Broadband Wide Angle Lens Implemented with Dielectric Metamaterials

Sensors

John Hunt²  Nathan Kundtz²  Nathan Landy²  Vinh Nguyen²  Tim Perram¹  Anthony Starr¹ 

[1] SensorMetrix, San Diego, CA 92121, USA; E-Mails:;Center for Metamaterials and Integrated Plasmonics, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; E-Mails:

关键词: metamaterials;    transformation optics;    gradient index;    Luneburg lens;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s110807982

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The Luneburg lens is a powerful imaging device, exhibiting aberration free focusing for parallel rays incident from any direction. However, its advantages are offset by a focal surface that is spherical and thus difficult to integrate with standard planar detector and emitter arrays. Using the recently developed technique of transformation optics, it is possible to transform the curved focal surface to a flat plane while maintaining the perfect focusing behavior of the Luneburg over a wide field of view. Here we apply these techniques to a lesser-known refractive Luneburg lens and implement the design with a metamaterial composed of a semi-crystalline distribution of holes drilled in a dielectric. In addition, we investigate the aberrations introduced by various approximations made in the implementation of the lens. The resulting design approach has improved mechanical strength with small aberrations and is ideally suited to implementation at infrared and visible wavelengths.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.