Abstract
Optical fibre micro/nano tips (OFTs), defined here as tapered fibres with a waist diameter ranging from a few microns to tens of nanometres and different tip angles (i.e., from tens of degrees to fractions of degrees), represent extremely versatile tools that have attracted growing interest during these last decades in many areas of photonics. The field of applications can range from physical and chemical/biochemical sensing—also at the intracellular levels—to the development of near-field probes for microscope imaging (i.e., scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM)) and optical interrogation systems, up to optical devices for trapping and manipulating microparticles (i.e., optical tweezers). All these applications rely on the ability to fabricate OFTs, tailoring some of their features according to the requirements determined by the specific application. In this review, starting from a short overview of the main fabrication methods used for the realisation of these optical micro/nano structures, the focus will be concentrated on some of their intriguing applications such as the development of label-based chemical/biochemical sensors and the implementation of SNOM probes for interrogating optical devices, including whispering gallery mode microcavities.
Highlights
Thanks to their capability of guiding light with low losses, intrinsic flexibility, and immunity to any electromagnetic interferences, optical fibres represent a key element in many technological fields, from optical communications to the development of robust, reliable, and high-performance diagnostic systems and optical sensors [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Unlike standard microscopy techniques, which are generally limited in resolution to half of the excitation wavelength owing to the diffraction phenomenon as expressed by the Abbe condition [66,67], these techniques are, in principle, not limited by diffraction or, more precisely, their only limit is represented by the radial size of the realised nanotip [68]
Optical fibre micro/nano tips (OFTs) applications, introduced and discussed in this work, show how this kind of nanotool is highly spread in different research fields, from biochemical sensors up to photonic devices
Summary
Thanks to their capability of guiding light with low losses, intrinsic flexibility, and immunity to any electromagnetic interferences, optical fibres represent a key element in many technological fields, from optical communications to the development of robust, reliable, and high-performance diagnostic systems and optical sensors [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Unlike standard microscopy techniques, which are generally limited in resolution to half of the excitation wavelength owing to the diffraction phenomenon as expressed by the Abbe condition [66,67], these techniques are, in principle, not limited by diffraction or, more precisely, their only limit is represented by the radial size of the realised nanotip [68] This unique feature allows these investigation methods to take a look at how light propagates within micro/nanophotonic devices, such as channel waveguides [69,70,71,72], optical fibres [73], photonic crystal structures [74,75,76], and whispering gallery mode (WGM) microcavities [77,78,79,80,81]. In this review, starting from a short overview on the fabrication methods generally used for the realisation of these optical micro/nano structures, our attention will be focused on some of their intriguing applications so far not fully covered in other reviews, such as the development of fluorescence-based chemical/biochemical sensors and the implementation of SNOM probes for interrogating optical materials and devices including whispering gallery mode microcavities
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