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Deutsche Physikalische Gessellschaft IOP Institute of Physics

Perfect imaging without negative refraction

Ulf Leonhardt

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Perfect imaging has been believed to rely on negative refraction, but here we show that an ordinary positively refracting optical medium may form perfect images as well. In particular, we establish a mathematical proof that Maxwell's fish eye in two-dimensional (2D) integrated optics makes a perfect instrument with a resolution not limited by the wavelength of light. We also show how to modify the fish eye such that perfect imaging devices can be made in practice. Our method of perfect focusing may also find applications outside of optics, in acoustics, fluid mechanics or quantum physics, wherever waves obey the 2D Helmholtz equation.


PACS

42.30.Va Image forming and processing

07.60.-j Optical instruments and equipment

42.25.Gy Edge and boundary effects; reflection and refraction

42.82.-m Integrated optics

Subjects

Instrumentation and measurement

Optics, quantum optics and lasers

Dates

Issue 9 (September 2009)

Received 4 July 2009

Published 29 September 2009



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