Using superoscillations for superresolved imaging and subwavelength focusing

Abstract

It is now well-appreciated that a bandlimited wave can possess oscillations much more rapidly than those predicted by the bandlimit itself, in a phenomenon known as superoscillation. Such superoscillations are required to be of dramatically smaller amplitude than the signal they are embedded in, and this has initially led researchers to consider them of limited use in applications. However, this view has changed in recent years and superoscillations have been employed in a number of systems to beat the limits of conventional diffraction theory. In this review, we discuss the current state of research on superoscillations in terms of superresolved imaging and subwavelength focusing, including the use of special non-diffracting and Airy beams to carry transverse superoscillating patterns. In addition, we discuss recent analogous works on using superoscillations to break the temporal resolution limit, and also consider the recently introduced inverse of superoscillations, known as suboscillations.

Keywords

• superoscillations
• singular optics
• superresolution
• imaging