All-angle negative refraction for surface plasmon waves using a metal-dielectric-metal structure.

We show that a metal-dielectric-metal structure can function as a negative refraction lens for surface plasmon waves on a metal surface. The structure is uniform with respect to a plane of incidence and operates at the optical frequency range. Using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations, we demonstrate the imaging operation of the structure with realistic material parameters including dispersions and losses. Our design should facilitate the demonstration of many novel effects associated with negative refraction on chip at optical wavelength ranges. In addition, this structure provides a new way of controlling the propagation of surface plasmons, which are important for nanoscale manipulation of optical waves.

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