Effect of polarization on a solid immersion lens of arbitrary thickness.

A solid immersion lens can be applied for high-resolution subsurface analysis of integrated circuits and other physical systems. We present a thorough analysis of the focal field distribution of a solid immersion lens system of arbitrary thickness. Cases of linearly and radially polarized illumination are examined and accurate expressions derived for the electric field in the image space.

Self-aligned nanolithography by selective polymer dissolution.

We report a novel approach to the fabrication of self-aligned nanoscale trench structures in a thin polymer layer covering on conductive materials. By passing AC current through a polymer-coated nanowire in the presence of an appropriate solvent, a self-aligned nanotrench is formed in the polymer overlayer as a result of accelerated dissolution while the rest of the device remains covered. Similar results have been achieved for polymer-coated graphene ribbons.