Light confinement effect of nonspherical nanoscale solid immersion lenses

Kim, Myun-Sik; Scharf, Toralf; Nguyen, David; Keeler, Ethan G.; Rydberg, Skyler; Nakagawa, Wataru; Osowiecki, Gaël David; Voelkel, Reinhard; Herzig, Hans Peter

doi:10.1117/1.jmm.12.2.023015

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Further investigation of nano-SILs of different shapes was reported as well [5]. However, the spot size reduction in those studies was weaker than predicted by macroscopic theory, where the refractive index n of the SIL is the expected reduction factor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Numerical verification of light confinement in a nano solid immersion lens

Kim

Nguyen

Assafrao

et al. 2013

Frontiers in Optics 2013

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Numerical simulations using the finite element method (FEM) verify the light confinement effect observed in nano-scale solid immersion lenses (SILs). As observed in experiments, a strong light confinement occurs on the bottom surface of the SILs in simulation. The numerical spot size is comparable to the experimental spot size, and provides some insight into the deviation from the analytical expectation of the spot size reduction.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Numerical verification of light confinement in a nano solid immersion lens

Kim

Nguyen

Assafrao

et al. 2013

Frontiers in Optics 2013

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“…This technique has been used successfully by many groups to form extended and highly regular micro-lens arrays, typically by fabricating a regular array of polymer pillars using photolithography, and then heating this array above the melting temperature to allow thermal reflow [65,66,76]. Thermal reflow can also be used on adsorbed colloidal spheres to fabricate plano-convex lenses [52,77].…”

Section: Applications Of Self-assembly To Nano-imagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nano-imaging enabled via self-assembly

McLeod

Ozcan

2014

Nano Today

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SUMMARY Imaging object details with length scales below approximately 200 nm has been historically difficult for conventional microscope objective lenses because of their inability to resolve features smaller than one-half the optical wavelength. Here we review some of the recent approaches to surpass this limit by harnessing self-assembly as a fabrication mechanism. Self-assembly can be used to form individual nano- and micro-lenses, as well as to form extended arrays of such lenses. These lenses have been shown to enable imaging with resolutions as small as 50 nm half-pitch using visible light, which is well below the Abbe diffraction limit. Furthermore, self-assembled nano-lenses can be used to boost contrast and signal levels from small nano-particles, enabling them to be detected relative to background noise. Finally, alternative nano-imaging applications of self-assembly are discussed, including three-dimensional imaging, enhanced coupling from light-emitting diodes, and the fabrication of contrast agents such as quantum dots and nanoparticles.

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