Antenna-Attached Parabolic Probe for Excitation and Collection Modes in SNOM

A novel optical fiber probe with a parabola-like shape and a nano-antenna mounted on the center of its endface is proposed for simultaneous excitation and collection modes in scanning near-field optical microscopy. The working principles of the probe are demonstrated, and its optical properties are theoretically investigated and compared with the conventional tip-on-aperture probe. It shows that the probe can greatly boost both the enhancement factor for the excitation mode and the collection efficiency for the collection mode. The proposed probe is a promising tool to realize low-cost and high resolution for a wide variety of near-field measurements in biology, physics, and chemistry.