Rigid bubble pit formation and huge signal enhancement in super-resolution near-field structure disk with platinum-oxide layer

Huge signal enhancement was observed by a super-resolution near-field structure disk with a platinum-oxide layer. The carrier-to-noise ratio of 200-nm-mark trains reached 46.1 dB, and 42.3 dB was obtained even at 150-nm-mark trains. The sizes of the marks were one-fifth to one-seventh of the laser spot diameter of the readout system. The cross section of the mark trains was also observed by transmission electron microscopy. It was confirmed that 200-nm-size bubble pits were rigidly formed in good separation and similar to20-nm-platinum particles precipitated inside the bubble. The computer-simulation based on the model supported the huge signal enhancement. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.