Adaptive optics for three-dimensional optical data storage and micromachining

Many high resolution optical methods are affected by the presence of optical aberrations. These include microscopy, three-dimensional optical data storage and optical micromachining. We investigate the use of adaptive aberration correction applied to these techniques. In particular, it is shown how a deformable membrane mirror can be used to correct the aberrations when focusing deep into a multilayer optical data storage medium for both recording and read-out of data. Aberration correction for optical micromaching deep inside a substrate is also demonstrated.