1. Introduction.- 1.1. Near-Field Optics and Photonics.- 1.1.1.

Optical Processes and Electromagnetic Interactions.- 1.2. Ultra-High-Resolution Near-Field Optical Microscopy (NOM).- 1.2.1. From Interference- to Interaction-Type Optical Microscopy.

- 1.2.2. Development of Near-Field Optical Microscopy and Related Techniques.- 1.3. General Features of Optical Near-Field Problems.- 1.

3.1. Optical Processes and the Scale of Interest.- 1.3.2. Effective Fields and Interacting Subsystems.- 1.

3.3. Electromagnetic Interaction in a Dielectric System.- 1.3.4. Optical Near-Field Measurements.- 1.

4. Theoretical Treatment of Optical Near-Field Problems.- 1.4.1. Near-Field Optics and Inhomogeneous Waves.- 1.4.

2. Field-Theoretic Treatment of Optical Near-Field Problems.- 1.4.3. Explicit Treatment of Field--Matter Interaction.- 1.5.

Remarks on Near-Field Optics and Outline of This Book.- 1.5.1. Near-Field Optics and Related Problems.- 1.5.2.

Outline of This Book.- 1.6. References.- 2. Principles of Near-Field Optical Microscopy.- 2.1.

An Example of Near-Field Optical Microscopy.- 2.2. Construction of the NOM System.- 2.2.1. Building Blocks of the NOM System.

- 2.2.2. Environmental Conditions.- 2.2.3. Functions of the Building Blocks.

- 2.3. Theoretical Description of Near-Field Optical Microscopy.- 2.3.1. Basic Character of the NOM Process.- 2.

3.3. Demonstration of Localization in the Near-Field Interaction.- 2.3.4. Representation of the Spatial Localization of an Electromagnetic Event.- 2.

3.5. Model Description of a Local Electromagnetic Interaction.- 2.4. Near-Field Problems and the Tunneling Process.- 2.4.

1. Bardeen''s Description of Tunneling Current in STM.- 2.4.2. Comparison of the Theoretical Aspects of NOM and STM.- 2.5.

References.- 3. Instrumentation.- 3.1. Basic Systems of a Near-Field Optical Microscope.- 3.1.

1. Modes of Operation.- 3.1.2. Position Control of the Probe.- 3.1.

3. Mechanical Components.- 3.1.4. Noise Sources Internal to the NOM.- 3.1.

5. Operation under Special Circumstances.- 3.2. Light Sources.- 3.2.1.

Basic Properties of Lasers.- 3.2.2. Characteristics of CW Lasers.- 3.2.3.

Additional Noise Properties of CW Lasers.- 3.2.4. Short-Pulse Generation.- 3.2.5.

Nonlinear Optical Wavelength Conversion.- 3.3. Light Detection and Signal Amplification.- 3.3.1. Detector.

- 3.3.2. Signal Detection and Amplification.- 3.4. References.- 4.

Fabrication of Probes.- 4.1. Sharpening of Fibers by Chemical Etching.- 4.1.1. A Basic Sharpened Fiber.

- 4.1.2. A Sharpened Fiber with Reduced-Diameter Cladding.- 4.1.3. A Pencil-Shaped Fiber.

- 4.1.4. A Flattened-Top Fiber.- 4.1.5. A Double-Tapered Fiber.

- 4.2. Metal Coating and Fabrication of a Protruded Probe.- 4.2.1. Removal of Metallic Film by Selective Resin Coating.- 4.

2.2. Removal of Metallic Film by Nanometric Photolithography.- 4.3. Other Novel Probes.- 4.3.

1. Functional Probes.- 4.3.2. Optically Trapped Probes.- 4.4.

References.- 5. Imaging Experiments.- 5.1. Basic Features of the Localized Evanescent Field.- 5.1.

1. Size-Dependent Decay Length of the Field Intensity.- 5.1.2. Manifestation of the Short-Range Electromagnetic Interaction.- 5.1.

3. High Discrimination Sensitivity of the Evanescent Field Intensity Normal to the Surface.- 5.2. Imaging Biological Samples.- 5.2.1.

Imaging by the C-Mode.- 5.2.2. Imaging by the I-Mode.- 5.3. Spatial Power Spectral Analysis of the NOM Image.

- 5.4. References.- 6. Diagnostics and Spectroscopy of Photonic Devices and Materials.- 6.1. Diagnosing a Dielectric Optical Waveguide.

