Solid immersion lens

Abstract: A near‐field optical technique, using a new type of solid immersion lens (SIL), has been developed and applied to the writing and reading of domains in magneto‐optic material. The SIL is a truncated glass sphere which serves to increase the numerical aperture of the optical system by n2, where n is the index of refraction of the lens material. Using a SIL made from n=1.83 glass and illuminating with 780 nm light, we have achieved a 317 nm spot size. We have resolved a 500 nm period grating, and written and read 350 nm diameter magnetic domains. The technique should be capable of a 125 nm focused spot size using blue light.

Abstract: A recently developed near‐field optical technique, the solid immersion lens (SIL), is utilized in a realistic demonstration of near‐field optical data storage. Using 830 nm light, a 360 nm optical spot size is obtained at the exit surface of the SIL and is transferred across a small air gap to the surface of a spinning magneto‐optical disk. Reading and writing of data are achieved at a density of 3.8× 108 bits/cm2 with a data rate of 3.3×106 bits/s. The subwavelength gap between the lens and the disk is maintained at a media velocity of 1.25 m/s by incorporating the lens into an air‐bearing slider.

Abstract: A lithography system employing a solid immersion lens having a spherical surface to enhance its resolution is disclosed

Abstract: We have exposed 190 nm lines in photoresist by focusing a laser beam (λ=442 nm) in a solid immersion lens (SIL) that is mounted on a flexible cantilever and scanned by a modified commercial atomic force microscope. The scan rate was 1 cm/s, which is several orders of magnitude faster than typical reports of near-field lithography using tapered optical fibers. The enhanced speed is a result of the high optical efficiency (about 10−1) of the SIL. Once exposed with the SIL, the photoresist was developed and the pattern was transferred to the silicon substrate by plasma etching.