Focusing performance of small f-number metallic lens with depth-modulated slits

This paper studies a small f-number metallic lens with depth-modulated slits. Slits filled with dielectric between silver plates are designed to produce desired optical phase retardations based on the particular propagation properties of surface plasmon polaritons in nanostructures. Numerical simulation of this structure is performed through the finite-difference time-domain method. Different from the conventional dielectric lens, the metallic lens can be used as a pure phase element without energy loss brought by the light refraction at curved surfaces and total internal reflection. The focusing performance is consequently improved, with larger diffraction efficiency than that of the same shaped dielectric lens.