A study on the realization of high resolution solid immersion lens-based near-field imaging optics by use of an annular aperture

Opt Express. 2010 Aug 2;18(16):17533-41. doi: 10.1364/OE.18.017533.

Abstract

We report on the realization of solid immersion lens (SIL)-based near-field (NF) optics with an annular aperture, which is targeted to achieve high optical resolution. A numerical aperture (NA) = 1.84 hemisphere SIL-optics with an annular aperture achieves higher optical resolution than the conventional NA = 2.0 SIL-optics. The designed aperture is fabricated by photo-lithography and dry-etching technique. Experimental verification of the designed optics was performed through beam spot profile measurement under NF imaging conditions. A 15% smaller full-width-at-half-maximum spot diameter is obtained by the aperture. We verified that this method gives an improvement of the resolution in the optical imaging systems requiring higher resolution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Equipment Design
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / instrumentation*
  • Lenses*
  • Optics and Photonics*