A near perfect Pendry lens: Projecting properties of a thin metal layer

Abstract

We consider the field of an evanescent wave in a space with a thin metal layer (ɛ < 0). The wavenumber of the evanescent wave appreciably exceeds the wavenumber k0 = 2π/λ0 of a uniform plane wave in spatial regions adjacent to the metal. In accordance with the Pendry result (2000), the field behind the metal layer is amplified as compared to the field in the absence of the layer. Pendry predicted this effect for a metal whose dielectric permittivity is ɛ = −1, whereas we show that the effect can also be observed for ɛ = −15 and for arbitrarily thick adjacent regions. This extends the range of possible applications of the effect. We find that the losses in the metal only weakly affect the image quality behind the metal layer.