon Model.- 2 Projection Operator Method.- 2.1 Definition of the Projection Operator.- 2.2 Properties of the Projection Operator.- 3 Effective Operator and Effective Interaction.- 3.1 Equation for the Operator ? and Its Approximate Solution.- 3.2 Effective Interaction Operator in an Approximation.- 4 Electromagnetic Interaction with Matter: Minimal-Coupling and Multipole Hamiltonians.- 4.1 Minimal-Coupling Hamiltonian.- 4.2 Multipole Hamiltonian.- 5 Elementary Excitation Modes and Electronic Polarization.- 5.1 Polaritons and Electronic Polarization.- 6 Optical Near-Field Interaction: Yukawa Potential.- 6.1 Relevant Microscopic Subsystem and Irrelevant Macroscopic Subsystem.- 6.2 P Space and Q Space.- 6.3 Effective Interaction in the Nanometric Subsystem.- 6.4 Effective Mass Approximation of Exciton Polaritons and Yukawa Potential.- 7 Applications.- 7.1 Single Atom Manipulation.- 7.2 Fundamental Properties of Optical Near-Field Microscopy.- 8 Outlook.- References.