Chinese and British scientists create highest-resolution superlens
- New technique creates lens that can detect images that are just tens of nanometres in size, far beyond the limits of traditional microscopes
- The research was led by a team from the University of Hong Kong, along with China’s National Nanoscience Centre and British superlens pioneer John Pendry
A team of Chinese and British scientists have created the highest-resolution optical imaging lens to date.
Since the 19th century, physicians have assumed that optical microscopes have a resolution limit beyond which they cannot see objects clearly.
When items are smaller than about 200 nanometers, such as some viruses, they become indistinguishable under an optical microscope.
But in 2000 the Imperial College London scientist John Pendry came up with the concept of a superlens that could get round this problem.
Superlenses, which are made of plasmonic materials that mix metals with other substances, can create images on a subwavelength scale.
“The ultimate goal of optical imaging technology is resolution. Superlenses broke this limit and astonished physicists. However, the mixed surface made with metal and electrolyte can cause severe optical loss and the problem has existed for 20 years,” said Zheng Guoxing, a Wuhan University professor who was not involved in the research.