纳米孔径激光器出射孔径设计

采用三维时域有限差分（FDTD）方法计算和比较了不同形状和尺寸的纳米孔径半导体激光器的近场分布特性，结果表明采用C形孔径设计可使纳米孔径激光器的输出光强最大值比方孔和圆孔提高了3－4个数量级，通光效率也会有显著提高而聚焦光斑尺寸基本不变。并提出C形孔在孔径尺寸为1／3波长左右时输出光场分布最优。纳米孔径激光器可用于超高密度近场光存储、近场光学超衍射分辨成像、纳米光刻等。     

用数值方法分析微孔激光器出射光的近场特性

微孔激光器作为应用于近场光信息存储系统中的一种新型光源，它的出射光斑的近场特性对于近场光存储是十分重要的。针对纳米孔径运用角谱进行Fox-Li数值迭代，得到不同孔径微孔激光器的基模光强分布，然后运用二维非线性时域有限差分法分析微孔激光器出射端即微孔金属膜的近场光学性质，模拟计算了不同孔径和厚度的微孔金属膜的光强近场分布，从应用于近场光存储的角度，给出反映其近场光学特性的相关数据。发现由于TM模式下金属存在局域表面等离子增强效应，使得其出射强度比TE模式高一个数量级，从而更适于作为实际中近场光存储系统和原理试验的光学头。     

微小孔径激光器的光谱特性综述

微小孔径激光器(Very-small-aperture laser,VSAL)是近年发展起来的新型有源纳米激光光源。出射光端面的孔径形状是决定其性能的重要因素之一。多种异形孔径被先后提出并证明能极大地提高VSAL的出射效率。相关研究结果表明,常规孔径形状的通光效率随入射波长的增大急剧下降,但异形孔径的通光效率会出现一个谐振峰,在谐振峰位置通光效率得到了显著的提高。通过改变孔径形状参数或增加表面纳米形貌结构,可以调整纳米孔径本身的谐振波长峰值,改善VSAL的性能。综述了纳米孔径的光谱特性以及利用这种特性优化VSAL的性能,并对未来的研究前景做了适当的展望。     

单一亚波长孔径增强透射效应的传输线模型

为了研究亚波长孔径的增强透射效应,把传输线理论引入到了单一亚波长金属孔径的增强光学透射效应中。把金属孔径看成传输线,将电流在传输线上的传输和类Fabry-Pérot腔联系起来;把孔径的出射面看成是传输线的输出端,将出射面的电流看成是一种局域的衰逝电流,电流经传输线在传输线的输出端以天线辐射的形式辐射电磁波。解释了孔径透射的近场分布问题、孔径增强透射峰的位置问题和透射峰位置随金属板厚度的红移问题,得到了与其它理论和实验一致的结果,对开发基于增强透射的亚波长元件具有重要的参考价值。     

偏振不敏感的表面等离激元三维聚焦研究获进展

正表面等离激元(surfaceplasmons)是一种局域在金属和电介质界面处的电磁场模式,能够突破光学衍射极限,将携带的光学信息和能量局域在亚波长尺度。在高端纳米光学应用领域,如高分辨近场光学成像、针尖增强拉曼光谱,光学集成器件、纳米光     

近场光学虚拟光探针的数值分析

虚拟光探针是基于近场光学隐失场干涉原理产生的一种非实体探针，可以应用于近场光学超高密度存储、纳米光刻、近场光学成像、光谱探测、纳米样品的近场光学操作等领域。本研究采用三维时间域有限差分（FDTD）方法对近场光学虚拟光探针的光场分布特性进行了数值模拟计算和比较，分析了孔的形状、大小及偏振态等因素对虚拟光探针光场分布的影响，研究结果表明虚拟光探针的通光效率较普通的纳米孔径光纤探针提高10^2-10^4倍；其光场分布的中间峰的半峰全宽（即虚拟光探针的尺寸）在一定距离范围内基本保持不变，从而可以解决近场光学系统中纳米间距控制的难题，避免光学头与介质的磁撞。优化虚拟光探针的设计参量能有效的抑制虚拟光探针中的旁瓣。文章还给出了应用虚拟探针实现高密度光存储的原理方案。     

