Experimental verification of broadband superlensing using a metamaterial with an extreme index of refraction

Abstract

Here, we report the experimental realization of a flat near-field lens formed by an array of densely packed crossed metallic wires. It is shown that due to the unusually strong electric response of the inclusions, the metamaterial slab may enhance the deep subwavelength spatial spectrum of a given source. It is experimentally demonstrated that when the superlens is placed in between the source and the image planes, keeping the propagation distance in the air regions unchanged, the resolution is boosted by a factor of 2 over a broad bandwidth that may exceed 25% the frequency of operation.