Search

This paper reviews the framework of classical near-field optics and recent progress in modern near-field optics. Some applications are also reviewed, including novel optical functional devices, nano-fabrication technologies, energy conversion technologies, and information processing systems. Novel theoretical models based on mathematical science are also presented, as well as an outlook for the future, hinting at the possibilities of near-field optics.

A planar near-field optical head with a high optical efficiency of 12.9% (3.2 times higher than that of our previous design) for laser-assisted magnetic recording is described. In this head, a slab-type waveguide with a narrow core is butt-coupled into a one-sided multilayer thin-film stack. Metal cladding is used in the core because of its high optical efficiency due to surface plasmon excitation. To keep production costs low, we use only two layers for the side part, which act as a two-index-step lens that couples light in the side part into a core of the central part. We optimized the parameters of this optical head and recording medium by means of an optical simulator using the finite-difference time-domain method and a thermal simulator. The calculated full width half maximum (FWHM) optical spot size on the recording medium is 24 × 47 nm2 and the thermal spot size is 80 × 88 nm2 (FWHM).

Optical near-field plasmon-enhancement techniques have made marked contributions to the field of subwavelength optical beam spot generation for photonic devices. However, the metal material used is not sufficiently heat resistant for high-temperature operating requirements, such as laser-assisted magnetic recording storage. Therefore, it is preferable to use a dielectric material as a heat source for this application. To realize a subwavelength optical beam spot size using a dielectric material, we extensively analyze a leaky mode dielectric waveguide with a thin core. Finally, we show a new ridge-type dielectric waveguide using a leaky mode operation for a subwavelength beam spot.

Radially polarized incident light can generate a more confined longitudinal electric field on a focal plane in near-field (NF) optics than focusing circularly polarized light. Using this phenomenon, it is feasible to reduce beam spot size on storage media to increase the areal density of optical data storage. A radially polarized beam generates a beam spot which is 20% more confined on the 1st surface of medium than that of circularly polarized light. However, the peak intensity of total electric field sharply decreases and its transverse component is much more dominant inside the media stack. This confirms that radially polarized optics can be a candidate not for an NF recording system but for an NF read-only memory (ROM) system. Potentially, the results could be useful to understand the effect of radial and circular polarizations inside and outside medium for various applications of NF optics.

We report experiments on deflecting cold 87Rb atoms by repulsive near-field light induced in a 200-nm-wide slit. The spatial profile is measured with a two-step photoionization scan. The number of outputted atoms from the slit increases by the amount of 40 ± 7.2% at a 5.1 ± 2.0° angle for the blue detuning of +1 GHz. We discuss the spatial profile involving an image of the atomic cloud by means of the scattering cross section.

Numerical simulations have been carried out in the framework of waveguide theory to model collection mode scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). The theoretical model includes the optical fiber end and describes the metal coated aperture on the probe tip. The developed formalism goes beyond the existing Bethe-Bouwkamp theories for electromagnetic transmission of subwavelength apertures. The finite coating and optical fiber end are now taken into account. The new features enable us to simulate the near-field probes that are widely used in the collection mode SNOM. The emphases of the numerical analyses have been mainly on the resolution mechanism of the microscopy. Influence on the resolution from important parameters of the probe tips, such as the size of the apertures and the probe-sample distance, is extensively studied. The resolution dependence has been analyzed in the light of the near-field coupling efficiency of the probe tip. An optimum tip size has been found which is balanced between the significant signal transmission and the resolution of the device.

Various optical elements with subwavelength structured surfaces have been developed. The periods of the subwavelength structures are too short to generate diffracted light waves. But the structures are equivalent to refractive index materials with form birefringence. Many new optical elements are realized using the artificial refractive indices of these subwavelength structures. Some typical elements are described here in the passive element regime, and fabrication methods of the elements are explained.

A GaP microlens for collecting laser light was developed in the tip of a near-field probe. It is important to realize a near-field optical probe head with high throughput and a small spot size. The design and fabrication results of the GaP microlens array are described. The most suitable GaP microlens with a probe was calculated as having a 10 μm radius using the two-dimensional finite difference time domain (2-D FDTD) method. The full width half maximum (FWHM) spot size variation and optical power density tolerance were calculated as 157 nm ± 5 nm and 7%, respectively. A spherical GaP microlens was fabricated with a radius of 10 μm by controlling the Cl2/Ar gas mixture ratio. The difference between the theoretical spherical shape and the fabricated GaP microlens was evaluated as 40 nm at peak to valley. The FWHM spot size and optical throughput of the fabricated microlens were measured as 520 nm and 63%, respectively. The microlens was the same as a theoretical lens with a 10 μm radius. The micron-lens array fabrication process for a near-field optical head was demonstrated in this experiment.

