Negative refraction and subwavelength lensing in a polaritonic crystal

Abstract

We show that a two-dimensional polaritonic crystal, made of metallic rods that support well defined plasmon oscillations, can act in a narrow frequency range as a medium in which a negative refraction and subwavelength lensing can occur. We show that surface modes are excited on the surface of the lens, and that they facilitate restoration of the evanescent waves, which carry the subwavelength image information. We demonstrate that this can occur in the visible frequency range, for a wide range of materials, including silver and aluminum rods, and carbon nanotubes. This flexibility should allow for an experimental demonstration of this phenomenon in the visible frequency range.