Deep-subwavelength light confinement/ control without dissipation, for efficient information processing, quantum optics, high-resolution imaging

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102339

"singular dispersion equation gives rise to narwhal-shaped wavefunctions, combining local power-law enhancement with global exponential decay, trapping light in lossless dielectrics... electromagnetic eigenmode field distributions' rapid decay across space enhances energy density per unit volume, achieving strong spatial confinement/ light–matter interaction strength... avoids ohmic loss, enabling compact, energy-efficient photonic devices... also developed near-field scanning optical microscopy technique"