Tag: Arrow-NCPt

Nanoscale resolved mapping of the dipole emission of hBN color centers with a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope

Color centers in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are promising candidates as quantum light sources for future technologies. *

In the article “Nanoscale resolved mapping of the dipole emission of hBN color centers with a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope “, Iris Niehues, Daniel Wigger, Korbinian Kaltenecker, Annika Klein-Hitpass , Philippe Roell, Aleksandra K. Dąbrowska, Katarzyna Ludwiczak, Piotr Tatarczak, Janne O. Becker , Robert Schmidt, Martin Schnell, Johannes Binder, Andrzej Wysmołek and Rainer Hillenbrand utilize a scattering-type near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) to study the photoluminescence (PL) emission characteristics of such quantum emitters in metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy grown hBN. *

On the one hand, Iris Niehues et al. demonstrate direct near-field optical excitation and emission through interaction with the nanofocus of the AFM tip resulting in a subdiffraction limited tip-enhanced PL hotspot. *

On the other hand, the authors show that indirect excitation and emission via scattering from the AFM tip significantly increases the recorded PL intensity. This demonstrates that the tip-assisted PL (TAPL) process efficiently guides the generated light to the detector. *

Iris Niehues et al. apply the TAPL method to map the in-plane dipole orientations of the hBN color centers on the nanoscale. This work promotes the widely available s-SNOM approach to applications in the quantum domain including characterization and optical control. *

The investigation utilizes a scattering-type near-field optical microscope employing a metallized Arrow AFM tip ( NanoWorld Arrow-NCPt AFM probe) illuminated by monochromatic laser light. *

The AFM tip acts as an optical antenna, transforming the incident p-polarizedlight into a highly focused near field at the AFM tip apex, the so-called nanofocus. *

The nanofocus interacts with the sample leading to modified scattering from the AFM tip and encoding local sample properties.

In conventional s-SNOM operation, the elastically scattered light is recorded as function of sample position (note that the sample is scanned), yielding near-field optical images with a spatial resolution down to 10 nm. *

To supress background scattering, the AFM is operated in tapping mode and the detector signal is demodulated at a higher harmonic of the AFM tip’s oscillation frequency. *

In the article, Iris Niehues et al. use the s-SNOM instrument to study PL from individual hBN color centers. *

To that end, the inelastically tip-scattered light is recorded with a grating spectrometer coupled to a CCD camera. Note that signal demodulation has not been possible with the use of a CCD camera so far. It may be achieved employing a photomultiplier tube or similar. Importantly, the authors’ s-SNOM setup includes a high-quality, silver-protected off-axis parabolic mirror with a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.72, which optimizes the focusing and collection efficiency of the optical system and is crucial for the performed PL measurements. *

Characterization of photoluminescence mapping

In the specific experiments performed by “, Iris Niehues et al., the authors employ the near-field optical microscope in tapping mode, with low oscillation amplitudes between 20 nm and 30 nm, to detect PL signals influenced by the presence of the metallic AFM tip. *

They use standard metallic Arrow AFM tips (NanoWorld Arrow-NCPt) Throughout this study, Iris Niehues et al., use a 532 nm (2.33 eV) laser for the optical excitation of the hBN color centers. *

