Near-field enhancement and imaging in double planar polariton-resonant structures

It is shown that a system of two coupled planar material sheets possessing surface mode (polariton) resonances can be used for the purpose of evanescent field restoration and, thus, for sub-wavelength near-field imaging. The sheets are placed in free space so that they are parallel and separated by a certain distance. Due to interaction of the resonating surface modes (polaritons) of the sheets an exponential growth in the amplitude of an evanescent plane wave in the system can be achieved. This effect was predicted earlier for backward-wave (double-negative or Veselago) slab lenses. The alternative system considered here is proved to be realizable at microwaves by grids or arrays of resonant particles. The necessary electromagnetic properties of the resonating grids and the particles are investigated and established. Theoretical results are supported by microwave experiments that demonstrate amplification of evanescent modes. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.