Scanning near-field photon emission microscopy

A Scanning Near-field Photon Emission Microscope (SNPEM) for monitoring photon emission sites with a spatial resolution of between 50 to 200 nm is described. A protrusion type probe with a base diameter larger than a wavelength is proposed as a good compromise between resolution and sensitivity. Photon emissions from silicon pn junction and n-MOSFET have been detected with resolution clearly better than the far-field PEM (FFPEM). Features in photon emission distribution smaller than 200 nm were revealed in spite the fact that metal lines prevented the SNPEM probe to reach near-field condition with an actual emission source.