Photonic crystals Imaging by flat lens using negative refraction

The positive refractive index of conventional optical lenses means that they need curved surfaces to form an image, whereas a negative index of refraction allows a flat slab of a material to behave as a lens and focus electromagnetic waves to produce a real image. Here we demonstrate this unique fea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature 2003-11, Vol.426 (6965), p.404-404
Main Authors: Sridhar, Srinivas, Parimi, Patanjali V, Lu, Wentao T, Vodo, Plarenta
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The positive refractive index of conventional optical lenses means that they need curved surfaces to form an image, whereas a negative index of refraction allows a flat slab of a material to behave as a lens and focus electromagnetic waves to produce a real image. Here we demonstrate this unique feature of imaging by a flat lens, using the phenomenon of negative refraction in a photonic crystalline material. The key advance that enabled us to make this observation lies in the design of a photonic crystal with suitable dispersion characteristics to achieve negative refraction over a wide range of angles.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/426404a