Time-resolved ultraviolet near-field scanning optical microscope for characterizing photoluminescence lifetime of light-emitting devices.

We developed a instrument consisting of an ultraviolet (UV) near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) combined with time-correlated single photon counting, which allows efficient observation of temporal dynamics of near-field photoluminescence (PL) down to the sub-wavelength scale. The developed time-resolved UV NSOM system showed a spatial resolution of 110 nm and a temporal resolution of 130 ps in the optical signal. The proposed microscope system was successfully demonstrated by characterizing the near-field PL lifetime of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells.