MetaMaterials Program

Funded by DOE-BES-MSED

Xiang Zhang, Program Leader
Yuen Ron Shen, Co-P.I.

Metamaterials enable the realization of novel physical properties that are unattainable from natural materials. Theoretical and preliminary experimental studies have shown that it is possible to make electromagnetic metamaterials with unprecedented characteristics such as left-handedness with simultaneous negative permittivity and permeability, perfect lens that focus electromagnetic waves far below the diffraction limit, and artificial magnetism from nonmagnetic materials. However, the research in optical metamaterials is rather limited due to the fundamental challenges in physical science, materials physics and characterizations. To address these critical challenges, this project sets to explore novel optical metamaterial physics. In particular, is it fundamentally possible to have a 3D far-field optical lens with diffractionless imaging resolution by recovering evanescent waves through a negative index medium? We believe that the fundamental discoveries from this project will have profound impacts on a wide range of applications such as nanolithography, sub-diffraction limited optical microscopy, high speed optical communications and nanophotonics for energy conversion with high efficiency.

The research to be performed can be described in terms of three phases. In Phase I, Zhang is devoting time to the theory and modeling of 2D sub-diffraction hyperlens, so as to estimate the best polarization condition for the imaging. In Phase II, Zhang will be responsible for metamaterials sample fabrication at LBNL and UC Berkeley. Finally, in Phase III of the proposed work, various optical characterizations will be performed by Shen.