Disentangling time in a near-field approach to scanning probe microscopy

Abstract

Microwave microscopy has recently attracted intensive effort, owing to its capability to provide quantitative information about the local composition and the electromagnetic response of a sample. Nonetheless, the interpretation of microwave images remains a challenge as the electromagnetic waves interact with the sample and the surrounding in a multitude of ways following different paths: microwave images are a convolution of all contributions. In this work we show that examining the time evolution of the electromagnetic waves allows us to disentangle each contribution, providing images with striking quality and unexplored scenarios for near-field microscopy.