Near-field optical recording using a planar solid immersion mirror

Abstract

A near-field planar solid immersion mirror (PSIM) has been developed and applied to the writing and reading of marks in a phase-change material. Light focusing of a PSIM is realized by a two-dimensional parabolic reflective surface integrated in a planar waveguide. Using a PSIM fabricated out of a waveguide consisting of a 100nm Ta2O5 core layer and a SiO2 cladding layer on an Al2O3–TiC substrate, we have recorded marks with dimensions of λ∕4.