Near-Field Optical Holography

Near-field optical holography, i.e., a technique that allows one to record and reconstruct not only far- but also near-field components of optical fields, is conceptually formulated. A near-field hologram can be recorded with a reference wave, which is totally internally reflected by a surface with quasi-two-dimensional objects on it, and reconstructed with methods of near-field optical microscopy. Subwavelength resolution of the proposed technique is demonstrated by using both numerical simulations and experimental observations.