Two-Dimensional Maxwell Fisheye for Integrated Optics

As a student, James Clerk Maxwell invented a hypothetical optical device, M00exa00exx00exw00exe00exl00exl^'00exs f00exi00exs00exh00exe00exy00exe (MFE), in which light goes in circles and every point is focused. 164 years later, researchers succeed in making a high-quality optical version of the MFE on a silicon chip for telecommunication wavelengths, and demonstrate its unusual imaging properties. Key to the quality of their device is a lithographic technique in which smooth and sharp structures are made in a single step. This fabrication technique may also find use in the manufacture of other optical devices.