Subwavelength-sized beam spot confinement using an optical thin core dielectric ridge-type waveguide in leaky mode

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.