Near-field properties of diffraction through a circular subwavelength-size aperture

Analytical nonparaxial vectorial electric field expressions for both Gaussian beams and plane waves diffracted through a circular aperture are derived by using the vector plane angular spectrum method for the first time,which is suitable for the subwavelength aperture and the near-field region.The transverse properties of intensity distributions and their evolutions with the propagating distance,and the power transmission functions for diffracted fields containing the whole field,the evanescent field and the propagating field are investigated in detail,which is helpful for understanding the relationship between evanescent and propagating components in the near-field region and can be applied to apertured near-field scanning optical microscopy.     

微小孔近场衍射中的传播波和倏逝波

用角谱法分析了微小孔近场衍射中的传播波和倏逝波,并对平面波圆孔衍射进行了数值计算,得到了一些新的结论.     

金属覆层光纤探针近场特性研究

采用有限积分法对用于近场光学显微镜的旋转对称光纤探针进行了数值模拟计算,研究了光纤探针开口附近亚波长范围的电磁场及其能量密度的分布.计算结果表明,在探针外,光场为沿探针轴线方向的近逝波,其空间光场的分布与激励光场及其极化方向有关,在激励光场的极化方向出现了由感应电荷引起的边缘增强效应.同时研究了近场光纤探针的空间分辨率和样品处的电磁场能量,结果表明光纤探针孔的尺寸及其与样品的作用距离是影响探针的分辨率和样品内电磁场能量的重要因素.     

The rigorous electromagnetic theory of the diffraction of vector beams by a circular aperture

The rigorous electromagnetic theory of the diffraction of vector beams by an aperture is proposed and numerically evaluated by the diffraction of vector Gaussian beams by a circular aperture. The results are compared with those, by using the vector Rayleigh–Sommerfeld diffraction integrals and angular-spectrum expression theory, showing a good consistency. The numerical calculation shows that the result calculated by the rigorous theory is much more precise than those calculated by the integral method in diffraction near field, and a highly consistency reaches by the three methods in diffraction far field. A further extension of the theory is discussed.     

Limits for superfocusing with finite evanescent wave amplification

Perfect lensing using negative refractive index materials and radiationless electromagnetic interference both provides extreme subwavelength focusing by "amplifying" evanescent wave components that are usually lost. This Letter provides a relation between the achievable focus spot size, the amplification available, and the focal length. This may be considered as a revised version of Abbe's diffraction limit for focusing systems that have evanescent wave amplification. It is useful in comparing the amplification achieved in various subwavelength focusing implementations as well as determining when it is better to use existing near-field techniques, such as simple diffraction from an aperture or slit, than to attempt complicated superfocusing.     

Experimental research on the longitudinal field generated by a tightly focused beam

The longitudinal optical field is a peculiar physical phenomenon that is always involved with the domain of near-field optics. Due to its extraordinary properties, it has recently attracted increasing attention in research and application. In this work, the longitudinal fields generated by the evanescent illumination of tightly focused, different polarized hollow beams are investigated. The focused light fields are numerically simulated according to vector diffraction theory, and their vector analysis is also carried out. The longitudinal fields on the focal plane are demonstrated experimentally using tip-enhanced scanning near-field microscopy. The simulation and experimental results show that the tightly focused radially polarized beam is suited to generating a stronger and purer longitudinal optical field at the focus.     

The role of propagating and evanescent waves in scanning near-field optical microscopy

Theoretical study on the image formation in scanning near-field optical microscopy is carried out in the framework of the direct moment method. Information brought, respectively, by the propagating and evanescent components in the optical near field that is collected by a scanning fiber tip with a sub-wavelength aperture is numerically and systematically analyzed in the light of the resolution achieved by the microscope. The analyses reveal that resolutions beyond the diffraction limit can be achieved even in the absence of the evanescent waves. That is, it is incorrect or at least incomplete to believe that a microscope that collects only the propagating waves is limited by the diffraction. Our studies show that a scanning near-field optical microscope can achieve resolutions beyond the diffraction limit by collecting only the propagating waves.     

