Record-breaking superlens smashes diffraction limit

June 11, 2009 | Source: the physics arXiv blog

A new superlens that could make it possible to film molecules in action in real time with visible light has been developed by HP Labs researchers.

The lens takes advantage of subwavelength details in evanescent components of light, which can propagate in a material with a negative refractive index. To achieve a record-breaking resolution of 1/12th of the wavelength of light, the researchers grew smooth silver film just a few tens of nanometers thick on a layer of germanium, forcing the silver to form a smooth thin film.