Near-field examination of perovskite-based superlenses and superlens-enhanced probe-object coupling

Abstract

A planar slab of negative index material works as a superlens with sub-diffraction-limited imaging resolution, since propagating waves are focused and, moreover, evanescent waves are reconstructed in the image plane. Here, we demonstrate a superlens for electric evanescent fields with low losses using perovskites in the mid-infrared regime. The combination of near-field microscopy with a tunable free-electron laser allows us to address precisely the polariton modes, which are critical for super-resolution imaging. We spectrally study the lateral and vertical distributions of evanescent waves around the image plane of such a lens, and achieve imaging resolution of wavelength/14 at the superlensing wavelength. Interestingly, at certain distances between the probe and sample surface, we observe a maximum of these evanescent fields. Comparisons with numerical simulations indicate that this maximum originates from an enhanced coupling between probe and object, which might be applicable for multifunctional circuits, infrared spectroscopy, and thermal sensors.

arXiv comment20 pages, 6 figures, published as open access article in Nature Communications (see http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)

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• Infrared nanoscopy down to liquid helium temperatures
• Variable-temperature lightwave-driven scanning tunneling microscope with a compact, turn-key terahertz source
• Low-loss far-infrared surface phonon polaritons in suspended SrTiO3 nanomembranes
• Amplifying Evanescent Waves by Dispersion-induced Plasmons: Defying the Materials Limitation of Superlens