纳米集成光路中的光源、光波导和光增强

使用近场光学显微术(scanning near-field optical microscopy, SNOM)研究了ZnO亚微米线端面出射性质,不同空间形貌Ⅱ-Ⅵ族半导体荧光器件光波导特性,二维光子晶体、准晶光子晶体对LED的出射增强作用以及表面等离激元(surface plasmon polariton, SPP)与半导体纳米荧光器件的相互作用,对纳米集成光路中的光源、光波导、光增强三个重要问题做了实验和理论上的分析.研究发现半导体微纳米线端面出射光束的质量与样品的直径有密切关系.通过合理地设计其直径和 关键词： 纳米集成光路 扫描近场光学显微术 光波导 光增强     

具有超小光斑点和高通光效率的AlGaAs 四面锥尖的模拟和优化

本文我们利用时域有限差分方法研究和比较了四种类型探针的光发射斑点和通光效率，在这些探针中，全镀薄金属银膜的AlGaAs 四面锥尖可提供最高的通光效率和单个近场光斑点。探针镀有3 nm银膜并利用波长800 nm入射光照射是提供高通光效率和超小光斑点的优化条件，高通光效率和超小光斑点的光探针使我们能实现超高密度光存储。     

微小孔径激光器的工艺及器件功率和寿命特性分析

在650nm波长半导体激光器的基础上制造出了高输出功率的微小孔径激光器.驱动电流为25mA时， 输出功率达到0.4mW，最大功率可达１mW以上.叙述了微小孔径激光器的特殊的制造工艺，并分析了器件可能的失效机理. 关键词： 近场光学 微小孔径激光器 半导体激光器 失效分析     

基于纳米孔径激光器的近场光存储的最新发展

近几年发展起来的近场光学原理和方法为实现超高密度光学数据存储开辟了新的技术途径。基于近扬光学方法的最小信息记录单元尺寸突破了经典光学分辨率的衍射极限 ,理论存储密度高达 1 0 0 0Gb/平方英寸 ,受到了研究人员和工业界的广泛关注。着重介绍了用于近场光学存储的纳米孔径激光器的原理、结构、优点 ,对它的实现方法和发展状况作了详细的阐述 ,并对其在近场光存储领域未来的发展趋势进行了展望     

Low-loss subwavelength metal C-aperture waveguide

We present a design of a linear optical waveguide that utilizes a C-shaped metallic nano-aperture that efficiently transports light while maintaining a spot size of lambda/10. The performance of a C-aperture waveguide is superior to both a regular ridge waveguide and other surface plasmon based metal nano-optical waveguides. The energy transport mechanisms are explained by the coupling of an aperture surface resonance and the thickness resonances inside the guide channel. Finite-difference time-domain simulations of gold C-aperture waveguides are performed for a 1.5 microm wavelength incident plane wave. The 1/e decay length in power transmission is predicted to be approximately 2.5 microm. The total power throughput is 1.66 for the 2.55 microm long guide, with an intensity 6 times that of the incident wave at a distance 120 nm from the exit plane, having a spot size of 150 nm.     

High-intensity bowtie-shaped nano-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser for near-field optics

We report a high-intensity nano-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) utilizing a bowtie-shaped aperture. A maximum power of 188 microW is achieved from a 180 nm bowtie aperture at a wavelength of 970 nm. The near-field full width at half-maximum intensity spot size 20 nm away from the bowtie aperture is 64 nm x 66 nm from simulation, and the peak near-field intensity is estimated to be as high as 47 mW/microm(2). This intensity is high enough to realize near-field optical recording, and the small spot size corresponds to storage densities up to 150 Gbits/in(2). The bowtie-aperture VCSEL also enables other applications, such as compact high-intensity probes for ultrahigh-resolution near-field imaging and single molecule fluorescence and spectroscopy.     

A review of progress on nano-aperture VCSELInvited Paper

This paper reviews the progress on nano-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). The design, fabrication, and polarization control of nano-aperture VCSELs are reviewed. With the nanoaperture evolving from conventional circular and square aperture to unique C-shaped, H-shaped, I-shaped, and bowtie-shaped aperture, both the near-field intensity and near-field beam confinement from nanoaperture VCSELs are significantly improved. As a high-intensity compact light source with sub-100-nm spot size, nano-aperture VCSELs are promising to realize many new near-field optical systems and applications.     

