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........ published in NEWSLETTER # 57

PHOTONS AND LOCAL PROBES
By Dr. O. Marti, Experimental Physics, University of Ulm, Ulm (Germany)

Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM) have become versatile tools to investigate surfaces of all kinds and to perform experiments down to the atomic scale. Variants of the technique include the Scanning Tunneling Microscope, the Scanning Force Microscope, and the Scanning Near Field optical Microscope. Besides the topography such diverse quantities as magnetic and electrical fields, local mechanical properties and optical material constants are measured. The impact of SPM is recognizable in physics, surface chemistry, engineering and in the life sciences.

Optical techniques and tools on the other hand are outstanding in their precision and versatility. Optical spectroscopy has extreme energy and time resolution, optical microscopy is the workhorse of all microscopic techniques. The advantages and disadvantages of SPM are opposite those of optical microscopy. Bringing together and exploiting the advantages of combined SPM and optical techniques is the research subject in many laboratories all over the world.

This book (NATO ASI SERIES E300) is a compilation of the papers presented at a NATO Workshop on the island of Reichenau in lake Constance, Germany, in September 1994. The workshop called "Photons and Local Probes" like this book brought together scientists working theoretically and experimentally on combined SPM and optical methods.

The book is a compilation of the invited papers as well as of most contributed papers. Papers are grouped in the subjects: "Near Field Optics Theory", "Near Field Optics Instrumentation and Application", "Near Field Optical Spectroscopy", "Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Photons", and "Related Techniques". The book shows that the combination of optical techniques and SPM is successfully applied to surface physics, surface chemistry, and biology. The SPM part commonly is responsible for the spatial resolution, whereas the optics provides spectral energy resolution to the point where molecule or atom specific properties can be measured. In addition optics gives unprecedented time resolution. The theoretical papers in the book are meant to give an introduction to the field.

The combined SPM and optical technologies have triggered technological advances relevant for other fields, such as the design of microfabricated structures. The workshop discussed the advantages and pitfalls of the different combined techniques and identified areas where research is needed. The papers in the book reflect these discussions.
Reference books: E233, E235, E236, E239, E240, E242, E243, E244, E247, E248, E264, E286, E288, E291, E292, E298, E300

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