Optical Nano-Imaging of Materials: Peeping Through Tip-Enhanced Raman Scattering

High-resolution optical nano-imaging, with a spatial resolution far beyond the diffraction limits of the probing light, has been shown by means of tip-enhanced near-field Raman spectroscopy. The capabilities of imaging the physical and chemical properties of materials have been demonstrated by imaging the diameter distribution of the nanotubes within an isolated bundle of single wall carbon nanotube. Further, by combining the nonlinear effects in the scattering process, it has been shown that the tip-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering imaging of DNA networks is capable of even higher spatial resolution and contrast