We investigated near-field optical (NFO) imaging characteristics of a small object placed on a dielectric slab by a computer-code using a three-dimensional volume integral equation with an effective iteration technique called the generalized minimal residual method. A simplified three-dimensional NFO microscope that consists of a small dielectric object placed on the dielectric substrate and a small dielectric sphere as a scanning probe-tip was considered. Calculating two-dimensional output images obtained from scattered far fields, we studied the effect of the substrate on NFO output images, the comparison of NFO output images with electrostatic field around the small object, the dependence of output image characteristics on the wavelength and the difference of imaging characteristics between incident plane waves and incident evanescent waves.

We proposed and developed a new solid immersion mirror (SIM) for near-field optical data storage. The SIM has some advantages, especially in manufacturing, because its shape is similar to a general plano-convex lens. Making an aperture of about 130 nm in diameter just on the focus area of the SIM, a bit-data recording onto a photochromic thin film was carried out. Minimum diameter of the written marks was estimated to be 180nm. We also demonstrated readout experiments where a recorded medium was rotating and a gap between the SIM and the disk was controlled with capacitance sensing. This is the first result of reading with a rotating disk using an SIM containing a small aperture.

The technology nowadays employed in the field of binary optics allows a relatively easy fabrication of grating structures down to the wavelength region. The analysis of light propagation through such grating structures requires the use of rigorous diffraction theories such as the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA), in order to take proper account of polarization effects in the electric and magnetic field and the thickness of the grating. In this paper, we examine the near-field intensity distributions and associated illumination efficiencies of Talbot array illuminators (TAIL#x0027;s) with compression ratios of 8 and 16 using RCWA. The high illumination efficiency observed close to the grating surface is expected to bring about new applications of TAIL#x0027;s in the field of super-resolution and near-field optics.

In recent years there has been a strong trend and movement towards digitalism and high memory capacity in the multi-media field including digital movies. It is expected that new kinds of high density data storage to match this environment will be developed. The optical disk system using near-field optics and technology is considered to be a strong candidate for ultra-high density optical memory. In order to realize a new optical recording system we have focused on the writing head with high optical efficiency and resolution. We evaluated the properties of pyramidal probe heads using the FDTD (finite difference time domain) method and obtained simulation results in order to find the best structure and design for new near-field optical probes. From these results, we understood that a novel probe structure having metal layers on just 3 side planes (scoop type) shows the best performance in optical power density and beam size. We believe that optical enhancement and beam confinement arise from the effect of surface plasmon on a metal layer and the beam blocking of metal, respectively. Using this scoop-type probe having a tip size of 55 nm, we can get a very small spot size of 33 #x00D7; 60 nm2 in FWHM (full with half maximum), which allows us to realize the recording density of 300 Gb/in2.

A numerical simulation code for three dimensional problems of near-field optics has been developed using the volume integral equation with the moment method. The object is assumed to be continuous and macroscopic dielectric and can be treated by macroscopic Maxwell#x0027;s equations. The code can treat the large-scale moment method matrix that is obtained by the discretization of the volume integral equation. The resultant matrix equation is solved by an iteration method called the generalized minimum residual method with reasonable computational cost for simple problems of near field optics. Simulation of a simplified model of a scanning near-field optical microscope has been performed and basic polarization characteristics of the system have been investigated in detail. The code is also applied to the collection-mode of a photon scanning tunneling microscope, where the incident wave is the evanescent wave, and basic relation between near-field and far field i.e., output image, is recognized.

We have discussed the resolution of submicron photoluminescence (PL) imaging using a solid immersion lens (SIL), which collects an evanescent light field. We apply the SIL microscope to measure PL image of a strip-line-patterned GaAs quantum well structure at low temperature. An improved resolution beyond diffraction limit and high collection efficiency of PL are realized.

We investigate the effectiveness of differential detection, which is a combination of probe-dithering and synchronous detection, in discriminating near-field light interaction from background light interaction in apertureless near-field optical microscopy (NSOM). The lateral differential NSOM with a photocantilever is more effective than the vertical differential detection, which does not always provide sufficient discrimination. The V-dithering-based lateral differential detection provides apertureless NSOM that can image the optical coupling between sample and probe dipoles, which is an interaction through near-field light.

Experimental and theoretical study of thermal emission, transmission, and reflection from bare and coated one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) grating structures on GaAs substrates was carried out. Our experiments have revealed strong correlation between the spectra of thermal emission and the microstructure dimensions. The emissivity enhancement and diminution depends on the groove depth and the spectral range (below or above Rayleigh wavelength). The effects can be attributed to diverse mechanisms: emission escape due to emerging diffraction-order beams, vertical-cavity modes, enhanced optical transmission phenomenon, and electron plasma effect.

