A smooth optical superlens

Abstract

We demonstrate a smooth and low loss silver (Ag) optical superlens capable of resolving features at 1/12th of the illumination wavelength with high fidelity. This is made possible by utilizing state-of-the-art nanoimprint technology and intermediate wetting layer of germanium (Ge) for the growth of flat silver films with surface roughness at subnanometer scales. Our measurement of the resolved lines of 30 nm half-pitch shows a full-width at half-maximum better than 37 nm, in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. The development of this unique optical superlens leads promise to parallel imaging and nanofabrication in a single snapshot.