IMAGING THE IRRADIANCE DISTRIBUTION IN THE OPTICAL NEAR-FIELD

This letter describes the use of a sensitive photoresist for direct im aging of optical intensity profiles in near-field photolithographic ex periments. A comparison between experimental patterns in exposed, deve loped photoresist and calculated profiles of intensity shows that this procedure provides a reliable semiquantitative image of the irradianc e distribution in the near field; experiment and theory correlate adeq uately. A potential use of the superficial diffraction contrast record ed in photoresist as the basis for a new method of the fabrication of nanostructures is discussed. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics. [ S0003-6951(97)02052-4].