Magnified-Transcription of Optical Near-Fields

Nanometric structure as optical near-field source 

Cascadely excited state transition (QE 10-100) Spatial patterns 

Generally, the 2D distribution of optical near-fields in the vicinity of the surface of a nanostructure in response to far-field light irradiation can be measured by onedimensional scanning of an optical near-field probe tip, as shown in the upper half of Fig. 2.8. The idea of the work presented here is to spatially magnify the distribution of optical near-fields so that their effects can be detected in optical far-fields, as schematically shown in the lower half of Fig. 2.8. In other words, we transcribe the optical near-field distribution to another layer with a certain magnification factor. 

The process of transcription is crucial for the implementation of this concept, and it should originate from the physical attributes associated with the material used. In our proposal, it is necessary to spatially magnify an optical near-field from the nanometric scale to the sub-micrometer scale in the resultant transcribed pattern so that it is observable in the optical far-field. It turns out that the magnification factor in the transeription should be 10-100. Once the spatial pattern is detectable in the far-field, various concepts and technologies common in parallel processing will be applicable, such as fully parallel processing [34], so-called smart pixels, or parallel processing VLSI devices [35]. 

Several properties of optieal near-field sources and transcription media can affect the transcription of spatial patterns. Therefore, it can be said that our proposal retrieves not only the existence or nonexistence of optical near-fields, but also several of their characteristics, such as energy transfer [36] and hierarchy [37]. From this point of view, our proposal is fundamentally different from other recording and retrieving methods, including near-field holography [38], which is concerned only with structural changes in the media. 

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