Nanofabrication and nanocharacterization using near-field optics

In this chapter, techniques and platforms to fabricate and characterize nanostructures using optical approaches based on tip-enhanced near-eld effects are introduced. The background of these techniques is reviewed. The details of a nano-Raman spectrometer and imaging system developed for characterizing materials and devices at nanoscales and a laser-assisted scanning tunneling microscope (LASTM) developed for performing surface nanostructuring are presented. Both the nano-Raman spectrometer and LASTM processes feature spatial resolutions of 30 nm, much beyond the optical diffraction limit.