Plasmonic data storage medium with metallic nano-aperture array embedded in dielectric material.

We propose a plasmonic data storage medium with a high-transmission metal aperture array embedded in a dielectric material. Bowtie apertures, having an outline of 80 nm and a ridge gap of 30 nm, are arranged in a two dimensional array with a bit pitch of 100 nm and a track pitch of 280 nm. Using the finite differential time domain (FDTD) method, we calculate the exposure power needed to record optical data, the contrast for readability of recorded data, and cross talk between the main track and adjacent tracks. Compared to a conventional blu-ray disc, the exposure power needed to record optical data in the proposed plasmonic data storage medium is less than a quarter of the conventional threshold power, and the density of the data storage is about 1.8 times larger.