A virtual optical probe based on evanescent wave interference

A virtual probe is a novel immaterial tip based on the near-field evanescent wave interference and small aperture diffraction, which can be used in near-field high-density optical data storage, nano-lithography, near-field optical imaging and spectral detection, near-field optical manipulation of nano-scale specimen, etc. In this paper, the formation mechanism of the virtual probe is analysed, the evanescent wave interference discussed theoretically, and the sidelobe suppression by small aperture is simulated by the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. The simulation results of the optical distribution of the near-field virtual probe reveal that the transmission efficiency of the virtual probe is 10²－10⁴ times higher than that of the nano-aperture metal-coated fibre probe widely used in near-field optical systems. The full width at half maximum of the peak, in other words, the size of virtual probe, is constant whatever the distance in a certain range so that the critical nano-separation control in the near-field system can be relaxed. We give an example of the application of the virtual probe in ultrahigh-density optical data storage.     

开孔矩形腔体电磁泄漏特性的解析研究

本文提出了一种用于计算开孔矩形腔体电磁泄漏场的解析理论模型.该理论模型先基于模式展开法求解封闭腔场,进而依据Bethe小孔耦合理论将泄漏场与封闭腔场用等效偶极子关联.该模型可以考虑波频率、场源位置、开孔位置及场强观测点位置等因素的影响,计算结果与全波仿真结果一致.本文计算分析了相关因素对电磁屏蔽效能的影响规律,并给出了物理解释.结果表明近场屏蔽效能小于远场屏蔽效能,且近场区电场屏蔽效能与磁场屏蔽效能并不相同.     

Resolution of objects within subwavelength range by using the near field of a dipole

We analyze the far-field resolution of apertures that are illuminated by a point dipole located at subwavelength distances. It is well known that radiation emitted by a localized source can be considered a combination of traveling and evanescent waves, when represented by the angular spectrum method. The evanescent wave part of the source can be converted to propagating waves by diffraction at the aperture; thereby it contributes to the far-field detection. Therefore one can expect an increase in the resolution of objects. We present explicit calculations showing that the resolution at the far zone is improved by decreasing the source-aperture distance. We also utilize the resolution enhancement by the near field of a dipole to resolve two closely located apertures. The results show that without the near field (evanescent field) the apertures are not resolved, whereas with the near field of the dipole the far zone intensity distribution shows improved resolution. This method eliminates the requirements of near-field techniques such as controlling and scanning closely located tip detectors.     

Experimental Research on Focusing Property of Radially Polarized Beam Based on Solid Immersion Lens

Realization of a near-field optical virtual probe based on an evanescent Bessel beam is strongly dependent on a radially polarized beam; this makes it essential to study the focusing property of the beam. In this paper, two experimental setups based on a fiber device and a liquid crystal device, respectively, are built to generate a radially polarized beam. This beam and an annular radially polarized beam are focused by means of a high numerical aperture objective and a solid immersion lens (SIL). Near-field distribution of the focus spot, the evanescent Bessel field, is experimentally measured with a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM). The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the central peak of the evanescent Bessel field is about 200 nm in the close vicinity of the bottom surface of SIL. This has potential for use as a near-field optical virtual probe.     

开孔矩形腔体的近场电磁屏蔽效能研究

基于扩展的等效电路方法, 建立了电偶极子和磁偶极子天线近场照射下开孔矩形腔体电磁屏蔽效能计算的近似解析模型, 计算分析了场源–腔体距离对电场和磁场屏蔽效能的影响规律. 结果表明在近场区, 屏蔽效能随场源–腔体距离的减小而明显减小, 近场屏蔽效能小于远场屏蔽效能. 基于Bethe小孔耦合理论, 得出了描述近场和远场屏蔽效能关系的解析公式, 并用该公式检验了等效电路方法计算结果的可信性. 关键词： 电磁屏蔽 矩形腔体 近场 Bethe 理论     

亚波长间距理想导体球阵列近区时间反演电磁场的快速求解

为快速求解亚波长间距分布的理想导体球阵列近区的时间反演电磁场,提出一种基于等效偶极子模型的解析分析方法.首先,通过分析球面波照射理想导体小球的散射场解析解发现,散射场可以近似等效为电磁偶极子辐射场的叠加.等效偶极子的强度与初始激励源的幅度成正比关系.通过建立不同小球等效偶极子矢量间的耦合方程组可以直接求解得到相应矢量的大小.然后,结合时间反演腔理论得到相应的时间反演并矢格林函数,继而得到小球阵列近区的时间反演场分布.最后,通过与数值仿真软件的计算结果进行对比,验证了方法的正确性及高效性.研究表明,时间反演技术结合近场亚波长间距小散射体加载能够实现超分辨率的场聚焦.     

