title: Experimental characterization of the transfer function for a Silver-dielectric superlens.
abstract: We describe a technique for experimentally determining the spatial-frequency modulation transfer function for near-field super-resolution imaging systems and present such a modulation transfer function for a 20|40|20 nm poly(vinyl alcohol)~(PVA)|Silver|PVA superlens exposed to 365 nm wavelength (i-line) radiation through a 50-nm thick tungsten mask. An extensive spectral characterization is achieved from only two exposures, with transmission coefficients determined for spatial frequencies as high as 13 µm-1, corresponding to λ / 4.75. The resulting transfer function is in good agreement with analytical models that incorporate the effects of mask-superlens interactions.
authors.affiliation: MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. c.moore@elec.canterbury.ac.nz
authors.forename: Ciaran P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Blaikie
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007909:Lenses; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012834:Silver