Figure 1 from Iris Niehues et al. 2025 “Nanoscale resolved mapping of the dipole emission of hBN color centers with a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope” :Photoluminescence (PL) measurement of a single color center taken with an AFM tip. The images are shown with the same color bar for better comparison of the observed PL intensities. (a) PL intensity map without the tip showing a diffraction limited emission spot. (b) PL spectrum of the studied emitter recorded with an extended integration time inside the arc in (c). The zero-phonon line (ZPL) and optical phonon sidebands (PSBs) of 160 meV are marked as well as the broad background PL (black line). (c) PL map of the same emitter with the AFM tip showing two subdiffraction limit features marked as “dot” and “arc.” (d) Lineprofiles along the dashed lines in (a) in black and (c) in red (dark measurement, bright Gaussian fits). The fitted full widths at half maximum (FWHM) are 110 nm (dot), 209 nm (arc), and 1,418 nm (w/o tip). (e) Schematic of the interference between direct and indirect excitation/emission of the color center via the AFM tip (TAPL). Inset shows the nanofocus interaction at the location of the color center explaining the dot (TEPL). (f) Analytical reproduction of the TAPL arc in (c) applying the model in (e). NanoWorld Arrow-NCPt AFM probes with a platinum iridium coating were used.
Figure 1 from Iris Niehues et al. 2025 “Nanoscale resolved mapping of the dipole emission of hBN color centers with a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope” :
Photoluminescence (PL) measurement of a single color center taken with an AFM tip. The images are shown with the same color bar for better comparison of the observed PL intensities. (a) PL intensity map without the tip showing a diffraction limited emission spot. (b) PL spectrum of the studied emitter recorded with an extended integration time inside the arc in (c). The zero-phonon line (ZPL) and optical phonon sidebands (PSBs) of 160 meV are marked as well as the broad background PL (black line). (c) PL map of the same emitter with the AFM tip showing two subdiffraction limit features marked as “dot” and “arc.” (d) Lineprofiles along the dashed lines in (a) in black and (c) in red (dark measurement, bright Gaussian fits). The fitted full widths at half maximum (FWHM) are 110 nm (dot), 209 nm (arc), and 1,418 nm (w/o tip). (e) Schematic of the interference between direct and indirect excitation/emission of the color center via the AFM tip (TAPL). Inset shows the nanofocus interaction at the location of the color center explaining the dot (TEPL). (f) Analytical reproduction of the TAPL arc in (c) applying the model in (e).

*Iris Niehues, Daniel Wigger, Korbinian Kaltenecker, Annika Klein-Hitpass , Philippe Roell, Aleksandra K. Dąbrowska, Katarzyna Ludwiczak, Piotr Tatarczak, Janne O. Becker , Robert Schmidt, Martin Schnell, Johannes Binder, Andrzej Wysmołek and Rainer Hillenbrand
Nanoscale resolved mapping of the dipole emission of hBN color centers with a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope
Nanophotonics, vol. 14, no. 3, 2025, pp. 335-342
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2024-0554

Open Access  The article “Nanoscale resolved mapping of the dipole emission of hBN color centers with a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope” by Iris Niehues, Daniel Wigger, Korbinian Kaltenecker, Annika Klein-Hitpass , Philippe Roell, Aleksandra K. Dąbrowska, Katarzyna Ludwiczak, Piotr Tatarczak, Janne O. Becker , Robert Schmidt, Martin Schnell, Johannes Binder, Andrzej Wysmołek and Rainer Hillenbrand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Manipulating hyperbolic transient plasmons in a layered semiconductor

Anisotropic materials with oppositely signed dielectric tensors support hyperbolic polaritons, displaying enhanced electromagnetic localization and directional energy flow. *

However, the most reported hyperbolic phonon polaritons are difficult to apply for active electro-optical modulations and optoelectronic devices. *

In the nature communications letter “Manipulating hyperbolic transient plasmons in a layered semiconductor”, Rao Fu, Yusong Qu, Mengfei Xue, Xinghui Liu, Shengyao Chen, Yongqian Zhao, Runkun Chen, Boxuan Li, Hongming Weng, Qian Liu, Qing Dai and Jianing Chen report a dynamic topological plasmonic dispersion transition in black phosphorus (BP) via photo-induced carrier injection, i.e., transforming the iso-frequency contour from a pristine ellipsoid to a non-equilibrium hyperboloid. *

They introduce a promising approach to optically manipulate robust transient hyperbolic plasmons in the layered semiconductor black phosphorus using a dedicated ultrafast nanoscopy scheme. Optical pumping allows the BP’s IFCs to topologically transit from the pristine ellipsoid to the non-equilibrium hyperboloid, exhibiting exotic non-equilibrium hyperbolic plasmon properties, such as the optically tunable plasmonic dispersion and the coexistence of different transient plasmonic modes. *

Their work also demonstrates the peculiar transient plasmonic properties of the studied layered semiconductor, such as the ultrafast transition, low propagation losses, efficient optical emission from the black phosphorus’s edges, and the characterization of different transient plasmon modes. *

The results that Rao Fu et al. present may be relevant for the development of future optoelectronic applications. *

NanoWorld® ARROW-NCPt AFM probes with a Pt/Ir coating were used for the characterization with ultrafast nanoscopy. The pump and probe pulses were spatially overlapped on the Platinum/Iridium coated Arrow probe through a parabolic mirror of a commercial scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope. *

