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On the concept of imaging nanoscale vector fields

Nature Photonics volume 1, page 242 (2007)Cite this article

To the Editor

— Lee et al. recently published the paper “Vector field microscopic imaging of light” showing intriguing maps of vectors on the nanoscale1. It claims the first experimental mapping of vector fields of light on the nanoscale. Here we argue that the general vector fields of light are not measured, as the relative phase information between field components is lost. Moreover we assert that the measured polarization signal is strongly influenced by the exact tip shape.

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Figure 1: Elliptical polarization with various values of the phase difference δ.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Nanophysics and Soft Matter Group, University of Bristol, BS8 1TL, UK

    H. Gersen

  2. The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, 14627, New York, USA

    L. Novotny

  3. Center for Nanophotonics, FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF), Kruislaan 407, Amsterdam, 1098 SJ, The Netherlands

    L. Kuipers

  4. ICFO (Institut de Ciències Fotòniques), Mediterranean Technology Park, Castelldefels, 08860, Barcelona, Spain

    N. F. van Hulst

Authors
  1. H. Gersen
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  2. L. Novotny
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  3. L. Kuipers
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  4. N. F. van Hulst
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. Gersen.

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Gersen, H., Novotny, L., Kuipers, L. et al. On the concept of imaging nanoscale vector fields. Nature Photon 1, 242 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.68a

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