Quick search Find article
Quick search
Find article
Deutsche Physikalische Gessellschaft IOP Institute of Physics

Perfect imaging without negative refraction

Ulf Leonhardt

Show affiliations


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



  1. Perfect imaging without negative refraction

    Ulf Leonhardt 2009 New J. Phys. 11 093040

  2. SSSPM J1549–3544 Is Not a White Dwarf

    J. Farihi et al 2005 ApJ 627 L41

  3. Resonances in dissociative electron attachment to water

    N Bhargava Ram et al 2009 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 42 225203

  4. An approximate formula for the capacitance–void fraction relationship for annular flows

    Sin Kim et al 2009 Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 125404

  5. Applying dual-laser spot positions measurement technology on a two-dimensional tracking measurement system

    Hau-Wei Lee and Chieh-Li Chen 2009 Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 125103

  6. Probe absorptions in an asymmetric double quantum well

    Wen-Xing Yang et al 2009 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 42 225501

  7. Double photoionization of helium including quadrupole radiation effects

    J A Ludlow et al 2009 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 42 225204

  8. Integral cross sections for electron-impact excitation of the C 3Πu, E 3Σ+g and a'' 1Σ+g states of N2

    C P Malone et al 2009 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 42 225202

  9. Fixed kernel regression for voltammogram feature extraction

    F J Acevedo Rodriguez et al 2009 Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 125202

  10. Noise in MEMS

    F Mohd-Yasin et al 2010 Meas. Sci. Technol. 21 012001

Related review articles

What's this?
View review articles related to this research to gain an insight into the key trends in this subject area. Related review articles are selected based on PACS/MSC codes, and are no more than three years old.

  1. Laser methods for detecting explosive residues on surfaces of distant objects
  2. Active spectral imaging for standoff detection of explosives
  3. Image deblurring with Poisson data: from cells to galaxies
More

View by subject




Export








Please login to access our web services, or create an account if you don't yet have one.

You must have cookies enabled in your web browser to be able to login.

Username
Password

Forgotten your password? Get a new one here.