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Super-resolution imaging through a planar silver layer

David O. S. Melville and Richard J. Blaikie

Open Access Open Access

Abstract

It has been proposed that a planar silver layer could be used to project a super-resolution image in the near field when illuminated near its plasma frequency [J. B. Pendry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3966 (2000)]. This has been investigated experimentally using a modified form of conformal-mask photolithography, where dielectric spacers and silver layers are coated onto a tungsten-on-glass mask. We report here on the experimental confirmation that super-resolution imaging can be achieved using a 50-nm thick planar silver layer as a near-field lens at wavelengths around 365 nm. Gratings with periods down to 145 nm have been resolved, which agrees well with our finite-difference time domain (FDTD) simulations.

©2005 Optical Society of America

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Figures (7)
Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the near-field imaging experimental arrangement. A bottom anti-reflection coating (BARC) layer is used beneath the resist to prevent substrate reflections.

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Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. AFM image and line trace taken on the surface of the SiO2 layer of a 25/50/10-PMMA/Ag/SiO2 lens stack, directly above a 350-nm period grating in the underlying tungsten.

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Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. AFM image and line scan of a 1-µm period grating exposed through the 25/50/10-PMMA/Ag/SiO2 lens stack. The height scale on the AFM image is 130 nm.

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Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. AFM images of gratings imaged through the 25/50/10-PMMA/Ag/SiO2 lens stack, with periods of (a) 500 nm, (b) 350 nm, (c) 290 nm, (d) 250 nm, (e) 200 nm and (f) 170 nm.

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Fig. 5.
Fig. 5. Results for a 145-nm period grating exposed through the 25/50/10-PMMA/Ag/SiO2 lens stack: (a) AFM image and (b) Fourier transform in the direction of the grating vector k g.

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Fig. 6.
Fig. 6. Simulated intensity profiles 25 nm below the photoresist surface for exposure through the 25/50/10-PMMA/Ag/SiO2 lens stack. Grating periods are (a) 300 nm and (b) 200 nm.

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Fig. 7.
Fig. 7. Simulated image contrast V as a function of grating period, extracted 25-nm below the surface of the resist for exposure through a 25/50/10-PMMA/Ag/SiO2 lens stack.

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Equations (2)

Equations on this page are rendered with MathJax. Learn more.

p min = λ ⁄ n ,
V = I max − I min I max + I min ,
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