Super-resolution imaging in absolute instruments

It has been shown that negative refraction makes a perfect lens. However, with little loss, the imaging functionality will be strongly compromised. Later on, it was proved that positive refraction from Maxwell's fish-eye lens can also makes a perfect lens. However, strong debating happens on the introduced drain problem at the imaging position. In this work, we for the first time find that a solid immersion Maxwell's fish-eye lens could be used for super-resolution imaging. We find that it is due to the perfect focusing and total reflection at the outer interface, such that a super-resolution image is formed at the required position in the air background. This simple mechanism will also be valid for other absolute instruments and more versatile super-imaging systems will be anticipated.