Imaging with short-wavelength surface plasmon polaritons

Operation and imaging principles of optical microscope with in-plane image magnification by surface plasmon polaritons are discussed. The influence of realistic experimental geometry and losses in the metal are considered. Using two-dimensional optics of surface polaritons on metal–dielectric interface, subwavelength optical resolution can be achieved with long-wave-vector surface polaritons and applied in far-field optical microscopy and photolithography.