Work

High-Density Optical Data Storage Enabled by the Photonic Nanojet from a Dielectric Microsphere

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: We discuss the usage of the photonic nanojet to detect deeply subwavelength pits in a metal substrate for the purpose of high-density optical data storage. Three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) computational solutions of Maxwell's equations are used to analyze and design the system. We find that nanojet-illuminated pits having lateral dimensions of only 100 × 150 nm 2 yield a 40-dB contrast ratio. The FDTD simulation results show that pit-depth modulation and pit-width modulation can significantly increase the optical data-storage capacity.

Source: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics

DOI: 10.1143/jjap.48.03a008

Authors: Soon-Cheol Kong, Alan V. Sahakian, Allen Taflove, Vadim Backman

Institution: Northwestern University

Language: English

Topic: Near-Field Optical Microscopy

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems

Awards: SGER: Biophotonics for Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer, Biophotonics: Towards Nondestructive Optical Analysis of Nanostructures Using Photonic Nanojets