Fabrication and observation of a standard sample for near-field optical microscopy

J Microsc. 1999 May-Jun;194(Pt 2-3):558-60. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2818.1999.00561.x.

Abstract

We fabricated a standard sample for a near-field optical microscope using scanning probe lithography. The sample contains a wedged pattern, which allows the measurement of various sizes within one image. The optical resolution of our near-field optical microscope has been evaluated as 40 nm, which was obtained by measuring the narrowest separable gap width of the wedged pattern. Thus a standard sample containing the wedged pattern enables clear evaluation of the resolution.