Ultrahigh density near-field optical storage

Summary form only given. We discuss a near-field optical storage system based on a semiconductor laser that is placed within 25-200 nm of a storage medium using flying head techniques commonly used in magnetic storage. The relatively large powers (>10 /spl mu/W) radiating from the laser enable data rates of larger than 10 Mbit/s while the vicinity of the head to media presents the possibility of storage densities in excess of 50 Gbit/in/sup 2/. Such a performance presents this technique as a viable option for ultrahigh density storage.