Abstract

We report a high-intensity nano-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) utilizing a bowtie-shaped aperture. A maximum power of $188\mu \mathrm{W}$ is achieved from a $180\mathrm{nm}$ bowtie aperture at a wavelength of $970\mathrm{nm}$. The near-field full width at half-maximum intensity spot size $20\mathrm{nm}$ away from the bowtie aperture is $64\mathrm{nm}\times 66\mathrm{nm}$ from simulation, and the peak near-field intensity is estimated to be as high as $47\mathrm{mW}∕\mu {\mathrm{m}}^2$. This intensity is high enough to realize near-field optical recording, and the small spot size corresponds to storage densities up to $150\mathrm{Gbits}∕{\mathrm{in}}^2$. The bowtie-aperture VCSEL also enables other applications, such as compact high-intensity probes for ultrahigh-resolution near-field imaging and single molecule fluorescence and spectroscopy.

© 2007 Optical Society of America

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