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Tight focusing with a binary microaxicon.

V V Kotlyar1, S S Stafeev, L O'Faolain

  • 1Image Processing Systems Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 151 Molodogvardeyskaya Street, Samara 443001, Russia.

Optics Letters
|August 18, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers measured a highly concentrated focal spot using a microaxicon and near-field scanning microscopy. This technique achieved a focal spot size of 0.58λ with a fivefold intensity increase over the illumination beam.

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Area of Science:

  • Optics and Photonics
  • Microscopy
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Microaxicons are optical elements that generate non-diffracting or self-reconstructing beams.
  • Near-field scanning microscopy (NSOM) offers sub-wavelength resolution by probing the evanescent field close to a surface.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the focal spot generated by a microaxicon illuminated with laser light.
  • To evaluate the performance of a near-field scanning microscope (NT-MDT) in measuring sub-wavelength optical phenomena.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a near-field scanning microscope (NT-MDT) equipped with a 100 nm aperture cantilever.
  • Employed a microaxicon (14 μm diameter, 800 nm period) illuminated by a 532 nm linearly polarized laser.
  • Measured the focal spot characteristics, including Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) and depth of focus.

Main Results:

  • Achieved a focal spot with a FWHM of 0.58λ and a depth of focus of 5.6λ.
  • Observed an intensity increase of five times compared to the maximal illumination beam intensity.
  • Reported an rms deviation of 6% for the focal spot intensity from calculated values.

Conclusions:

  • The microaxicon effectively concentrates light to a sub-wavelength focal spot.
  • Near-field scanning microscopy is a viable technique for characterizing such high-intensity, small-scale focal spots.
  • The results demonstrate potential for applications requiring high optical intensity in confined volumes.