Transmission efficiency analysis of near-field fiber probe using FDTD simulation

Abstract

A fiber probe is the key component of near-field optical technology which is widely used in high resolution imaging, spectroscopy detection and nano processing. How to improve the transmission efficiency of the fiber probe is a very important problem in the application of near-field optical technology. Based on the results of 3D-FDTD computation, the dependence of the transmission efficiency on the cone angle, the aperture diameter, the wavelength and the thickness of metal cladding is revealed. The authors have also made a comparison between naked probe and the probe with metal cladding in terms of transmission efficiency and spatial resolution. In addition, the authors have discovered the fluctuation phenomena of transmission efficiency as the wavelength of incident laser increases.