Optical Switch Formation in Antimony Super-Resolution Mask Layers Induced by Picosecond Laser Pulses

Sb is a classic material of a super-resolution near field structure (super-RENS) mask layer in which the optical switch formation is often realized by nanosecond laser pulse stimulation. We achieve fast and repeatable optical switching driven by picosecond laser pulses in a proper fluence range on Sb thin films. The optical properties of Sb thin films before and after switching are studied by surface-sensitive micro-area ellipsometry. The change of optical constants after switching is less than 2% in the whole visible range. The Sb mask layer is shown to be very promising for ultrafast super-resolution optical storage applications.