Metasurfaces are artificially structured thin films with unusual properties on demand. Different from metamaterials, the metasurfaces change the electromagnetic waves mainly by exploiting the boundary conditions, rath...Metasurfaces are artificially structured thin films with unusual properties on demand. Different from metamaterials, the metasurfaces change the electromagnetic waves mainly by exploiting the boundary conditions, rather than the constitutive parameters in three dimensional(3D) spaces. Despite the intrinsic similarities in the operational principles, there is not a universal theory available for the understanding and design of metasurface-based devices. In this article, we propose the concept of metasurface waves(M-waves) and provide a general theory to describe the principles of them. Most importantly, it is shown that the M-waves share some fundamental properties such as extremely short wavelength, abrupt phase change and strong chromatic dispersion, which make them different from traditional bulk waves. It is shown that these properties can enable many important applications such as subwavelength imaging and lithography, planar optical devices, broadband anti-reflection, absorption and polarization conversion. Our results demonstrated unambiguously that traditional laws of diffraction, refraction, reflection and absorption should be revised by using the novel properties of M-waves. The theory provided here may pave the way for the design of new electromagnetic devices and further improvement of metasurfaces. The exotic properties of metasurfaces may also form the foundations for two new sub-disciplines called "subwavelength surface electromagnetics" and "subwavelength electromagnetics".展开更多
Subject to the diffraction limit, the resolution of conventional optical microscopy is constrained to about 200 and 500 nm in the lateral and axial planes, respectively. The advantage of optical microscopy in the life...Subject to the diffraction limit, the resolution of conventional optical microscopy is constrained to about 200 and 500 nm in the lateral and axial planes, respectively. The advantage of optical microscopy in the life sciences over electronic microscopy, especially fluorescence microscopy, drives scientists to develop novel "hacks" to reach nanoscale resolutions by optical means. In this review, three aspects of the techniques are discussed: (1) lateral super-resolution; (2) axial super-resolution; (3) super-resolution in three dimensions. The principles of how the methods achieve the cross-barrier resolution are discussed, and recent advances in current techniques are described. With these methods, the use of fluorescence microscopy is growing quickly toward a new era: fluorescence nanoscopy that will reveal 2 orders of magnitude more information on cellular structure and dynamics.展开更多
基金supported by the National Program on Key Basic Research Project(Grant No.2013CBA01700)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.61138002)
文摘Metasurfaces are artificially structured thin films with unusual properties on demand. Different from metamaterials, the metasurfaces change the electromagnetic waves mainly by exploiting the boundary conditions, rather than the constitutive parameters in three dimensional(3D) spaces. Despite the intrinsic similarities in the operational principles, there is not a universal theory available for the understanding and design of metasurface-based devices. In this article, we propose the concept of metasurface waves(M-waves) and provide a general theory to describe the principles of them. Most importantly, it is shown that the M-waves share some fundamental properties such as extremely short wavelength, abrupt phase change and strong chromatic dispersion, which make them different from traditional bulk waves. It is shown that these properties can enable many important applications such as subwavelength imaging and lithography, planar optical devices, broadband anti-reflection, absorption and polarization conversion. Our results demonstrated unambiguously that traditional laws of diffraction, refraction, reflection and absorption should be revised by using the novel properties of M-waves. The theory provided here may pave the way for the design of new electromagnetic devices and further improvement of metasurfaces. The exotic properties of metasurfaces may also form the foundations for two new sub-disciplines called "subwavelength surface electromagnetics" and "subwavelength electromagnetics".
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2005CB724302, 2010CB933901)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (60588101, 60808029)+2 种基金the National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China (2008AA030118)Shanghai Commission of Science and Technology (064119540, 08PJ14062)Shanghai Jiao Tong University Med-Engineering Fund (YG2009ZD201)
文摘Subject to the diffraction limit, the resolution of conventional optical microscopy is constrained to about 200 and 500 nm in the lateral and axial planes, respectively. The advantage of optical microscopy in the life sciences over electronic microscopy, especially fluorescence microscopy, drives scientists to develop novel "hacks" to reach nanoscale resolutions by optical means. In this review, three aspects of the techniques are discussed: (1) lateral super-resolution; (2) axial super-resolution; (3) super-resolution in three dimensions. The principles of how the methods achieve the cross-barrier resolution are discussed, and recent advances in current techniques are described. With these methods, the use of fluorescence microscopy is growing quickly toward a new era: fluorescence nanoscopy that will reveal 2 orders of magnitude more information on cellular structure and dynamics.