Near-field optics simulation of a solid immersion lens combining with a conical probe and a highly efficient solid immersion lens-probe system

Abstract

A solid immersion lens (SIL) combined with near-field probes which are the conic dielectric probe and the local metallic coating on the SIL probe is designed for optical recording by means of a three-dimensional rather than two-dimensional finite difference time domain method to gain more insight in the near-field distribution. Our computation model is realistic to match the real SIL-probe system. The optical properties of near-field distributions between the SIL probe and recording layers are investigated. A promising idea for fabricating a type of the SIL-probe system is proposed. Results of our designation of an optimal SIL-probe system can achieve higher performance (in terms of high throughput and low reflection of the light beam) for optical data storage and microscopy than the conventional metal NSOM probe or SIL used alone. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.