Abstract: The revolutionary development of scanning probe microscopy has made the imaging of objects at molecular or atomic level possible. With the discoveries of new physical phenomena at low dimensions, the near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) jointed the family after the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM). Based on the common principles of non-radiating field, NSOM opened the possibilities of ultra-high optical resolution which overcomes the Rayleigh diffraction limit, and the optical spectroscopy at the nanometer scale. This review article discusses the basic principles of near-field optics, the relationship between non-radiative detection and high spatial resolution, optical confinement on small objects, the importance of evanescent wave as well as the methods to obtain the near field information. The NSOM related instrumentation is introduced. The application of NSOM in super-resolution optical imaging; high density data storage; near-field spectroscopy on single molecules, quantum devices, and the combination of NSOM with ultra-fast optical transient phenomena are summarized.

Key words: near-field optics, near-field scanning optical microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, mesoscopic physics, nanometric spectroscopy, near-field optics, near-field scanning optical microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, mesoscopic physics, nanometric spectroscopy

摘要： 近场光学是研究距离物体表面一个波长以内的光学现象的新型交叉学科。基于非辐射场的探测与成像原理，近场光学显微镜突破常规光学显微镜所受到的衍射极限，在超高光学分辨率下进行纳米尺度光学成像与纳米尺度光谱研究。本文将讨论近场光学的基本原理，非辐射场的探测与高分辨率的关系；光学限阈及隐失场在近场光学中的重要性；以及近场信息的获取方法。对近场光学显微镜的主要类型及相应的仪器发展，分辨率，衬度原理做一综述。同时简要介绍近场光学显微镜在超高分辨率光学成像，近场局域光谱，高密度数据存储，在生命科学，单分子光谱，量子器件发光机制等领域中的应用。

关键词: 近场光学, 近场光学显微镜, 扫描探针显微学, 介观物理, 纳米光谱, 近场光学, 近场光学显微镜, 扫描探针显微学, 介观物理, 纳米光谱