Near field optical microscopy: A brief review

Near Field Optical Microscopy (NSOM) has evolved into a mature member of the family of scanning probe microscopy. In this article, we briefly go over the principle of NSOM, its breakthroughs and setbacks. We will describe some of the most commonly used NSOM modalities and conclude with the recent advances based on optical nanoantennas. We will then highlight the potential of this high-resolution optical microscopy for chemical and biological applications as well as for materials sciences.