This paper describes a size-dependent electroless plating method to fabricate a new type of probe with a locally decreasing thickness of metal and a tiny tip size for a combined high resolution shear-force and near-field optical microscope. In this method, the tip size and decreasing thickness profile, which affect the resolution capabilities of the microscopes, are controlled by adding a continuous ultrasonic wave with a frequency of 1 MHz to a nickel plating bath. The probe with a tip radius of curvature of 25 nm was successfully fabricated at an ultrasonic power density of 1.6 W cm−2, its metal thickness gradually decreased from 850 to 20 nm toward the distal tip.

We demonstrated a contrast enhancement in a near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) by optical interference with an aperture probe in reflection (illumination-collection) mode operation. We observed a NiO film deposited on a sapphire substrate and clearly visualized 2-nm-deep nano-channel structures on the surface of the film. The reflection NSOM enhanced by optical interference is quite a promising instrument for high-resolution optical detection and estimation of low-contrast nanostructures.

We have developed a novel sample-tip regulation for a near-field optical microscope: an ultrasonic resonance regulation method. The regulation range is from 0 to 50 nm. It shows not only stability, simplicity in construction, but also versatility in vacuum, magnetic field, and low temperature environments. The main advantage of this technique is that it is a non-optical detecting scheme, which is very important for near-field spectroscopy. Such construction can also be used as a force microscope to study the topography of insulating samples. The laser light induced force interaction in the near-field range has been observed for the first time, showing that aided by laser radiation, the shear force between sample and tip can be changed depending on the type of sample. This can be interpreted as the light induced optical tip-sample interaction of light pressure effect. The van der Waals dispersion energy and the optical binding energy induced by laser beam between dielectric tip and samples play important role. The effect confirms a theoretical prediction. This new technique and phenomenon will add new aspects to near-field optics.

We present the design of a novel metal micro-aperture surface emitting laser for tera byte optical data storage. The field distribution near micro-aperture is calculated by 2-dimensional finite element method, and it is shown that a spot size as narrow as 100 nm beyond a diffraction limit is obtainable.

We use the tapping illumination and synchronous detection in a scanning near-field optical microscopy to obtain a near-field optical signal that is separated from the far-field signal. The illumination light was irradiated from the bent fiber tip vibrating normal to the sample surface. The transmitted light synchronized with the tapping vibration was observed. The obtained image of an organic film shows that this technique is effective for the weak contrast samples.

Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) and spectroscopy were used to study the light emission characteristics of CdS nano-ribbon optical waveguide. A continuous red-shift of photoluminescence (PL) spectra of such nano-ribbons with the increase of the light propagation distance was observed. Near-field optical images indicate that CdS nano-ribbon can work well as an optical waveguide. Quantitative calculation was made to demonstrate the PL attenuation with long propagation distance (typically several hundreds μm). The red shift is attributed to self-absorption, which means re-absorption and re-emission among energy-valleys with different energies of conduction bands. Our results draw attention to the spectral characteristics of nano-ribbon optical waveguides, which are as important as intensity to the stability and veracity of information transmission.

Tapping mode atomic force microscopy is used to control the tip-sample distance in near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), which gives both topographic and near-field images simultaneously. The evanescent waves are scattered by a vibrating silicon-nitride tip in the proximity of sample surfaces and are detected through a microscope objective. This NSOM allows the observation of opaque samples with reflection illumination. A glass grating of 1-μm pitch and an InP grating of 0.5-μm pitch are observed with a lateral resolution of 100 nm.

A recent paper by Nayaet al. (Opt. Commun.124 (1996) 9) presented high-resolution imaging results obtained in the sub-100-nm range with a collection-mode near-field optical microscope. The images exhibit apparent polarization dependence. A simple modeling and calculation based on the experiment, using a semi-microscopic and perturbative approach, showed that the far-field-propagating signal intensity converted from the near-field can qualitatively explain the polarization dependence of the experiment if the taper angle of the probe tip is taken into account.

Recently developed scanning near-field optical microscopy has drawn attention to the problem of describing the electromagnetic field in the close vicinity of a surface. In this work, we present a numerical simulation that solves rigorously the field equations for a dielectric-air-dielectric layer system with arbitrary one-dimensional structure at its interfaces. Our theory is applied to calculate the intensity of the near field transmitted at the center of the tip of a probe as it is moved at a constant height above a surface with two identical topographic defects. The effects on the optical image due to the separation of the objects, and the shape difference between the ridges and grooves are discussed. The resolution limit and the conditions for near field interaction are determined.

We report the novel mathematical description of the vector mode functions which provide a useful basis for theoretical treatment of near-field optical microscope and related phenomena. The vector planar, spherical, and cylindrical mode functions and transforms are formulated on the bases of spatial rotational functions and angular spectrum representations. It is demonstrated that the formulation provides the bases to evaluate the range and locality of optical near-field interaction of sub-wavelength sized matter with an example of electric dipole interaction.