Regular papers

Rigorous modeling and physical interpretation of terahertz near-field imaging using SNOM techniques

¹ Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Department of Microelectronics and Applied Physics, Electrum 229, SE-164 40 Kista, Sweden
² Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), Department of Engineering Physics, FI-02015 TKK, Finland
³ University of Joensuu, Department of Physics and Mathematics, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland
⁴ Waterford Institute of Technology, Optics research group, Cork Road, Waterford, Ireland

^* sergeip@imit.kth.se

Received: 4 November 2008

Abstract

Apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) operating with terahertz (THz) laser pulses is a subject of great research interest. The Mie scattering theory is commonly used to explain the features of the optical waves produced by field interactions with SNOM tips and microstructures. However, since Mie scattering fails with SNOMs at submillimeter wavelengths, a rigorous model and analysis are desirable to assess the feasibility of the THz tip-enhanced scanning near-field techniques. In this paper, we present a numerical simulation of an apertureless SNOM imaging system in the THz band. A 2-dimensional model based on the finite element method (FEM) is investigated and discussed. The modeling results are in good agreement with the experimental data obtained for this system at 2 THz radiation [8]. Additionally, a physical interpretation using the antenna theory is successfully confirmed by the simulation results.