Experimental and theoretical investigation on the misalignment tolerance of a micron-sized solid immersion lens

We report an experimental and theoretical study on the alignment error tolerance of a 2 μm-size solid immersion lens (SIL) illuminated by different types of focused spots. Tightly confined focal spots are of great interest for improving the performance of many optical systems, so that a study on the alignment tolerance is of interest. In particular, it was found that micro-SILs can be largely misaligned with respect to the optical axis of an objective lens focusing light onto it and yet allow for a reasonably good immersed spot. In fact, a displacement of approximately 400 nm, i.e. one fifth of the lens diameter, is tolerable. The measurements are compared with a rigorous finite element method model for a micro-SIL, showing an excellent agreement.