Asymmetric Transmission of Linearly Polarized Light at Optical Metamaterials

作者:Menzel C*; Helgert C; Rockstuhl C; Kley E B; Tuennermann A; Pertsch T; Lederer F
来源:Physical Review Letters, 2010, 104(25): 253902.
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.253902

摘要

We experimentally demonstrate a three-dimensional chiral optical metamaterial that exhibits an asymmetric transmission for forwardly and backwardly propagating linearly polarized light. The observation of this novel effect requires a metamaterial composed of three-dimensional chiral meta-atoms without any rotational symmetry. Our analysis is supported by a systematic investigation of the transmission matrices for arbitrarily complex, generally lossy media that allows deriving a simple criterion for asymmetric transmission in an arbitrary polarization base. Contrary to physical intuition, in general the polarization eigenstates in such three-dimensional and low-symmetry metamaterials do not obey fixed relations and the associated transmission matrices cannot be symmetrized.

  • 出版日期2010-6-22