Abstract

We show that diffraction can be suppressed in a realistic one-dimensional metallodielectric stack (MDS) at visible wavelengths to achieve super-resolution imaging. In our calculations we use two popular techniques, which can be adapted to investigate the imaging properties of MDSs.

The two methods are the transfer matrix method (TMM) and the Finite element method (FEM) and they are compared with one another for consistency, when possible. We demonstrate the robustness and reliability of the full vector nature FEM without omitting the scattered fields and executed using appropriate boundary conditions. Our designs use material parameters taken from measured data and we use structures that can be achieved with the current state of art in nanofabrication technology. Calculations and experiments show that MDSs composed of periodic films, have a high signal throughput and are excellent candidates for widely tunable super-resolution devices.