2 D ec 2 00 8 Super - resolution without Evanescent Waves

The last decade has seen numerous efforts to achieve imaging resolution beyond that of the Abbe-Rayleigh diffraction limit. The main direction of research aiming to break this limit seeks to exploit the evanescent components containing fine detail of the electromagnetic field distribution at the immediate proximity of the object. Here we propose a solution that removes the need for evanescent fields. The object being imaged or stimulated with sub-wavelength accuracy does not need to be in the immediate proximity of the superlens or field concentrator: an optical mask can be designed that creates constructive interference of waves known as superoscillation, leading to a sub-wavelength focus of prescribed size and shape in a ‘field of view’ beyond the evanescent fields, when illuminated by a monochromatic wave. Moreover, we demonstrate that such a mask may be used not only as a focusing device, but also as a super-resolution imaging device.