Near-field characteristics of highly non-paraxial subwavelength optical fields with hybrid states of polarization

The vectorial structure of an optical field with hybrid states of polarization(So P) in the near-field is studied by using the angular spectrum method of an electromagnetic beam. Physical images of the longitudinal components of evanescent waves are illustrated and compared with those of the transverse components from the vectorial structure. Our results indicate that the relative weight integrated over the transverse plane of the evanescent wave depends strongly on the number of the polarization topological charges. The shapes of the intensity profiles of the longitudinal components are different from those of the transverse components, and it can be manipulated by changing the initial So P of the field cross-section. The longitudinal component of evanescent wave dominates the near-field region. In addition, it also leads to three-dimensional shape variations of the optical field and the optical spin angular momentum flux density distributions.     

Nano-manipulation performance with enhanced evanescent field close to near-field optical probes

Recently, interest in nano-manipulation using the evanescent wave generated by nano-objects has been growing, but the analyses of manipulation flexibility and performance haven't been solved. In this paper the near-field optical trap utilizing a tapered metalized probe used in NSOM is described in detail. By employing a generalization of the conservation law for momentum using three-dimensional FDTD method, rigorous calculations of field distributions and trapping forces in near-field region are conducted. Calculations show that the particle with radius larger than the aperture is pushed away from the metal-coated fiber probe, while it tends to be trapped in larger effective region as its radius becoming smaller. The particle that is placed very near the aperture and around two field peaks intends to be dragged to the aperture edge, while the particle placed at other position tends to be attracted to the center surface of the probe tip. Furthermore, a preferable method using the combination of the near-field optical fiber probe and the AFM metallic probe is proposed, for more efficient non-contact manipulation and better observation of one single nano-particle. The analyses of trapping potential along the probe axis and the near-field distribution show the possibility of particle trapping.     

微小孔衍射——近场光学理论

推导了圆孔衍射公式，该公式不受孔径大小和到屏距离的限制，可以作为近场光学的理论。它满足麦克斯韦方程标量形式和基尔霍夫边界条件，包括传播波和衰减波。数值计算表明，此结果优于用Ｂｅｔｈｅ模型所得到的近场理论的结果     

频率搅拌嵌套混响室场分布的统计特性

为明确频率搅拌方式下嵌套混响室内的场分布,在混响室电磁统计特性的基础上,对嵌套小室内外的场分布进行了理论研究,重点对小混响室开窗大小对场分布的影响进行了分析。当窗口为电大尺寸时,小混响室内外均服从瑞利分布;为电小尺寸时,参考车-车链路通信的统计特性,小混响室内部应满足双瑞利分布。在某大型混响室内,借助矢量网络分析仪,通过测试收、发天线间的散射参数S21,实现了样本数据的快速采集,并将样本数据与理论分布模型进行了拟合优度检验(KS检验),检验结果证明了假设分布的正确性。     

Diffraction of electromagnetic waves by a resistive half-plane in magneto-ionic plasma

The interaction of magnetic polarized electromagnetic wave with a resistive half-plane in magneto-ionic plasma is investigated. The method of transition boundary is used for the evaluation of the diffracted wave. The excitation of surface waves is examined in the medium and their diffracted fields are derived by using the diffraction theory for grazing incidence. The uniform field expressions are obtained with the aid of the uniform theory for evanescent waves. The behaviours of the derived scattered waves are studied numerically.     

Communication modes in vector diffraction

The communication modes, which mathematically correspond to singular value decomposition, have proven a useful concept in optical scalar-field diffraction, with applications in resolution studies, image synthesis, and wave propagation. For optical near-field geometries the communication modes have to be extended to electromagnetic field accounting for the polarization properties. In this paper we present the vector-valued communication modes method based on the rigorous electric-field diffraction integral. As a special case the transverse-electric scalar field modes are obtained. The intensity and polarization properties of the leading electromagnetic communication modes in near-field arrangements with rectangular apertures are discussed in terms of the Stokes parameters. For small separations between the transmitting and receiving apertures the fundamental mode possesses a ring-shaped hollow structure. The polarization properties of the near-field modes show features on spatial scales smaller than the wavelength of light. The system symmetries lead to degenerate communication modes.