Scanning Optical Microscopy: A Powerful Tool for Studying the Physical and Optical Processes in Optical Recording.

A Scanning Optical Microscope (SOM) detects variations in the optical reflection of a focussed laser beam from a surface, and therefore the information it gives is directly comparable to the response of an optical disc player/recorder. However, being a microscope, it is not limited to signals along a single line across a surface (as in a recorder), but can provide 2-Dimensional images of local regions of the surface under a variety of optical detection schemes, resolutions and aberrations. It can thereby not only model the optical recorder response, but provide quantitative information on the physical origin of the contrast observed. In this summary we will briefly outline the possible uses of the SOM as a tool in Optical Recording, and provide a few examples of its application.