Abstract: This invention is a rewritable near-field optical medium using a zinc oxide nano-structured thin film as the localized near-field interaction layer. This rewritable near-field optical medium is a multilayered body at least comprising: (a) a substrate of transparent material; (b) a first protective and spacer layer formed on one surface of the substrate, which is made of transparent dielectric material; (c) a zinc oxide nano-structured thin film which is capable of causing localized near-field optical interactions; (d) a second protective and spacer layer formed on the localized near-field optical interaction layer, which is also made of transparent dielectric material; (e) a rewritable recording layer; (f) a third protective and spacer layer formed on the rewritable recording layer, which is also made of transparent dielectric material.

Abstract: This invention is a write-once near-field optical medium using a zinc oxide nano-structured thin film as the localized near-field optical interaction layer. This write-once near-field optical medium is a multi-layered body at least comprising: (a) a substrate of transparent material; (b) a first protective and spacer layer formed on one surface of the substrate, which is made of transparent dielectric material; (c) a zinc oxide nano-structured thin film which is capable of causing localized near-field optical interactions; (d) a second protective and spacer layer formed on the localized near-field optical interaction layer, which is also made of transparent dielectric material; (e) a write-once recording layer; (f) a third protective and spacer layer formed on the write-once recording layer, which is also made of transparent dielectric material.

Abstract: A method for reading data from high density optical recording media is disclosed. In this method, a value is generated from a formula Pr/(&lgr;/NA), wherein Pr is light source reading power; &lgr; is wavelength; and NA is numerical aperture, when the value is in a range of about 1.15 to about 8 mW/&mgr;m, a recording mark within the high density optical recording medium which is smaller than a resolution limit of an optical system is detected.

Abstract: This invention relates to a read-only near-field optical disk using a zinc-oxide (ZnO) nano-structured thin film as the localized near-field optical interaction layer. This read-only near-field optical disk is a multi-layered body at least comprising; (a) a transparent substrate with pre-recorded pits or marks; (b) a reflection thin film; (c) a zinc-oxide (ZnO) nano-structured thin film which is capable of causing localized near-field optical interactions; (d) a first and a second protective and spacer layers formed above or below the localized near-field optical interaction layer, which are also made of transparent dielectric material. Ultrahigh density near-field optical readout can be achieved by localized near-field optical interaction between the zinc-oxide (ZnO) nano-structured thin film and the reflection layer on pre-recorded structure.

Abstract: This invention is a rewritable near-field optical medium using a zinc oxide nano-structured thin film as the localized near-field interaction layer. This rewritable near-field optical medium is a multilayered body at least comprising: (a) a substrate of transparent material; (b) a first protective and spacer layer formed on one surface of the substrate, which Is made of transparent dielectric material; (c) a zinc oxide nano-structured thin film which is capable of causing localized near-field optical interactions; (d) a second protective and spacer layer formed on the localized near-field optical interaction layer, which is also made of transparent dielectric material; (e) a rewritable recording layer; (f) a third protective and spacer layer formed on the rewritable recording layer, which is also made of transparent dielectric material.