Abstract：

　　Since the initial introduction of confocal Raman microscopy in the late 1970ies, there was a push for higher and higher spatial resolution in vibrational, specifically Raman spectroscopy.  The experimental realization of sub-diffraction limit optical resolution, started the advent of near-field optics and allowed resolutions in the range of < 100 nm. Application to Raman spectroscopy required to address the high losses in the apertures. In addition the use of plasmon resonances considerably helped to boost the signal allow hyper spectral Raman imaging well below the diffraction limit. For ~5 years this was the standard for high resolution Raman, then apertureless or so-called scattering type probes were used and since then dominates the high lateral resolution Raman field.

Biosketch：

　　Dr. Volker Deckert is appointed as a Full-Professor for Physical Chemistry at the Friedrich-SchillerUniversity in Jena and holds a joint position as a department head at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, also in Jena. He obtained hisDiploma and his PhD from theUniversity of Wurzburg (Germany),working in the field of Raman difference spectroscopy and instrument development. He was a postdoc at University of Tokyo and the Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology in Kawasaki, where he worked on non-linear and time-resolved laser spectroscopy. During his habilitation at the ETH Zurich, he started working on near-field optical spectroscopy, a subject he pursued at his next positions positions in Dresden and Dortmund and also at his current position in Jena.