High refractive index nanocomposite cover-layer for optical storage media

Abstract A nanocomposite cover-layer consisting of a UV curable resin and TiO 2 nanoparticles, a dielectric cover-layer, and a hybrid cover-layer for near-field optical recording media are prepared and characterized. The dielectric and the nanocomposite cover-layers with a refractive index of about 1.95 showed a rough surface, which yields collisions between a solid immersion lens and a cover-layer during the near-field gap servo test. A smooth surface with a nanocomposite cover-layer can be obtained by reducing the refractive index to less than 1.86, which results in a successful gap servo without the collision.