Near field imaging with negative dielectric constant lenses

A recent analysis by Pendry [J. B. Pendry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 3966 (2000)] shows that a dielectric slab with a dielectric constant epsilon=-1 can produce a perfect image in the electrostatic limit (c-->infinity), independent of the permeability mu, and therefore is a perfect lens. Here we include retardation effects and show how distance and dissipation make the lens no longer perfect. Nevertheless we conclude that very significant improvements over conventional near field imaging may be obtained in the microwave regime. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.