Subwavelength focusing of light in the planar anisotropic metamaterials with zone plates.

We present here a structure with just a single slit covering the planar anisotropic metamaterial. The metamaterial has hyperbolic dispersion and can be realized using metal-dielectric multilayers. The structure combines the focusing performance of the zone plates and subwavelength resolution of the anisotropic metamaterials so that subwavelength focal spots can be obtained at the focal plane. The relationship between the focal spot size and slit width has been investigated, and a resolution of 36 nm about 1/10 of 365 nm incident wavelength is obtained with a 100 nm wide single slit.

[1]  R. H. Ritchie.  Plasma Losses by Fast Electrons in Thin Films , 1957 .

[2]  V. Veselago.  The Electrodynamics of Substances with Simultaneously Negative Values of ∊ and μ , 1968 .

[3]  J. Pendry,et al.  Negative refraction makes a perfect lens , 2000, Physical review letters.

[4]  Xiangang Luo,et al.  Surface plasmon resonant interference nanolithography technique , 2004 .

[5]  V. Podolskiy,et al.  Near-sighted superlens. , 2004, Optics letters.

[6]  N. Fang,et al.  Sub–Diffraction-Limited Optical Imaging with a Silver Superlens , 2005, Science.

[7]  D. Tsai,et al.  Directed subwavelength imaging using a layered metal-dielectric system , 2006, physics/0608170.

[8]  Simin Feng,et al.  Diffraction-suppressed high-resolution imaging through metallodielectric nanofilms. , 2006, Optics express.

[9]  David R. Smith,et al.  Controlling Electromagnetic Fields , 2006, Science.

[10]  Zhaowei Liu,et al.  Far-Field Optical Hyperlens Magnifying Sub-Diffraction-Limited Objects , 2007, Science.

[11]  R. Merlin,et al.  Radiationless Electromagnetic Interference: Evanescent-Field Lenses and Perfect Focusing , 2007, Science.

[12]  Zubin Jacob,et al.  Optical hyperlens: far-field imaging beyond the diffraction limit , 2006, SPIE NanoScience + Engineering.

[13]  Michael Scalora,et al.  Negative refraction and subwavelength imaging using transparent metal-dielectric stacks , 2006 .

[14]  Jerry Sobieski,et al.  An experimental demonstration of a soft-failure approach to PMD mitigation in an installed optical link. , 2007, Optics express.

[15]  Yi Xiong,et al.  Development of optical hyperlens for imaging below the diffraction limit. , 2007, Optics express.

[16]  Changtao Wang,et al.  Subwavelength imaging with anisotropic structure comprising alternately layered metal and dielectric films. , 2008, Optics express.

[17]  Changtao Wang,et al.  Far-field imaging device: planar hyperlens with magnification using multi-layer metamaterial. , 2008, Optics express.

[18]  Anthony Grbic,et al.  Near-Field Plates: Subdiffraction Focusing with Patterned Surfaces , 2008, Science.

[19]  Demagnifing super resolution imaging based on surface plasmon structures. , 2008, Optics express.

[20]  S. Thongrattanasiri,et al.  Hypergratings: nanophotonics in planar anisotropic metamaterials. , 2008, Optics letters.

[21]  Huawei Zhao.  Optical ensemble analysis of intraocular lens performance through a simulated clinical trial with ZEMAX. , 2009, Optics letters.