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Silicon-on-insulator slot waveguides are studied by scanning near-field optical microscopy. Images of the standing wave pattern were established experimentally and compared with numerical simulations. Fourier analysis along the propagation direction reveals noticeable frequencies both on the experiment and the computation that could be related not only to the guided mode but also to beating phenomena between the coupled waveguides. Finally, light confinement above the slot is directly visualized with a subwavelength resolution and is compared with the expected field distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While optical near-field microscopy techniques have been devoted to mapping the electromagnetic fields down to the Raleigh limit, an exciting challenge is now to use near-field probes to manipulate in situ the properties of these electromagnetic fields. Here we report the resonance tuning and therefore switching of an ultra-low volume solid state resonator by evanescent interaction with a nanometric dielectric tip. By modelling the tip-nanocavity interaction, we demonstrate that a lossless interaction regime can be achieved in which the tip behaves as a pure optical path length modulator. To cite this article: B. Cluzel et al., C. R. Physique 9 (2008). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]