The positive refractive index of conventional optical lenses means that they need curved surfaces to form an image, whereas a negative index of refraction allows a flat slab of a material to behave as a lens and focus electromagnetic waves to produce a real image. Here we demonstrate this unique feature of imaging by a flat lens, using the phenomenon of negative refraction in a photonic crystalline material. The key advance that enabled us to make this observation lies in the design of a photonic crystal with suitable dispersion characteristics to achieve negative refraction over a wide range of angles.

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We demonstrate the negative refraction of microwaves in a metallic photonic crystal prism. The spectral response of the photonic crystal prism, which manifests both positive and negative refraction, is in complete agreement with band-structure calculations and numerical simulations. The validity of Snell's law with a negative refractive index is confirmed experimentally and theoretically. The negative refraction observed corresponds to left-handed electromagnetism that arises due to the dispersion characteristics of waves in a periodic medium. This mechanism for negative refraction is different from that in metamaterials.

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We demonstrate focusing of a plane microwave by a planoconcave lens fabricated from a photonic crystal having a negative refractive index and left-handed electromagnetic properties. An inverse experiment, in which a plane wave is produced from a source placed at the focal point of the lens, is also reported. A frequency-dependent negative refractive index, n(ω)<0 is obtained for the lens from the experimental data which match well with that determined from band structure calculations.

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Measurements of 10 GHz microwave surface resistance, Rs, of dense MgB2 wire and pellet are reported. Significant improvements are observed in the wire with reduction of porosity. The data lie substantially above the theoretical estimates for a pure Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer s-wave superconductor. However, the Rs (20 K) of the wire is an order of magnitude lower than that of polycrystal YBa2Cu3O6.95 and matches with single-crystal YBa2Cu3O6.95. The results show promise for the use of MgB2 in microwave applications.

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