Abstract

Until recently, second-harmonic generation (SHG) from surfaces has been studied only in the far-field region. The first implementation of near-field optical techniques in SHG studies has been reported recently.^1,2 SH imaging of rough metal surfaces, piezoelectric, and ferromagnetic materials with 150-nm resolution has been demonstrated. The high spatial resolution of near-field SH microscopy may allow it to become a new surface characterization technique complementary to magnetic-force and electric-force microscopies.

© 1998 Optical Society of America