Self alignment technology between microlens focal points and near-field optical nano-probe apertures in 2-D micro-optical disk head

Abstract

A new optical memory system is urgently required to realize larger memory capacity and faster data transfer rate for the coming higher speed internet er-a. To overcome the current capacity barrier and the current low data transfer rate barrier in the far-field optical techniques, a novel near-field optical memory of super-parallel evanescent waves has been proposed and is being developed using a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) probe array, which consists of the VCSEL array as a light source and the GaP probe 2D array as the evanescent wave efficient generator. Fabrication and estimation of higher optical throughput for GaP probe array are described with 1.25% high throughput efficiency adopting a newly developed microlens array between the VCSEL output windows and the each GaP nano-probe in the array, where the focal points of each microlens inside the each semiconductor nano-probe are exactly coincident by the newly developed self-alignment technology. An array of up to 10,000 elements had been prepared successfully using the newly developed micro-fabrication processes, including the nano-photolithography, dry etching with ion milling and reactive ion etching processes, and the AR-coating deposition process to the high refractive index material surfaces.