Fig. 4 from Rao Fu et al. “Manipulating hyperbolic transient plasmons in a layered semiconductor”:Dynamic analysis of the transient plasmons. a Normalized near-field amplitude s3/s3,Si of a 280-nm-thick BP slab for twelve delay times τ. Scale bar, 1 µm. b Near-field amplitude curves for the corresponding twelve different delay times τ in a. c Dynamics of the relative near-field intensity of the first (∆S1) and the second bright strip (∆S2) in b. Opened circles are the experimental data, and solid lines are bi-exponential fitting for ∆S1 and exponential fitting for ∆S2, respectively. d Dynamics of the near-field amplitude s3 from the black circle in a. The inset displays the s3 at τ = −2 to 6 ps, and the dashed line marks the s3 level of the pristine state. NanoWorld® ARROW-NCPt AFM probes with a Pt/Ir coating were used for the characterization with ultrafast nanoscopy. The pump and probe pulses were spatially overlapped on the Pt/Ir coated Arrow probe through a parabolic mirror of a commercial scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope.
Fig. 4 from Rao Fu et al. “Manipulating hyperbolic transient plasmons in a layered semiconductor”:
Dynamic analysis of the transient plasmons.
a Normalized near-field amplitude s3/s3,Si of a 280-nm-thick BP slab for twelve delay times τ. Scale bar, 1 µm. b Near-field amplitude curves for the corresponding twelve different delay times τ in a. c Dynamics of the relative near-field intensity of the first (∆S1) and the second bright strip (∆S2) in b. Opened circles are the experimental data, and solid lines are bi-exponential fitting for ∆S1 and exponential fitting for ∆S2, respectively. d Dynamics of the near-field amplitude s3 from the black circle in a. The inset displays the s3 at τ = −2 to 6 ps, and the dashed line marks the s3 level of the pristine state.

*Rao Fu, Yusong Qu, Mengfei Xue, Xinghui Liu, Shengyao Chen, Yongqian Zhao, Runkun Chen, Boxuan Li, Hongming Weng, Qian Liu, Qing Dai and Jianing Chen
Manipulating hyperbolic transient plasmons in a layered semiconductor
Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 709 (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44971-3

Please follow this external link to read the full article: https://rdcu.be/dBD85

The article “Manipulating hyperbolic transient plasmons in a layered semiconductor” by Rao Fu, Yusong Qu, Mengfei Xue, Xinghui Liu, Shengyao Chen, Yongqian Zhao, Runkun Chen, Boxuan Li, Hongming Weng, Qian Liu, Qing Dai and Jianing Chen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Optimized positioning through maximized tip visibility – Arrow AFM probes screencast passes 500 views mark

The screencast about NanoWorld Arrow Silicon AFM probes held byNanoWorld AG CEO Manfred Detterbeck has just passed the 500 views mark. Congratulations Manfred!

NanoWorld Arrow™ AFM probes are designed for easy AFM tip positioning and high resolution AFM imaging and are very popular with AFM users due to the highly symetric scans that are possible with these AFM probes because of their special tip shape. They fit to all well-known commercial SPMs (Scanning Probe Microscopes) and AFMs (Atomic Force Microscopes). The Arrow AFM probe consists of an AFM probe support chip with an AFM cantilever which has a tetrahedral AFM tip at its triangular free end.

The Arrow AFM probe is entirely made of monolithic, highly doped silicon.

The unique Arrow™ shape of the AFM cantilever with the AFM tip always placed at the very end of the AFM cantilever allows easy positioning of the AFM tip on the area of interest.
The Arrow AFM probes are available for non-contact mode, contact mode and force modulation mode imaging and are also available with a conductive platinum iridum coating. Furthermore the Arrow™ AFM probe series also includes a range of tipless AFM cantilevers and AFM cantilever arrays as well as dedicated ultra-high frequency Arrow AFM probes for high speed AFM.

To find out more about the different variations please have a look at:

https://www.nanoworld.com/arrow-afm-tips

You can also find various application examples for the Arrow AFM probes in the NanoWorld blog. For a selection of these articles just click on the “Arrow AFM probes” tag on the bottom of this blog entry.