Photoemission electron microscopy, a tool for plasmonics

Highlights: •Brief review of photoemission electron microscopy PEEM as a tool for plasmonics, •PEEM gives access to (tip free) near field maps of subwavelength length resolution, •PEEM makes use of a true optical excitation scheme, exhibiting strong connections to ultrafast optical spectrometries. -- Abstract: A key challenge to plasmonics is the development of experimental tools allowing access to the spatial distribution of the optical near field at the nanometre scale. A recent approach for mapping the near optical field is the use of the photoemission electron microscopy PEEM. Indeed, photoemission can be strongly enhanced upon excitation of surface plasmons. By collecting the photoemitted electrons, two-dimensional intensity maps reflecting the actual distribution of the optical near-field are obtained. In the following a brief overview of the possibilities of the photoemission electron microscopy as a tool for plasmonics is given. Main focuses will be set on experimental results regarding the mapping of the near optical field at nanometer scale, the investigation of the spatio-temporal dynamics of plasmon-polariton waves and the manipulation at will of the near field