Abstract

We and other researchers have reported experimentation with a microprobe array head with high optical throughput using a VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) ^{1 2 4)} array and without³-¹ VCSEL. However, the attained near-field evanescent wave power in the experiment using 1 mW VCSEL output laser power was only 10 pW when using a 100 nm diameter aperture size^{2) * * * * * * *}; its power is 10 times too small to write bits on a phase change optical disk. This necessitates development of either a more efficient optical head with 10% throughput efficiency, or a high-sensitivity optical disk system. Toward the latter effort, we are attempting to develop a special high-sensitivity optical disk system wherein metal particles on the disk will excite the surface plasmon polariton (paper to be presented at ODS ’03). Some head types have already been proposed or calculated to improve optical throughput over that previously reported.^9-12- Shi et al. have calculated a new structure head of C type.¹⁰⁾ The C type achieved higher optical throughput by use of the surface plasmon enhancement phenomenon of the electric wave of evanescent light. Also, we calculated a new structure of Claw type probe.¹¹⁾

© 2003 Optical Society of America