Imaging of optical field confinement in ridge waveguides fabricated on very-small-aperture laser

Optical field confinement in a ridge waveguide nanostructure ("C" aperture) designed for ultrahigh-density recording was observed using an apertureless near-field scanning optical microscope. The aperture was fabricated on a commercial edge-emitting semiconductor laser as the light source. High-contrast near-field images at both 1x and 2x lock-in detection frequencies were obtained. The emission patterns are in agreement with theoretical simulation of such structures. A 90 nmx70 nm full width half maximum spot size was measured and is comparable to the ridge width of the aperture. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.