Surface electromagnetic waves microscopy of opaque samples

We review the ways of performing super high resolution optical microscopy of opaque samples using surface electromagnetic waves (SEW) for the cases when the light signal is detected in the near or in the far field. An immersion method of SEW excitation is presented. The method enables one to perform the superhigh resolution SEW-microscopy of conducting and semi conducting opaque sample surfaces. © (1996) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.