CdSe siegle-nanoparticle based active tips for near-field optical microscopy

摘要

We present a method to realize active optical tips for use in near-field optics that can operate at room temperature. A metal-coated optical tip is covered with a thin polymer layer stained with CdSe nanocrystals or nanorods at low density. The time analysis of the emission rate of the active tips and the analysis of their emission spectra reveal that a very small number of particles-possibly down to only one-can be made active at the tip apex. This opens the way to optics with a single inorganic nanoparticle as a light source.