Enhancing imaging systems using transformation optics.

We apply the transformation optical technique to modify or improve conventional refractive and gradient index optical imaging devices. In particular, when it is known that a detector will terminate the paths of rays over some surface, more freedom is available in the transformation approach, since the wave behavior over a large portion of the domain becomes unimportant. For the analyzed configurations, quasi-conformal and conformal coordinate transformations can be used, leading to simplified constitutive parameter distributions that, in some cases, can be realized with isotropic index; index-only media can be low-loss and have broad bandwidth. We apply a coordinate transformation to flatten a Maxwell fish-eye lens, forming a near-perfect relay lens; and also flatten the focal surface associated with a conventional refractive lens, such that the system exhibits an ultra-wide field-of-view with reduced aberration.

Guiding light with conformal transformations.

The past decade has seen a revolution in electromagnetics due to the development of metamaterials. These artificial composites have been fashioned to exhibit exotic effects such as a negative index of refraction. However, the full potential of metamaterial devices has only been hinted at. By combining metamaterials with transformation optics (TO), researchers have demonstrated an invisibility cloak. Subsequently, quasi-conformal mapping was used to create a device that exhibited a broadband cloaking effect. Here we extend this latter approach to a strictly conformal mapping to create reflection less, inherently isotropic, and broadband photonic devices. Our method combines the novel effects of TO with the practicality of all-dielectric construction. We show that our structures are capable of guiding light in an almost arbitrary fashion over an unprecedented range of frequencies.

A metamaterial absorber for the terahertz regime: design, fabrication and characterization.

We present a metamaterial that acts as a strongly resonant absorber at terahertz frequencies. Our design consists of a bilayer unit cell which allows for maximization of the absorption through independent tuning of the electrical permittivity and magnetic permeability. An experimental absorptivity of 70% at 1.3 terahertz is demonstrated. We utilize only a single unit cell in the propagation direction, thus achieving an absorption coefficient alpha = 2000 cm(-1). These metamaterials are promising candidates as absorbing elements for thermally based THz imaging, due to their relatively low volume, low density, and narrow band response.