Negative refraction and sub-wavelength resolution have been demonstrated with metamaterials throughout the past decade. This thesis introduces a quantum metamaterial, based on quantum mechanical principles, which exhibits negative refraction and sub-wavelength resolution with reduced absorption compared to non-quantum metamaterials. In particular, this thesis introduces a novel method of achieving sub-wavelength resolution using the quantum metamaterial. This method of superresolution does not require a negative permittivity or permeability, as the predecessors require, but is instead based on a dispersion curve with a high elliptical
eccentricity.
This thesis uses an effective medium approach to calculate the quantum metamaterial’s permittivity, which is then used to model super-resolution and negative refraction. After considerable design, optimisation and epitaxial growths, a GaAs based quantum metamaterial is fabricated into a superlens. A scanning near-field optical microscope is used to measure the sub-wavelength imaging capability of the quantum metamaterial superlens.