Transformation-optics-based nanopattern recognition

We introduce a complementary-medium-based matched filter synthesized through transformation optics (TO) for the recognition of nanopatterns at visible frequencies. The recognition is independent of the spatial position of the nanopatterns and is unrelated to the existence of other noise structures. Analytical results are verified by numerical simulations. Our results can linearly scale down to much smaller nanopatterns and may inspire new interesting applications of TO in biology, medicine, and chemistry for nondestructive and label-free discrimination imaging of biological cells, protein macromolecules, and organic tissues with linear optical systems instead of nonlinear optics. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America