Planar lens
AssigneePurdue Research Foundation
InventorsAlexander V. Kildishev, Vladimir M. Shalaev
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A design method, apparatus, and fabrication method for structures for controlling the flow of electromagnetic energy at a sub-wavelength scale is disclosed. Transformational optics principles are used as a starting point for the design of structures that operate as, for example, hyperlenses or concentrators such that evanescent waves at a first surface are radiated in the far field at a second surface. Plane waves incident at a first surface may be focused to a spot size substantially smaller than a wavelength, so as to interact with objects at the focal point, or be re-radiated.
Claims40
An apparatus for controlling the flow of electromagnetic waves, comprising:
- a structure fabricated from a metamaterial, having a spatial variation of electromagnetic properties,
- wherein the structure has a first surface and a second surface disposed on different faces of the structure, and the spatial variation of electromagnetic properties is such that, at least in a portion of the structure, a permittivity of the metamaterial is anisotropic in two directions of an orthogonal coordinate system mapping the input surface to the output surface, and
- an evanescent wave incident at the first surface is radiated as a far-field electromagnetic wave at the second surface.
A method of fabricating an electromagnetic wave control structure for operating at a wavelength comprising:
- forming a mold on a surface,
- depositing layers of a substantially electromagnetically transparent material and of a negative permittivity material onto the mold to a thickness such that an upper layer is substantially planar,
- applying a polymer support layer to the upper layer, and
- removing the mold.
A method of fabricating an electromagnetic-wave-control structure for operating at a wavelength comprising:
- defining an etch mask for a first component material of a metamaterial;
- etching the first component material;
- and
- filling the regions removed by etching with a second component material,
- wherein one of the first or the second component materials is substantially electromagnetically transparent and the other material has a negative permittivity, and at least one component of the permittivity tensor is of the metamaterial is negative in a portion of the structure, and the permittivity tensor varies in value with position within the structure.
A method of designing a light guiding structure, comprising the steps of:
- selecting a wavelength of operation;
- identifying a first surface of the structure as an input surface for electromagnetic energy;
- identifying a second surface of the structure as an output surface of the structure;
- selecting a orthogonal coordinate system such that a first surface of the coordinate system surfaces substantially coincides with the first surface;
- and
- computing a spatial variation of a metamaterial of the structure such that electromagnetic energy is guided from the first surface to the second surface;
- wherein a permittivity of at least two of the tensor components of the metamaterial are of different signs in at least a portion of the structure.
A computer program product, stored on a machine readable media, comprising:
- instructions for configuring a computer to perform the steps of:
- accepting a selected wavelength value;
- accepting configuration data defining a structure having at least an input surface and an output surface;
- selecting a orthogonal coordinate system such that a first iso-surface of the coordinate system surfaces substantially coincides with the first surface;
- and
- computing a spatial variation of a metamaterial of the structure such that electromagnetic energy is guided from the first surface to the second surface;
- wherein an evanescent wave incident at the first surface is radiated as a far-field electromagnetic wave at the second surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.