Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Optical Trap Loading of Dielectric Microparticles In Air
Published on: February 5, 2017
Exact transformation optics by using electrostatics
Pengfei Zhao1, Guoxiong Cai1, Huanyang Chen1
1Institute of Electromagnetics and Acoustics and Department of Physics, College of Physical Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Abstract:
We present a novel method for designing transformation optical devices based on electrostatics. An arbitrary transformation of electrostatic field can lead to a new refractive index distribution, where wavefronts and energy flux lines correspond to equipotential surfaces and electrostatic flux lines, respectively. Owing to scalar wave propagating exactly following an eikonal equation, wave optics and geometric optics share the same solutions in the devices. The method is utilized to design multipole lenses derived from multipoles in electrostatics. The source and drain in optics are considered as corresponding to positive charge and negative charge in the static field. By defining winding numbers in virtual and physical spaces, we explain the reason for some multipole lenses with illusion effects. Besides, we introduce an equipotential absorber to replace the drain to correspond to a negative charge with a grounded conductor. Therefore, it is a very general platform to design intriguing devices based on the combination of electrostatics and transformation optics.
Related Concept Videos
Potential Due to a Polarized Object
Electrostatic Boundary Conditions in Dielectrics
Consider a case where both the mediums across a boundary are two different dielectric materials. Recall that the electric field and electric displacement are proportional and related through the material's...
Source Transformation for AC Circuits
Source Transformation
It is essential to note that when...
Transmission Electron Microscopy
Gauss's Law in Dielectrics

