Meta-materials are novel photonic composites with artificial “atoms” and “molecules” that offer unparallel functionalities. For example, by structuring conductive elements we can manufacture a medium of negative permittivity and/or permeability in desired frequency ranging from microwave to infrared wavelength. Recent theory predicts that such a medium would promise “superlensing”, that is, breaking the diffraction limit in conventional optical imaging. The intricate structure of these novel metamaterials and devices necessitate development of viable manufacturing technologies, especially 3D micro/nano-manufacturing techniques. To address this challenge, we developed a unique micro-rapid prototyping system with lateral definition down to 0.6μm. Our study further reveals that the photon-material interaction in the 3D volume leads to a strong correlation of the lateral and vertical dimensions. This unique manufacturing technology shows great potential in future advanced photonic metamaterials and devices. Using microfabrication methods, we realized for the first time the artificial magnetism in terahertz frequency, as well as artificial plasma. Furthermore, at optical wavelengths, I will demonstrate that superlensing can also be realized with a thin silver film. The simulation and experimental study of this intriguing property will be presented, and I will discuss its perspective to subwavelength nanolithography.
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