Photon scanning tunneling microscope in combination with a force microscope

The simultaneous operation of a photon scanning tunneling microscope with an atomic force microscope is presented. The use of standard atomic force silicon nitride cantilevers as near-field optical probes offers the possibility to combine the two methods. Vertical forces and torsion are detected simultaneously with the optical near field, which allows a comparison between topography and the optical signal. Images of an optical thin film (indium tin oxide) and a Langmuir-Blodgett layer (pentacosa diynoic acid) show absorption contrast with a lateral resolution of about 30 nm (based o­n edge steepness), which is well below the diffraction limit