| 摘要 |
<p>This magneto-optic method and apparatus for recording and retrieving high-density digital data employ the selective heating, beyond the Curie or compensation temperature Tc of the record material, at individual storage locations of a magnetically ordered record layer (9) in the presence of an external magnetic field for recording information by rotating the direction of polarization at the affected record locations, and the selective detection of the state of rotation of the polarization direction at information storage locations in a recording medium (7) by way of analyzing the state of rotation of the light transmitted through said record material. The writing and retrieval of information are performed by means of a sharply pointed tip (5) placed at an essentially constant distance above the recording medium (7), the sharpness of the apex (6) of said tip (5) determining the resolution and, hence, the achievable storage density. The heating of the storage locations in the record layer (9) is accomplished by means of a laser beam (1, 2) directed onto the recording medium (7) through said slidably arranged tip (5). For detecting the state of rotation of the polarization direction at the individual storage locations, a laser beam (11) travelling inside a wave guide (12) arranged in juxtaposition with said recording medium (7), is coupled into said record layer (9). The light transmitted through the record layer (9) is analyzed by said tip (5) followed by a beam-splitting prism (3) which provides the s- and p-polarized components of the light. <IMAGE></p> |
