Numerical simulation analysis of a near-field optical virtual probe

A near-field optical virtual probe based on the principle of near-field evanescent wave interference can be used in optical data storage, nanolithography, near-field optical imaging, and optical manipulation. This letter gives the numerical simulation results of the optical distribution of a near-field virtual probe and analyzes the dependence of the virtual probe's on the aperture, the polarization, etc. The simulation results reveal that the transmission efficiency is higher than that of a nanoaperture metal-coated fiber probe. The size of the virtual probe is constant when the distance between the lens and recording media increases within a certain range so that the critical nanoseparation control in near-field system can be relaxed. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.