Time-resolved SNOM via phase-domain sampling

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Schwendke, Philipp, Stähler, Julia, Palato, Samuel
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Schwendke, Philipp
Stähler, Julia
Palato, Samuel
author_facet Schwendke, Philipp
Stähler, Julia
Palato, Samuel
contents Time-resolved scanning near-field optical microscopy (tr-SNOM) enables the measurement of the dynamic optical response of functional surfaces beyond the diffraction limit. Experimental challenges are imposed both by the use of a pulsed light source, and by the need for interferometric signal modulation to isolate the near-field contribution. We present a novel experimental approach to retrieve the tr-SNOM signal using a 200 kHz laser system and pseudo-heterodyne modulation. We circumvent the Nyquist limit for spectral demodulation by sampling modulation phases, pump intensity and SNOM signal for every laser shot. A general time-resolved SNOM signal is derived, independent of detection scheme or physical assumptions about the near-field enhancement, and is successfully measured and isolated on WS$_2$ monolayer and multilayer regions. We confirm localization by signal-distance curves, spatial confinement at material boundaries, and by identifying signal contributions at individual modulation harmonics. Disentangling the dynamic contributions enables us to extract the dynamic dielectric function of the sample. Showing the capability of phase-domain sampling paves the way to integration of more diverse and specialized light sources, growing the potential of optical ultrafast near-field measurements.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_13892
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Time-resolved SNOM via phase-domain sampling
Schwendke, Philipp
Stähler, Julia
Palato, Samuel
Optics
Other Condensed Matter
Time-resolved scanning near-field optical microscopy (tr-SNOM) enables the measurement of the dynamic optical response of functional surfaces beyond the diffraction limit. Experimental challenges are imposed both by the use of a pulsed light source, and by the need for interferometric signal modulation to isolate the near-field contribution. We present a novel experimental approach to retrieve the tr-SNOM signal using a 200 kHz laser system and pseudo-heterodyne modulation. We circumvent the Nyquist limit for spectral demodulation by sampling modulation phases, pump intensity and SNOM signal for every laser shot. A general time-resolved SNOM signal is derived, independent of detection scheme or physical assumptions about the near-field enhancement, and is successfully measured and isolated on WS$_2$ monolayer and multilayer regions. We confirm localization by signal-distance curves, spatial confinement at material boundaries, and by identifying signal contributions at individual modulation harmonics. Disentangling the dynamic contributions enables us to extract the dynamic dielectric function of the sample. Showing the capability of phase-domain sampling paves the way to integration of more diverse and specialized light sources, growing the potential of optical ultrafast near-field measurements.
title Time-resolved SNOM via phase-domain sampling
topic Optics
Other Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13892