Sub-Diffraction-Limit Imaging System with two Interfacing Hyperbolic Metamaterials

It is demonstrated that a system of two interfacing hyperbolic metamaterials may be used for direct subwavelength imaging in the visible range. The proposed configuration consists of two anisotropic photonic crystals: a multilayered metal-dielectric structure and an adjoined wired structure. The results of analytical calculations and numerical modeling show that the light emitted by a dipole placed on the top of the multilayered structure propagates within a narrow cone along the direction $\mathbf{n}$, where $\mathrm{Re}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\epsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega},\mathbf{n})=0$. Owing to impedance matching and negative refraction at the interface, a bright image with a maximum transverse size of approximately $50$ nm is focused in the wired structure at the wavelength $\ensuremath{\lambda}=670$ nm.