Rapid growth of evanescent wave by a silver superlens

Recent theoretical work suggested the possibility of constructing a super-resolution diffraction-free lens by using a negative refractive index medium (NRIM). The key proposition is that evanescent waves can be greatly enhanced by increasing the thickness of the NRIM. We report here experimental evidence that confirms that the transmission of evanescent waves rapidly grows with the film thickness up to about 50 nm, after which it decays as loss becomes significant. These findings represent the first step toward the understanding and realization of a diffraction-free lens. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.