Boosting the THz solid immersion microscopy performance using high-refractive index rutile (TiO2) lens
Authors:
Vladislav Zhelnov,1,a Nikita Chernomyrdin,1,2,b Anna Kucheryavenko,1,3,c Gleb Katyba,1,3,d M. Skorobogatiy4,e and Kirill Zaytsev1,2,f
Affiliations:
1 – Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia;
2 – Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Moscow, Russia;
3 – Institute of Solid State Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Russia;
4 – Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
Email:
a – vleder.zel@mail.ru
b – chernik-a@yandex.ru
c – ans.kucher@mail.ru
d – micalych@mail.ru
e – maksim.skorobogatiy@polymtl.ca
f – kirzay@gmail.com
Abstract
Terahertz (THz) solid immersion (SI) microscopy is an imaging technique providing subwavelength spatial resolution that has found many applications in recent decades [1–4]. The resolution of SI optical systems is determined by the refractive index of the SI lens material. In our work we have performed a numerical analysis using the finite-element frequency-domain method to evaluate the possibilities for improving the resolution using high-refractive index rutile (TiO2) lens. To confirm these numerical data, experiments were carried out with test objects characterized by different absorption coefficients. Simulations to boosting the THz solid immersion lens performance have shown the spatial resolution for the wide range of sample refractive indices n=1.0–5.0 and absorption coefficients α=0–1000 cm−1 by power. The calculations also have shown a strong contrast between strongly absorbing and weakly absorbing media, which, in turn, can be useful in determining the absorption coefficient and studying the hydration of objects using a rutile solid immersion microscope.
[1] N.V. Chernomyrdin et al., Applied Physics Letters 110(22), 221109 (2017)
[2] N.V. Chernomyrdin et al., Applied Physics Letters 113(11), 111102 (2018)
[3] N.V. Chernomyrdin et al., Optical Engineering 59(6) 061605 (2020)
[4] N.V. Chernomyrdin et al., Applied Physics Letters 120(11), 110501 (2022)
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Speaker
Zhelnov Vladislav
Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
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