A scattering slab and time reversal make a computational superlens

The similarity of time reversal and negative refraction, as well as the counter-intuitive property of scattering media to enhance image resolution in concert with time reversal, are exploited in this paper to propose and demonstrate an accurate, high-resolution procedure for imaging impulsive electromagnetic point sources using time-domain Transmission Line Matrix (TLM) modeling. A computational planar superlens, made of lossless scattering material rather than of double-negative metamaterial, is shown to image impulsive sources with high temporal and spatial resolution. The field emitted by the sources is transmitted through the scattering slab, reversed in time, and transferred back through the slab. The original source locations are recovered through correlation of the forward and backward propagation across the multi-path environment provided by the scattering medium.