Limitations and potentials of metamaterial lenses

Xing-Xiang Liu; Andrea Alu

doi:10.1117/1.3578138

1 January 2011 Limitations and potentials of metamaterial lenses

Xing-Xiang Liu, Andrea Alu

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Nanophotonics, Vol. 5, Issue 1, 053509 (January 2011). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3578138

Abstract

The seminal discovery that an ideal negative-index lens may overcome Abbe's diffraction limit has raised enormous interest in the field of metamaterials and of subwavelength focusing. This finding is based on the anomalous wave propagation in ideally isotropic and homogeneous metamaterials with negative index of refraction and low loss, provided they are available. We have designed a metamaterial lens based on one of the simplest metamaterial geometries, a cubic array of spheres, with the aim of verifying its imaging properties in a practical configuration. After a rigorous homogenization, we have shown that, for suitable designs, the effective bulk parameters may indeed provide a quasi-isotropic negative-index response, ideal for imaging applications. We have then tested the imaging properties for finite-size lenses, analyzing challenges and potentials of going beyond the diffraction limit in a practical setup. We have also explored an alternative venue to exploit the negative-index property of the designed metamaterial in a concave lens, in order to resolve subwavelength features in the far-field. Our results indicate that, although subwavelength resolution and evanescent-wave amplification are possible in metamaterial arrays, practical imaging beyond the diffraction limit is challenging and a careful design should consider the granularity, degree of isotropy, and transverse size of the metamaterial lens.

Citation Download Citation

Xing-Xiang Liu and Andrea Alu "Limitations and potentials of metamaterial lenses," Journal of Nanophotonics 5(1), 053509 (1 January 2011). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3578138

Published: 1 January 2011

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available