Electrodynamics of the Planar Negative Index Lens

We analyze a planar lens with negative index of refraction to develop analytical expressions describing EM evanescent and propagating waves. Resolution, field magnitude, and field intensity of the superlens is identical for equal absorption and gain parameters. Subwavelength resolution is achieved by the Planar NIM lens in the near-field regime due to amplification and recovery of evanescent field components. A delta source Green’s function and exact transfer functions for the system were used to define the transition to diffraction limited imaging behavior as a function of system absorption and size. Far-field analysis was performed by calculating fields using a Fresnel integral to show asymmetric field confinement and diffraction limited resolution.