Near-field dielectric optics near the thermodynamic limit

Abstract

Practical aplanatic optics crafted from transparent dielectrics can approach the thermodynamic limit for radiative transfer in near-field systems. Designs are presented for the particularly challenging realm of high numerical aperture (NA) at the source and/or target. These light couplers can alleviate difficulties in aligning system components and can achieve the fundamental compactness limit for optical devices that satisfy Fermat's principle. Examples and performance estimates based on ray-trace simulations are presented. © 2006 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.