Near-field infrared spectroscopy: Advanced research method in thin film analysis

This article introduces several cases of s-SNOM (Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy) based on a SPM (Scanning probe microscopy) for chemical thin film. A highly concentrated near-field infrared performs the chemical analysis of s-SNOM at the sharp apex of the metal-coated atomic microscope tip. This attractive technique, which provides both surface morphology and chemical information of the material simultaneously, various studies have been published, including surface polariton propagation, Moire superlattice, and ballistic valley transport. Further, s-SNOM successfully visualized the formation of lamellar nanostructures of BCP and the latent image of photoresist formed by EUV (extreme ultraviolet). These results were cross-validated through traditional GIWAXS (Grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) analysis. s-SNOM is a useful tool for providing new insights into material analysis by visualizing nanoscale chemical information of local regions that conventional measurements could not confirm.