Near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) is a promising technique to perform nanoscale fluorescence measurements with a nano-sized near-field-light-source. However, much like a conventional confocal measurement, it requires illuminating the sample with the focus spot of the propagating light even when the fluorescence signal of interest is generated only from a nano-sized area of the sample, causing a serious photodegradation of the sample in a large area. Here, we propose to combine NSOM with plasmon nanofocusing to eliminate the direct illumination of the sample by a propagating light and demonstrate that the photodegradation could be significantly suppressed. This approach allows one to perform nanoscale fluorescence imaging with a negligible effect of photodegradation.

近场扫描光学显微镜 (NSOM) 是一种使用纳米级近场光源进行纳米级荧光测量的有前途的技术。然而，与传统的共焦测量非常相似，即使感兴趣的荧光信号仅从样品的纳米级区域产生，它也需要用传播光的焦点照射样品，从而导致样品的严重光降解。大面积。在这里，我们建议将 NSOM 与等离子体纳米聚焦相结合，以消除传播光对样品的直接照射，并证明可以显着抑制光降解。这种方法允许人们进行纳米级荧光成像，而光降解的影响可以忽略不计。