APPLIED PHYSICS: Optics in the Nano-World

Abstract

The invention of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) enabled the standard resolution limit for optical microscopy to be overcome, thus offering greatly improved spatial resolution. In their Perspective, Koch and Knorr highlight a new technique reported by Guest et al, which combines the high spatial resolution of NSOM with the high spectral resolution offered by coherent nonlinear optical spectroscopy. The authors demonstrate that the technique allows individual quantum states on a quantum dot to be resolved.