Improving the recording ability of a near-field optical storage system by higher-order radially polarized beams.

Distributions of the optical field in a solid immersion lens recording system are calculated for higher-order radially polarized modes of the incidence. Results show that two higher-order radially polarized modes of R-TEM(11) (* )and R-TEM(21) * are useful to near-field optical recording, but further higher-order modes such as R-TEM(31) (* ), R-TEM(41) (* ), and R-TEM(51) (* ) are not useful due to the strong side-lobe intensity. Compared with R-TEM(01) (* ) beam focusing, the full width at half-maximum of the recording spot is decreased markedly and the focal depth is increased substantially by using R-TEM(11) (* )beam focusing. The effect of the beam width of the R-TEM(11) (* ) mode is also discussed.

[1]  Bruce D. Terris,et al.  Near‐field optical data storage , 1996 .

[2]  Y. Kozawa,et al.  Focusing property of a double-ring-shaped radially polarized beam. , 2006, Optics letters.

[3]  M. Somekh,et al.  Imaging performance of widefield solid immersion lens microscopy. , 2007, Applied optics.

[4]  G. Kino,et al.  High-density optical recording using a solid immersion lens. , 1997, Applied optics.

[5]  B. Goldberg,et al.  High Resolution, High Collection Efficiency in Numerical Aperture Increasing Lens Microscopy of Individual Quantum Dots , 2005 .

[6]  Yaoju Zhang.  Theoretical study of near-field optical storage with a solid immersion lens. , 2006, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[7]  Hidefumi Akiyama,et al.  Fourier imaging study of efficient near-field optical coupling in solid immersion fluorescence microscopy , 2002 .

[8]  Kathleen S. Youngworth,et al.  Focusing of high numerical aperture cylindrical-vector beams. , 2000, Optics express.

[9]  Y. Zhang,et al.  Three-zone phase-only filter increasing the focal depth of optical storage systems with a solid immersion lens , 2006 .

[10]  Diffractive super-resolution elements applied to near-field optical data storage with solid immersion lens , 2004 .

[11]  Bruce D. Terris,et al.  Near‐field optical data storage using a solid immersion lens , 1994 .

[12]  R. Dorn,et al.  The focus of light – theoretical calculation and experimental tomographic reconstruction , 2001 .

[13]  G. Kino,et al.  Solid immersion microscope , 1990 .

[14]  Yaoju Zhang.  Optical intensity distribution of a plano-convex solid immersion mirror. , 2007, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[15]  Yaoju Zhang.  A new three-zone amplitude-only filter for increasing the focal depth of near-field solid immersion lens systems , 2006 .

[16]  Numerical analysis of an annular-aperture solid immersion lens. , 2004, Optics letters.

[17]  R. Webb.  Confocal optical microscopy , 1996 .

[18]  L. Helseth.  Roles of polarization, phase and amplitude in solid immersion lens systems , 2001, physics/0108064.

[19]  Shunichi Sato,et al.  Generation of a radially polarized laser beam by use of a conical Brewster prism. , 2005, Optics letters.

[20]  Gilles Tessier,et al.  Back side thermal imaging of integrated circuits at high spatial resolution , 2007 .

[21]  Yaoju Zhang.  Optical data storage system with a planoellipsoidal solid immersion mirror illuminated directly by a point light source. , 2006, Applied optics.

[22]  Christophe Mihalcea,et al.  Miniature planar solid immersion mirror with focused spot less than a quarter wavelength. , 2005, Optics express.

[23]  Shunichi Sato,et al.  Sharper focal spot formed by higher-order radially polarized laser beams. , 2007, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[24]  Piano-Convex Solid Immersion Mirror with a Small Aperture for Near-field Optical Data Storage , 2002 .

[25]  E. Wolf,et al.  Electromagnetic diffraction in optical systems, II. Structure of the image field in an aplanatic system , 1959, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[26]  Peter Török,et al.  Electromagnetic diffraction of light focused through a planar interface between materials of mismatched refractive indices: an integral representation , 1995 .

[27]  Yaoju Zhang,et al.  Focal-field distribution of the solid immersion lens system with an annular filter , 2004 .

[28]  Kenneth B. Crozier,et al.  Near-field photolithography with a solid immersion lens , 1999 .

[29]  G Leuchs,et al.  Sharper focus for a radially polarized light beam. , 2003, Physical review letters.

[30]  Yusuf Leblebici,et al.  High spatial resolution subsurface thermal emission microscopy , 2004 .

[31]  Bennett B. Goldberg,et al.  Theoretical analysis of numerical aperture increasing lens microscopy , 2005 .

[32]  Valerio Romano,et al.  Polarization-selective grating mirrors used in the generation of radial polarization , 2005 .

[33]  R. Morita,et al.  Direct production of high-power radially polarized output from a side-pumped Nd:YVO4 bounce amplifier using a photonic crystal mirror. , 2008, Optics express.