- 6.2. Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy of Lateral p--n Junctions in Silicon-Doped Gallium Arsenide.- 6.2.1. Photoluminescence and Electroluminescence Spectroscopy.- 6.

2.2. Photocurrent Measurement by Multiwavelength NOM.- 6.3. Photoluminescence Spectroscopy of a Semiconductor Quantum Dot.- 6.4.

Imaging of Other Materials.- 6.4.1. Fluorescence Detection from Dye Molecules.- 6.4.2.

Spectroscopy of Solid-State Materials.- 6.5. References.- 7. Fabrication and Manipulation.- 7.1.

Fabrication of Photonic Devices.- 7.1.1. Development of a High-Efficiency Probe.- 7.1.2.

Development of a Highly Sensitive Storage Medium.- 7.1.3. Fast Scanning of the Probe.- 7.2. Manipulating Atoms.

- 7.2.1. Zero-Dimensional Manipulation.- 7.2.2. One-Dimensional Manipulation.

- 7.3. References.- 8. Optical Near-Field Theory.- 8.1. Introduction.

- 8.2. Electromagnetic Theory as the Basis of Treating Near-Field Problems.- 8.2.1. Microscopic Electromagnetic Interaction and Averaged Field.- 8.

2.2. Optical Response of Macroscopic Matter.- 8.2.3. Optical Response of Small Objects and the Idea of System Susceptibility.- 8.

2.4. Electromagnetic Boundary Value Problem.- 8.3. Optical Near-Field Theory as an Electromagnetic Scattering Problem.- 8.3.

1. Self-Consistent Approach for Multiple Scattering Problems.- 8.3.2. Scattering Theory in the Near-Field Regime Based on Polarization Potential and Magnetic Current.- 8.4.

Diffraction Theory in Near-Field Optics.- 8.4.1. Diffraction of Light from Subwavelength Aperture.- 8.4.2.

Kirchhoff''s Diffraction Integral and Far-Field Theory.- 8.4.3. Small-Aperture Diffraction and Equivalent Problem.- 8.4.4.

Magnetic Current Distribution and Self-Consistency.- 8.4.5. Leviatan''s "Exact" Solutions for the Aperture Problem.- 8.5. Intuitive Model of Optical Near-Field Processes.

- 8.5.1. Short-Range Quasistatic Nature of Optical Near-Field Processes.- 8.5.2. Intuitive Model Based on Yukawa-Type Screened Potential.

- 8.5.3. Application of Virtual Photon Model for Diffraction from a Small Aperture.- 8.5.4. Virtual Photon Model of NOM.

- 8.5.5. Meaning of the Screened Potential Model and Physical Meaning of the Virtual Photon.- 8.6. References.- 9.

Theoretical Description of Near-Field Optical Microscope.- 9.1. Electromagnetic Processes Involved in the Near-Field Optical Microscope.- 9.2. Representation of the Electromagnetic Field and the Interaction Propagator.- 9.

2.1. Spherical Representation of Scalar Waves.- 9.2.2. Vector Nature of the Electromagnetic Field.- 9.

3. States of Vector Fields and Their Representations.- 9.3.1. State of Vector Plane Waves.- 9.3.

2. State of Vector Spherical Waves.- 9.3.3. State of Vector Cylindrical Waves.- 9.3.

4. Spatial Fourier Representation of Electromagnetic Fields.- 9.3.5. Multipole Expansion of Vector Plane Waves.- 9.4.

Angular Spectrum Representation of Electromagnetic Interactions.- 9.4.1. Angular Spectrum Representation of Scattering Problems.- 9.4.2.

Meaning of the Angular Spectrum Representation.- 9.4.3. Angular Spectrum Representation of Scalar Multipole Field and Propagator.- 9.4.4.

Angular Spectrum Representation of Vector Multipole Field and Propagator.- 9.4.5. Angular Spectrum Representation of Cylindrical Field and Propagator.- 9.4.6.

Transformation between Spherical and Cylindrical Representations.- 9.4.7. Summary: Representations of Electromagnetic Fields and Transformations between Mode Functions.- 9.5. Near-Field Interaction of Dielectric Spheres Near a Planar Dielectric Surface.

- 9.5.1. Sample--Probe Interaction at a Dielectric Surface.- 9.5.2. Mode Description of Evanescent Waves of Fresnel.

- 9.5.3. Multipolar Representation of Evanescent Modes.- 9.5.4. Near-Field Interaction of Dielectric Spheres at a Planar Dielectric Surface.

- 9.6. References.