Two-dimensional subwavelength focusing using a slotted meta-screen

TL;DR

This paper introduces a scalable, loss-tolerant metascreen with subwavelength slots that focuses electromagnetic waves to a two-dimensional spot, outperforming negative-refractive-index lenses in practical scenarios.

Contribution

It presents a novel slotted meta-screen design using shifted beam theory for subwavelength focusing, scalable across frequencies, and resistant to losses.

Findings

Achieved a 0.27 λ beam width at 10 GHz

Demonstrated scalability from microwave to Terahertz frequencies

Validated design with full-wave simulations and experiments

Abstract

A transmission screen with subwavelength slots is described which can focus electromagnetic radiation to a two-dimensional subwavelength spot. Unlike negative-refractive-index focusing implementations, this "meta-screen" does not suffer from image degradation when losses are introduced and is easily scalable from microwave to Terahertz frequencies and beyond. The slotted geometry is designed using a theory of shifted beams to determine the necessary weighting factors for each slot element, which are then converted to appropriate slot dimensions. The screen was designed using a pair of rotated orthogonal focusing axes to produce a spot on a focal plane located 0.25 \lambda away. Full-wave simulations are corroborated by experimental measurements at 10 GHz reporting a full-width half-maximum beam width of 0.27 \lambda along the x-axis and 0.38 \lambda along the z-axis.