Combined atomic force and near field scanning optical microscope with photosensitive cantilever

A cantilever assembly, comprising:

• a microminiature cantilever arm having an upper surface and a lower surface;
• a sharp tip on said surface of said cantilever arm;
• at least a portion of said cantilever arm comprising photosensitive material that converts any photons impinging thereon into electrical current;
• and
• a low impedance electrode coupled to said photosensitive material, for transmitting said electrical current.

A near field optical microscope assembly, comprising:

• a probe having a lower surface;
• a sharp tip on said lower surface of said probe;
• at least a portion of said probe comprising photosensitive material that converts photons impinging thereon into electrical current;
• optical excitation apparatus for applying an optical excitation signal to a target object;
• a signal receiver for receiving said electrical signals;
• positioning apparatus that positions said sharp tip with respect to said target object;
• and
• control means, coupled to said excitation apparatus, said signal receiver and said positioning apparatus, for controlling movement of said sharp tip so as to scan said target object, and for measuring characteristics of said target object at various positions thereof by processing said received electrical signal.

A method of performing optical microscopy, the steps of the method comprising:

• positioning, in close proximity over a target object, a cantilever arm having an upper surface and a lower surface, said cantilever arm having a sharp tip on its lower surface wherein at least a portion of said cantilever arm is photosensitive;
• applying optical stimulus to said target object so as to generate light in the vicinity of said target object;
• collecting via said photosensitive portion of said cantilever arm photons from said generated light and converting said received photons into an electrical signal;
• and
• receiving and processing said electrical signal so as to generate an image.

A method of performing optical microscopy, the steps of the method comprising:

• positioning, in close proximity over a target object, a cantilever arm having an upper surface and a lower surface, said cantilever arm having a sharp tip on its lower surface wherein at least a portion of said cantilever arm is photosensitive;
• applying optical stimulus to said target object so as to generate an evanescent light wave on the surface of said target object;
• collecting scattered light generated by interference of said probe tip with said light wave, said photosensitive portion of said cantilever arm receiving photons from said scattered light and converting said received photons into an electrical signal;
• receiving and processing said electrical signal so as to generate an image.