1351
Vassili Fedotov
Metamateria
Metamaterials is a new field of interdisciplinary
research, which deals with artificial material com-
posites engineered to display physical properties
that surpass (or complement) those available in
nature. Originally proposed as a way of tailoring
media’s electromagnetic and optical properties,
the metamaterial concept has recently extended
its reach to also include elastic, acoustic, and ther-
mal properties. Since 1999, with the emergence of
the field, metamaterials has attracted a lot of at-
tention from the scientific community all over the
globe, offering immediate applications in antenna
and waveguide engineering, imaging, microscopy,
sensing, and light manipulation. Metamaterial
research has brought together electrical engi-
neers, material and optical scientists, chemists,
and mathematicians; it has also advanced our
understanding of electrodynamics, pushed the
boundaries of nanofabrication, and stimulated the
development of novel characterization techniques.
Metamaterial research continues to expand quite
rapidly, making it almost impossible to faithfully
cover the field even with a reasonably sized book.
This chapter attempts to give a brief overview of
the history of electromagnetic (photonic) meta-
materials, important developments, and main
concepts in the field. Also, it aims to provide a ba-
sic understanding of the principles, design rules,
and tricks routinely exploited by the researchers
56.1 Bulk Metamaterials
Metamaterial is now a well-accepted term for a novel
type of optical medium that is artificially engineered
to interact with light in ways no natural materi-
als can. Metamaterials gain their unusual properties
from the particular design of their elementary build-
ing blocks – metamolecules (or meta-atoms), which
are built on a subwavelength scale from common
constituent materials such as metals and dielectrics.
Because of their subwavelength structuring, metamate-
rials do not diffract light and hence are quite different
from photonic crystals, acting as uniform media that
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
S. Kasap, P. Capper (Eds.), Springer Handbook of Electronic and Photonic Materials, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-48933-9_56
56. Metamaterials
56.1 Bulk Metamaterials ........................... 1351
56.1.1 Basic Principle
of Metamaterial Operation ................. 1352
56.1.2 The First Metamaterial ....................... 1353
56.1.3 Magnetic Metamaterials
(Artificial Magnetism)......................... 1353
56.1.4 Negative-Index Metamaterials
(Left-Handed Media) ......................... 1355
56.1.5 Chiral Metamaterials .......................... 1358
56.1.6 Transformation Optics
and Metamaterial Cloaks .................... 1360
56.1.7 Hyperbolic Metamaterials................... 1362
56.2 Planar Metamaterials ........................ 1365
56.2.1 Frequency Selective Surfaces............... 1365
56.2.2 Magnetic Mirrors
(High Impedance Surfaces) ................. 1367
56.2.3 Perfect Metamaterial Absorbers .......... 1368
56.2.4 Designer Metasurfaces
and Flat Optics .................................. 1369
56.2.5 Polarization Manipulation
with Planar Metamaterials ................. 1370
References................................................... 1375
to achieve the desired material behavior. The
Part E | 56.1
chapter is divided into two parts, which are
devoted to bulk metamaterials and their two-
dimensional counterparts, the so-called planar
metamaterials or metasurfaces.
can, in principle, be ascribed an effective refractive
index.
Interest in the metamaterial research exploded in the
year 2001 when scientists experimentally demonstrated
a truly exotic effect of negative refraction, a phe-
nomenon in which light rays are refracted or bent in
the direction opposite to that which is normally ex-
pected [56.1]. Negative refraction became one of the
signature effects of the metamaterials physics and its
demonstration opened a new exciting chapter in ma-
terial and electromagnetic research. While subsequent
1352 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications
scientific activity has mainly centered on electromag-
netic properties of the metamaterials (most of which
will be considered in this chapter), it would be fair to
note that one of the first metamaterial definitions given
in 2001 by Valerie Browning (DARPA, USA) encom-
passed many more material properties [56.2, 3]:
Metamaterials are a new class of ordered compos-
ites that exhibit exceptional properties not read-
ily observed in nature. These properties arise
from qualitatively new response functions that are:
(1) not observed in the constituent materials; (2) re-
sult from the inclusion of artificially fabricated,
extrinsic, low dimensional inhomogeneities.
