Logo Design by: Jules van Hulst

Centuries ago, the advent of light gathering methods revolutionized mankind's perception of reality and brought about modern science [1]. A second optical revolution is occurring as scientists use optical tunneling [2] to cross theoretical barriers such as the speed of light in a vacuum [3] and the far-field diffraction limit [4]. The dual nature of light provides a means for direct information exchange between the classical and quantum mechanical realms as photons interact with and cross the nanoscale boundary between those regions [5].

The 6th international conference on near field optics and related techniques (NFO-6) took place last week at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Experts in the "near field" gathered in Enschede with the common goal of pushing the resolution of optical microscopy further than ever before. That goal was successfully achieved by numerous innovative techniques. Topics of discussion included theory, instrumentation and industrial applications of near-field optical methods such as SNOM. Improved interpretation of near field data, elimination of artifacts, sub 100 nm resolution and routine operation procedures presented at this conference indicate that near field optical methods are ready to be placed in the hands of biologists, chemists, engineers and the countless other disciplines that are benefiting from nanotechnology.

Next page > Reflections from NFO-6

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Acknowledgments: I am grateful to Niek van Hulst of the Applied Optics Group, University of Twente for the hospitality, excellent speaches and hard work required for organizing such a high quality conference.

References:

[1] Galileo Galilei, Astronomical Message
"Great indeed are the things which in this brief treatise I propose for observation and consideration by all students of nature. I say great, because of the excellence of the subject itself, and the entirely unexpected and novel character of these things, and finally because of the instrument by means of which they have been revealed to our senses."

[2] "A quantum mechanical phenomena resulting from photon delocalization that allows light to cross propagation barriers."
Definition of Optical Tunneling

[3] An explanation of how the speed of light has been surpassed by scientists who have done it: 7/20/00 - L.J.Wang, A.Kuzmich, and A. Dogariu
Demonstration of Gain-Assisted Superluminal Light Propagation

[4] "A physical limit to how focused a beam of light can be, due to its wave nature (delocalization)."
Definition of far-field diffraction limit