Subwavelength focusing of light by a tapered microtube

Abstract

We propose a mechanism for subwavelength focusing at optical frequencies based on the use of a tapered microtube fabricated from a glass capillary tube. Using coherent illumination at 671nm and a near-field scanning optical microscope probe which was mounted on a 3-axis piezo nanopositioning stage, a sequence of 2-D intensity profiles were obtained. Our experimental results reveal the smallest focal spot with a near diffraction-limited full width at half-maximum of ~435nm(0.65{\lambda})at a distance of ~1.47{\mu}m (2.2{\lambda}) from the output endface of microtube. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with our numerical simulation.