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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 87: Mini-Symposium: Infrared nano-optics I
O 87.2: Talk
Thursday, March 4, 2021, 11:30–11:45, R2
The Role of Polarization in Resonant s-SNOM — Felix G. Kaps1, Hamed Aminpour1, Susanne C. Kehr1, Lukas M. Eng1,2, and •Lukas Wehmeier1,2 — 1Technische Universität Dresden, Germany — 2ct.qmat, Dresden-Würzburg Cluster of Excellence - EXC 2147, Technische Uni- versität Dresden, Germany
Scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) is known to be highly polarization-dependent. Most commonly, p-polarized light is employed to excite the tip-sample system with an electric field standing perpendicular to the sample surface, with only a few works commenting on polarization control to e.g. suppress unwanted far-field contributions [1] or local 3D vector field steering [2].
Here, we explore the fundamental role of polarization in s-SNOM by theoretically and experimentally controlling and analyzing the polarization of both incident and scattered light. Particularly, we compare our experimental findings obtained at mid-infrared wavelengths to polarization-dependent simulations that include the full near-field measuring setup [3]. One eye-catching outcome is, that resonant sample excitation using s-polarized light (E-field parallel to the sample surface) may achieve significant signal strengths and a polarization-specific signature, enabling a novel route for nanoscale polarization-sensitive surface characterization.
[1] M. Esslinger et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 033704 (2012).
[2] K.-D. Park and M.B. Raschke, Nano Lett. 18, 2912 (2018).
[3] H. Aminpour et al., Opt. Express 28, 32329 (2020).