Nano-optical information storage is very important in meeting information technology requirements. However, obtaining nanometric optical information recording marks by the traditional optical method is difficult due to diffraction limit restrictions. In the current work, the nonlinear saturable absorption effect is used to generate a subwavelength optical spot and to induce nano-optical information recording and readout. Experimental results indicate that information marks below 100 nm are successfully recorded and read out by a high-density digital versatile disk dynamic testing system with a laser wavelength of 405 nm and a numerical aperture of 0.65. The minimum marks of 60 nm are realized, which is only about 1/12 of the diffraction-limited theoretical focusing spot. This physical scheme is very useful in promoting the development of optical information storage in the nanoscale field.

Thermocapillary and chemicapillary effects are known to coexist in a material molten pool when irradiated by a pulse laser. According to the effects, we fabricate various patterns with different shapes on a Sb 2 Te 3 phase change thin film by precisely adjusting the pulse energy. In this process, the laser power is fixed at 5.0 mW, and the pulse width is adjusted from 100 ns to 5 ns. The shape of the patterns gradually changes from a dimple-bowl shape, a dome shape, a "Sombrero" shape to a deep-bowl shape following an increase in the pulse energy, which corresponds to the crystallization-threshold, bump-threshold, rupture-threshold, and ablation-threshold of the material. The different patterns are the results of the competition between the thermocapillary and chemicapillary effects in the molten pool, which determine the nature of the flow and lead to the different patterns in different laser parameters.

Different pattern structures are obtained on the AgInSbTe (AIST) phase change film as induced by laser beam. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to observe and analyze the different pattern structures. The AFM photos clearly show the gradually changing process of pattern structures induced by different threshold effects, such as crystallization threshold, microbump threshold, melting threshold, and ablation threshold. The analysis indicates that the AIST material is very effective in the fabrication of pattern structures and can offer relevant guidance for application of the material in the future.