Laser micro-machining using near-field optics

Solid immersion lenses (SIL) facilitate high numerical aperture (NA) and consequent sub-wavelength diffraction limited focusing in near-field optics based systems. Such systems are in commercial and research use for various applications including near-field scanning optical microscopy, ultra-high-density magneto-optic data storage and near-field nanolithography. Here, we present a novel manufacturing method using SIL-based near-field optics for laser-induced patterning on silicon wafers. The near-field effect of SILs was investigated by using hemispherical lenses made of three different materials (BK7, Sapphire, LaSFN9) to superfocus an incident Q-switched, 532 nm Nd:YAG laser beam transmitted through a focusing objective. This optical arrangement achieved a laser-processed feature resolution near the diffraction limit in air. Results of experiments that were conducted at various processing conditions to investigate the effects of varying incident laser power (with peak pulse power less than 1 W), pulse width, number of pulses and size of SIL on processed feature size and resolution are presented. Experimental results are compared with numerical simulations using the simplified model.     

Writing 40 nm marks by using a beaked metallic plate near-field optical probe

We have developed a near-field optical probe that uses a triangular metallic plate with a three-dimensionally tapered apex as a light source for thermally assisted magnetic recording. Numerical analysis using a finite-element method shows that the size of the optical spot generated at the apex is 15 nm x 20 nm, and the efficiency (defined as the ratio between the power of the optical near field at the surface of the recording medium and that of the incident light) is 15% when the incident light is focused by a lens with a numerical aperture of 0.8. The metallic plate was fabricated on the surface of a quartz slider and used for writing marks on a phase change recording medium. The marks were observed with a scanning electron microscope, and we confirmed that marks with a diameter of 40 nm were successfully written on the medium.     

Enhanced light transmission through a single subwavelength aperture

The optical transmission through a subwavelength aperture in a metal film is strongly enhanced when the incident light is resonant with surface plasmons at the corrugated metal surface surrounding the aperture. Conversely, the aperture acts as a novel probe of the surface plasmons, yielding useful insights for optimizing the transmission enhancement. For the optimal corrugation geometry, a set of concentric circular grooves, three times more light is transmitted through the central subwavelength aperture than directly impinges upon it. This effect is useful in the fabrication of near-field optical devices with extremely high optical throughput.     

Optical transmission enhancement by a sub-wavelength film lens

A new sub-wavelength metallic film lens configuration is proposed, which is embedded in a thin ideal metal film, and its near field optical properties are investigated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)method. It is found that the optical transmission is greatly enhanced, and the spot size can be reduced by the sub-wavelength metallic film lens in comparison with the bare aperture. This kind of lens is expected to have practical applications in the very small aperture laser (VSAL), a promising nanosource for near-field optical storage and lithography.     

Ultrahigh light transmission through a C-shaped nanoaperture

Optical resolution beyond the diffraction limit can be achieved by use of a metallic nanoaperture in a near-field optical system. Conventional nanoapertures have very low power throughput. Using a numerical finite-difference time domain method, we discovered a unique C-shaped aperture that provides approximately 3 orders of magnitude more power throughput than a conventional square aperture with a similar near-field spot size of approximately 0.1 lambda. Microwave experiments at 6 GHz quantitatively confirmed the simulated transmission enhancement. The high transmission of the C-aperture--or one of the related shapes--is linked to both a propagation mode in the aperture and local surface plasmons.     

Resonantly enhanced transmission of light through subwavelength apertures with dielectric filling

Using both analytical and numerical methods to study transmission of light through dielectric-filled subwavelength apertures in a real metal, we have found that a propagating mode can in principle exist inside a waveguide of arbitrary small size if a particular relationship between the dielectric constants of the cladding and filling materials at the incident frequency is satisfied. Practical transmission through a subwavelength aperture of finite depth can be enhanced when the depth is such that Fabry-Pérot-like resonances are excited. For 810 nm light incident on a silicon-filled 50-nm-diameter aperture in a 200-nm-thick gold film, we found that a normalized near-field intensity ratio of 1.6 at the exit can be achieved. This resonantly enhanced transmission phenomenon may be advantageously applicable to near-field scanning optical microscopy and single-molecule spectroscopy.