Probe opening forming apparatus and near-field optical microscope using the same

A probe opening forming apparatus for opening a mask of a tip portion of a probe with a desirable size, comprising a core constituted by a material having a light transmittance and a mask formed on the core and constituted by a material having a ductility and a light shielding property, comprising:

• a light source for causing a light to be incident in the probe;
• light detecting means which is on contact with the tip portion of the probe for detecting a quantity of a light transmitted from the tip portion of the probe;
• pressing means f or pressing the tip portion of the probe against the light detecting means in a direction of an optical axis;
• storage means for previously storing information about relation of the quantity of the light transmitted from the tip portion of the probe and the size of the opening;
• calculating means for obtaining the value of the light quantity for obtaining an opening having a desirable size based on the information about the relation of the quantity of the light transmitted from the tip portion of the probe and the size of the opening which is stored in the storage means;
• and
• pressing control means for controlling the press of the tip portion of the probe against the light detecting means in the direction of the optical axis through the pressing means such that a value of a light quantity detected by the light detecting means is equal to the value of the light quantity calculated from the calculating means.