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 100 nm Ta 2 O 5 core layer and a Si O 2 cladding layer on an Al 2 O 3 – Ti C substrate, we have recorded marks with dimensions of λ ∕ 4 .