Nearfield scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) offers a practical means of optical imaging, optical sensing, and nanolithography at a resolution below the diffraction limit of the light. However, its applications are limited due to the strong attenuation of the light transmitted through the subwavelength aperture. To solve this problem, we report the development of plasmonic nearfield scanning optical microscope with an efficient nearfield focusing. By exciting surface plasmons, plasmonic NSOM probes ...