56.1.1 Basic Principle
of Metamaterial Operation
The exotic and often dramatic physics exhibited by
the metamaterials is in many cases underpinned by the
resonant response of their metamolecules. A generic
example of the metamolecule, which forms a three-
dimensional metamaterial crystal when translated pe-
riodically along the x, y, and z-axes, is schemat-
ically shown in Fig. 56.1. It typically consists of
metallic wires (or patches) embedded in or supported
by a dielectric substrate/matrix. An electromagnetic
wave incident onto the metamaterial induces oscillat-
ing electrical currents j in the conducting elements
of each metamolecule, which then scatter (i. e., re-
radiate) secondary electromagnetic waves forming the
Part E | 56.1
Metamaterial
crystal
z
x constituting wire(s), although at present this can be
y achieved only for some radio and microwave-frequency
Metamolecule
j
j 1:52) with the help of high-index dielectric substrates.
H quasi-static regime and should be regarded as miniature
k j
E
Fig. 56.1 Bulk metamaterial crystal and its elementary
building block – the metamolecule (metallic wire res-
onators embedded into a dielectric cube)
macroscopic response of the metamaterial. Radiation
scattered backward is perceived as the metamaterial re-
flection, while radiation scattered forward contributes
to the transmission by adding coherently to the incident
wave.
Each metamolecule effectively acts as a very com-
pact antenna that for a certain design and dimensions
of its metallic pattern becomes resonantly coupled to
the fields of the incident wave, featuring substantially
amplified current oscillations and, as a result, strong
electromagnetic scattering. The metamolecule can also
be considered as a classical analog of an atom, where
the frequency of the metamolecule’s resonance !0 cor-
responds to the energy of the atom’s excited state E D
„!0 , while scattering of electromagnetic waves by the
induced currents corresponds to the emission of a pho-
ton „!0 by the atom upon its transition from the excited
to ground state.
By tailoring the design of the metamolecules, one
can selectively engineer an enhanced effective material
response at virtually any wavelength (frequency) and
of any origin – be it electric or magnetic, or a combi-
nation of the two (yielding optical activity or negative
refraction), or even more exotic – toroidal [56.4]. Some
examples of the metallic patterns commonly exploited
in the metamaterial research are shown in Fig. 56.2, and
some of these will be considered in detail below.
The resonant response of a metamolecule is deter-
mined by the inductance L and capacitance C of its
metallic pattern, which may be viewed as an electri-
cal circuit driven externally by the fields of the incident
wave. When the overall size of the metamolecule is
smaller than  0 =20, such a circuit can be described as
a network of lumped electrical components with the res-
onance frequencypgiven by the well-known expression
!0 D 2 f0 D 1= LC. The inductance and capacitance
of the pattern in this case must be substantially larger
than the self-inductance and self-capacitance of the
designs [56.5, 6] due to limitations of existing micro
and nanofabrication technologies. In practice, the typ-
ical size of metamolecules ranges from about 0 =6 to
0 =2, which one may slightly reduce (by a factor of
Consequently, the metamolecules do not operate in the
transmission lines with distributed inductance and ca-
pacitance. Their resonant behavior results from the ex-
citation of standing waves of electrical currents, which
are analogs to the resonant modes of an electromagnetic
cavity resonator or a vibrating string (Fig. 56.3). Al-
though an accurate quantitative characterization of the
induced current oscillations is cumbersome in this case

Fig. 56.2 Examples of metamaterial patterns
j
j effect of polarization rotation (i. e., optical activity) en-
le
Fig. 56.3 Geometrical resonances of a metamolecule.
Conduction currents j oscillating in the metamolecule form
standing waves along the length of its metallic pattern (le )
and requires the use of the transmission line theory or
numerical modeling, the wavelengths of the supported
resonances can be estimated using very simple rela-
tions,
p 2le
0  " ; (56.1)
m
where le is the total electrical length of the metallic
pattern that forms the metamolecule, " is the relative
permittivity of the dielectric medium that the pattern is
embedded in, and m is a positive integer. Resonances
with m > 4 are usually not possible to engineer in sub-
wavelength metamolecules (since le > 0 ).
