A silicon superlens with a simple design working at visible wavelengths

Liwei Fu; Karsten Frenner; Huiyu Li; Wolfgang Osten

doi:10.1117/12.2228349

26 April 2016 A silicon superlens with a simple design working at visible wavelengths

Liwei Fu, Karsten Frenner, Huiyu Li, Wolfgang Osten

Proceedings Volume 9890, Optical Micro- and Nanometrology VI; 98900I (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2228349
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2016, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

Nano-imaging has imposed a fundamental impact on the development of nanoscience and technology. The demands for direct subwavelength imaging in far field have been significantly increased. Such a superlens needs first to be able to collect the near field information, and then transform it into the far field with magnification and low image distortion. In this contribution we demonstrate a superlens with a novel design for far field observation at visible wavelengths. The lens is based on a silicon half cylinder with several micrometers in size. Without any structuring, the silicon semicylinder can already work as a lens with high resolving power due to its high refractive index. A distance of 280 nm between two incoherent dipoles immersed in water can be well resolved at a wavelength of 640 nm. Deep subwavelength imaging with magnification can be achieved when the flat surface of the semi-cylinder is structured with periodic plasmonic grating. When a ridge of the grating is centered at the optical axis of the lens, a local magnification factor of 10 can be obtained and the smallest resolvable distance between two point dipoles in water is around 120 nm at 640 nm wavelength. Moreover, this superlens also works at other visible wavelengths with a similar performance.

Citation Download Citation

Liwei Fu, Karsten Frenner, Huiyu Li, and Wolfgang Osten "A silicon superlens with a simple design working at visible wavelengths", Proc. SPIE 9890, Optical Micro- and Nanometrology VI, 98900I (26 April 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2228349

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KEYWORDS

Plasmonics

Near field optics

Near field

Geometrical optics

Silver

Super resolution

Refractive index

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