Experimental demonstration of broadband reflectionless diffraction-free electromagnetic wave routing

Wave diffraction is fundamentally difficult to overcome in the routing and interconnection of photonic signals. Although the phenomenon of reflectionless transport through sharp corners in a routing path has been realized in many previous demonstrations, wave diffraction does not allow them to transport deep-subwavelength information or sub-diffraction-limited images. Recent advances in ɛ -near-zero and anisotropic ɛ -near-infinity metamaterials have provided unique possibilities of achieving reflectionless diffraction-free electromagnetic wave routing, but their designs are fundamentally limited to narrow bandwidths, and they have not been demonstrated in reality. Here we experimentally demonstrate broadband reflectionless diffraction-free routing of electromagnetic waves through two right-angled sharp corners in a bent microwave rectangular waveguide. An image with deep-subwavelength information is transported through the bent waveguide in a broad bandwidth. This Rapid Communication supplements and extends the current studies of metamaterials with extreme permittivities and can be useful for routing and interconnection of subwavelength photonic information.NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore)ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore)MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore)Published versio