Roles of polarization, phase and amplitude in solid immersion lens systems

By altering the polarization, phase and amplitude at the exit pupil, the intensity distribution near the focal plane of a solid immersion lens (SIL) system can be changed. We have studied how the resolution and focal depth changes for a few particular cases. It was seen that by impinging radial polarization on a SIL-system. we may obtain a rotational symmetric z-component of the focused wavefront with spot size similar to that predicted by scalar theory. We also observed that it was possible to manipulate the contributions from the homogeneous and inhomogeneous waves behind the SIL by changing the amplitude and phase distribution at the aperture. In this way it may be possible to improve both the resolution and focal depth of the system. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.