A lithography-free approach to polaritonic Luneburg lenses

Zhenyang Cui, Youning Gong, Wenzhi Yu, Sihao Xia, Zhiwei He, Xingyu Tang, Bin Zheng, Huaping Wang, Weiliang Ma, Yupeng Zhang (), Hongsheng Chen () and Yingjie Wu ()
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Zhenyang Cui: Zhejiang University
Youning Gong: Shenzhen University
Wenzhi Yu: Siscan Technology Co. Ltd
Sihao Xia: Zhejiang University
Zhiwei He: Zhejiang University
Xingyu Tang: Zhejiang University
Bin Zheng: Zhejiang University
Huaping Wang: Zhejiang University
Weiliang Ma: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Yupeng Zhang: Shenzhen University
Hongsheng Chen: Zhejiang University
Yingjie Wu: Zhejiang University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Planar polaritonic lenses, achieved by precisely controlling interface polaritons, hold significant promise for subwavelength light focusing. While most existing designs rely on polariton interference or refraction, creating gradient-index polaritonic lenses remains a substantial challenge due to the lack of practical and cost-effective fabrication methods. Here, we introduce a lithography-free approach for producing polaritonic lenses with gradient effective refractive indices by engineering the dielectric environment of polaritons. This method involves in situ transformation of polymer microspheres into spherical caps through controlled melting, allowing the fabrication of polaritonic Luneburg lenses with focal spots as small as λ0/18, where λ0 is the free-space wavelength. Our approach could also apply to other gradient-index polaritonic lenses, such as Maxwell fisheye lenses and Mikaelian lenses, based on a wide range of in-plane isotropic polariton modes. By circumventing traditional nanofabrication constraints, this versatile and cost-effective technique offers a promising platform for developing polaritonic devices, which are essential for future polaritonic systems and integrated circuits.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63097-8

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