Improving resolution of superlens based on solid immersion mechanism

Super-resolution imaging with superlens has been one of the fundamental research topics. Unfortunately, the resolution of superlens is inevitably restrained by material loss. To address the problem, we introduce the solid immersion mechanism into the slab superlens and the cylindrical superlens. The proposed solid immersion slab superlens(SISSL) and the solid immersion cylindrical superlens(SICSL) can improve the resolution by converting evanescent wave to propagating wave using high refractive index materials. From the perspective of applications, the cylindrical superlens with finite cross section and the ability of magnification or demagnification has more advantages than the slab superlens. Therefore,we focus on demonstrating analytically the super-resolution imaging of SICSL. Due to the impedance mismatching caused by solid immersion mechanism, the whispering gallery modes(WGMs) are excited between SICSL and the air interface.We clarify the excitation conditions of WGMs and analyze their influence on the imaging quality of SICSL. The SISSL and SICSL may pave a way to apply in lithography technique and real-time biomolecular imaging in future.

A waveguide metasurface based quasi-far-field transverse-electric superlens

The imaging capability of conventional lenses is mainly limited by the diffraction of light,and the so-called superlens has been developed allowing the recovery of evanescent waves in the focal plane.However,the remarkable focusing behavi-or of the superlens is greatly confined in the near-field regime due to the exponential decay of evanescent waves.To tackle this issue,we design a waveguide metasurface-based superlens with an extraordinary quasi-far-field focusing capability beyond the diffraction limit in the present work.Specifically,we analyze the underlying physical mechanism and provide experimental verification of the proposed superlens.The metasurface superlens is formed by an array of gradient nanoslits perforated in a gold slab,and supports transverse-electric(TE)waveguide modes under linearly polar-ized illumination along the long axis of the slits.Numerical results illustrate that exciting such TE waveguide modes can modulate not only optical phase but also evanescent waves.Consequently,some high-spatial-frequency waves can con-tribute to the focusing of the superlens,leading to the quasi-far-field super-resolution focusing of light.Under 405 nm illu-mination and oil immersion,the fabricated superlens shows a focus spot of 98 nm(i.e.λ/4.13)at a focal distance of 1.49μm(i.e.3.68λ)using an oil immersion objective,breaking the diffraction limit ofλ/2.38 in the quasi-far field regime.The developed metasurface optical superlens with such extraordinary capabilities promises exciting avenues to nanolitho-graphy and ultra-small optoelectronic devices.

Far-field superlens for nanolithography

A far-field optical lithography is developed in this paper. By designing the structure of a far-field optical superlens, lithographical resolution can be improved by using a conventional UV light source. The finite different time domain numerical studies indicate that the lithographic resolution at 50 nm line width is achievable with the structure shown in this paper by using 365 nm wavelength light, and the light can be transferred to a far distance in the photoresist.

Revolutionary meta-imaging:from superlens to metalens

The refractive-lens technique has been well developed over a long period of evolution,offering powerful imaging functionalities,such as microscopes,telescopes,and spectroscopes.Nevertheless,the ever-growing requirements continue to urge further enhanced imaging capabilities and upgraded devices that are more compact for convenience.Metamaterial as a fascinating concept has inspired unprecedented new explorations in physics,material science,and optics,not only in fundamental researches but also novel applications.Along with the imaging topic,this paper reviews the progress of the flat lens as an important branch of metamaterials,covering the early superlens with super-diffraction capability and current hot topics of metalenses including a paralleled strategy of multilevel diffractive lenses.Numerous efforts and approaches have been dedicated to areas ranging from the new fascinating physics to feasible applications.This review provides a clear picture of the flat-lens evolution from the perspective of metamaterial design,elucidating the relation and comparison between a superlens and metalens,and addressing derivative designs.Finally,application scenarios that favor the ultrathin lens technique are emphasized with respect to possible revolutionary imaging devices,followed by conclusive remarks and prospects.

Design and analysis of superlens based on complex two-dimensional square lattice photonic crystal

We theoretically demonstrate the imaging properties of a complex two-dimensional(2D) face-centered square lattice photonic crystal(PC) made from germanium cylinders in air background. The finitedifference time-domain(FDTD) method is employed to calculate the band structure and simulate image construction. The band diagram of the complex structure is significantly compressed. Negative refraction occurs in the second energy band with negative phase velocity at a frequency of 0.228(2πc/a), which is lower than results from previous studies. Lower negative refraction frequency leads to higher image resolution. Numerical results show that the spatial resolution of the system reaches 0.7296λ, which is lower than the incident wavelength.

Novel optical lithography using silver superlens

This work has demonstrated that with silver superlens, the resolution of conventional optical lithography can be improved significantly. Experimental and simulative results are given to verify the facts that the resolution and the pattern fidelity are sensitive to the contact tightness between layers.

Gabor superlens with variable focus

In this Letter,a Gabor superlens with variable focus is presen ted.This configuration uses tunable liquid lenses in the third microlens array of the Gabor superlens.By applying voltage,the radius of curvature of the microtunable doublet arrays changes,and the Gabor conditions are fulfilled at different focal planes.As a consequence,the magnification of the image at the focal planes changes,and a zoom effect is observed.The marginal depth plane for this system goes from 0.86 to 0.89 mm.The optical simulation,calculations,and results of the simulated optical system performance are presented.

Elastic metamaterials with local resonances:an overview

Metamaterials are artificial composite materials engineered to have properties that may not be found in nature. By exploring locally resonant effect of the building units, elastic metamaterials are able to possess negative values of effective mass, effective bulk or shear modulus. Mass-spring and continuum material versions of these elastic metamaterials are reported and the physical mechanisms of negative effective parameters are demonstrated. Applications of metamaterials to acoustic cloaking and superlensing are also discussed.

Negative Index Materials and Their Applications:Recent Mathematics Progress(Dedicated to Ham Brezis for his 70th birthday with esteem)

Negative index materials are artificial structures whose refractive index has negative value over some frequency range. These materials were first investigated theoretically by Veselago in 1946 and were confirmed experimentally by Shelby, Smith, and Schultz in2001. Mathematically, the study of negative index materials faces two difficulties. Firstly,the equations describing the phenomenon have sign changing coefficients, hence the ellipticity and the compactness are lost in general. Secondly, the localized resonance, i.e.,the field explodes in some regions and remains bounded in some others as the loss goes to 0, might appear. In this survey, the author discusses recent mathematics progress in understanding properties of negative index materials and their applications. The topics are reflecting complementary media, superlensing and cloaking by using complementary media, cloaking a source via anomalous localized resonance, the limiting absorption principle and the well-posedness of the Helmholtz equation with sign changing coefficients.