Optimized measurement probe of the localized surface plasmon microscope by using radially polarized illumination.

We report on an experimental result confirming the optimization of the measurement probe of the localized surface plasmon microscope. We introduce axially symmetric radial polarization for this purpose. To generate radially polarized light, we utilize a combined polarizer and liquid crystal cell. We demonstrate the imaging of a pointlike object, and visualize the measurement probe with the profile of a single peak.