Recording and readout mechanisms of super-resolution near-field structure disk with a silver oxide mask layer

The chemical decomposition of AgOx sandwiched between two ZnS-SiO2 protective layers was an irreversible process. We confirmed that a hollow Ag cylinder, or ring, serving as an aperture, was formed and small Ag particles were precipitated in the center region during the recording process. The small aperture can significantly reduce the laser spot size during the readout process and the strong near-field interaction between precipitated Ag particles and subwavelength marks can effectively enhance the readout signal. That clarifies both the super-resolution effect and the near-field interaction in the super-resolution near-field structure disk. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.