Superlensing enables radio communication and imaging underwater

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 18333
• Main Authors: Smolyaninov, Igor I., Balzano, Quirino, Barry, Mark, Young, Dendy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26-10-2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/766; 704/829; Electromagnetic radiation; Exploration; Humanities and Social Sciences; Mining accidents & safety; multidisciplinary; Ocean floor; Radio communications; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Underwater exploration; Wave propagation
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45663-6

Wireless radio communications provide a backbone to our technological civilization. However, radio communications are widely believed to be impossible in many situations where radios are surrounded by conductive media, such as underwater or underground, thus making ocean exploration difficult and creating well-known mine safety problems. In addition, since most imaging techniques rely on electromagnetic waves, the difficulty of electromagnetic wave propagation through biological tissues, which are mostly made of water, also severely limits bioimaging. Here we show that contrary to common beliefs, radio signals may be efficiently propagated through water over useful distances. Both radio communication and radio imaging through water may be enabled by superlensing of surface electromagnetic waves propagating along the water surface. We have demonstrated underwater radio communication over distances of several hundred skin depth in the MHz frequency range, which would require sensitivity below 10
−100
W in a conventional radio communication channel. We also demonstrated subwavelength super-resolution radio imaging in the GHz range by using water surface as a superlens. Our results indicate new ways to perform bioimaging, as well as marine life safe techniques of wireless radio communication and imaging underwater, which are essential for ocean and seafloor exploration. We also anticipate that the developed techniques will provide invaluable means of studying the extraterrestrial water worlds, such as potentially inhabitable Jovian moons.