| US 7,529,158 B2 | ||
| Optical near-field generator and recording apparatus using the optical near-field generator | ||
| Takuya Matsumoto, Hachiouji (Japan); and Hideki Saga, Fuchu (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Hitachi, Ltd., Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Jun. 06, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/455,373. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2002-319251 (JP), filed on Nov. 01, 2002. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2004/0085862 A1, May 06, 2004 | ||
| Int. Cl. G11B 11/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 369—13.33 [369/13.13] | 33 Claims |
| 1. An optical near-field generator comprising:
a light source;
a waveguide which propagates light emitted by the light source; and
an electroconductive scatterer configured to generate an optical near-field by plasmon resonance, the plasmon resonance being
excited by light entered into the electroconductive scatterer from the waveguide,
wherein the electroconductive scatterer includes a first generation point region configured to generate an optical near-field
by plasmon and a region other than the first generation point region,
wherein the first generation point region is thicker than the region other than the first generation point region,
wherein a length of the electroconductive scatterer between a first generation point of the optical near-field and a second
generation point of the optical near-field is not longer than a wavelength of the light entered into the electroconductive
scatterer, and material of the electroconductive scatterer are set so as to generate the optical near-field by plasmon resonance,
and
wherein the first generation point is in the first generation point region and the second generation point is in the region
other than the first generation point region.
|