Infrared near-field spectroscopic microscopy of polymers and proteins

Near-field microscopy of scattering type - known to resolve <30 nm in the mid IR - is shown to map polymer blend films and biological objects by their specific vibration bands covered by step-tuning a CO laser from 5 to 7 /spl mu/m. The observed infrared-spectroscopic contrast is surprisingly robust even for very thin <20 nm samples and allows material identification at the nanometer scale.