Importantly, by reducing the size of the meta-
molecule (and hence le ) such geometrical resonances
Metamaterials 56.1 Bulk Metamaterials 1353
can be moved to shorter wavelengths (higher frequen-
cies) – all the way into the near-IR, where metals
are still good conductors and can, therefore, support
electrical currents. At visible frequencies, however, the
currents are replaced with plasmons, and the linear re-
lation between 0 and le becomes less accurate and
eventually saturates due to the kinetic inductance of the
electron plasma [56.7].
56.1.2 The First Metamaterial
Perhaps the first ever metamaterial was constructed and
studied by Bose more than 100 years ago. In 1898, he
wrote [56.8]:
In order to imitate the [optical] rotation by liquids
like sugar solutions, I made elements of molecules
of twisted jute, of two varieties, one kind being
twisted to the right (positive) and the other twisted
to the left (negative) . . . .
In his experiments, Bose placed the twisted jutes
between a spark generator equipped with a polarizer
(which acted as a source of linearly polarized mil-
limeter waves) and a detector, and determined the
orientation of the polarization plane of the transmitted
waves by rotating an analyzer in front of the detec-
tor (Fig. 56.4). He confirmed that the twisted structure
[of the jute] produces an optical twist of the plane of
polarization [56.8]. It is important to note here that al-
though Bose’s structure served merely to reproduce the
countered in the optical part of the spectrum in sugar
solutions and other media lacking reflection symmetry,
Part E | 56.1
it did so at millimeter-wave frequencies, where no nat-
ural materials are known to exhibit such an effect.
Since then more elaborate designs of optically ac-
tive metamaterials have been proposed and realized for
various operating frequencies, including the optical part
of the spectrum, where they easily outperformed the
naturally available media in terms of their rotary power
(Sect. 56.1.5).
56.1.3 Magnetic Metamaterials
(Artificial Magnetism)
Arguably, the most important development in the field
of metamaterial research was the demonstration of
so-called artificial magnetism, a phenomenon charac-
terized by the appearance of a strong magnetic response
(most notably at optical frequencies) in inherently non-
magnetic material composites. Indeed, as will be shown
in the following sections, artificial magnetism is the key
ingredient of the exotic negative-index response and
1354 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications
a) S S′
P A R structures. (a) Diagram of
B apertures, A – analyzer,
a material property essential for the design of three-
dimensional electromagnetic cloaks.
The idea of artificial magnetism was conceived in
1999 by Pendry et al., who proposed a magnetic analog
of an electric conductor with controllable electromag-
netic properties [56.9]. Materials exhibiting artificial
magnetism were also suggested as a practical solu-
tion for manipulating the secondary radio frequency
(RF) magnetic fields in an magnetic resonance imag-
ing (MRI) environment, where the use of conventional
magnetic materials would perturb the pattern of the pri-
mary quasi-static magnetic field [56.5]. Most of all,
the interest in artificial magnetism was driven by the
fact that strong natural magnetism (exhibited by ferro-
magnetic materials) is virtually nonexistent at terahertz
frequencies and above, where light–matter interactions
are mediated exclusively by the electrical component of
light (magnetic permeability   1).
The existence of strong magnetism in nature is
ensured by unpaired electron spins in atoms, which
Part E | 56.1
appear to be locally aligned through exchange interac-
tion with one another, forming microscopic domains of
uniform spontaneous magnetization (ferromagnetism).
At the macroscopic level, the magnetic response re-
sults from the re-orientation of all such domains parallel
to an externally applied magnetic field each time the
a) b)
m m
j j
Fig. 56.5a–d Magnetic metamolecules. Orbital currents in atoms and molecules are imitated with loops of electrical
currents j induced in (a) a split wire ring, (b) a double split wire ring, (c) a pair of metallic bars, and (d) a pair of metallic
pillars. Current loops give rise to microscopic magnetic dipole moments m
Fig. 56.4a,b Mimicking
b) optical activity with
artificially engineered
Bose’s experiment: B –
source of electromagnetic
waves, P – polarizer,
S and S0 – screens with
R – spiral spring receiver.
(b) Twisted jute, the fist
chiral metamolecule.
(After [56.8])
field reverses its sign. The re-orientation, however, typ-
ically takes a fraction of a microsecond to complete,
which means that at terahertz frequencies and above
the variations of the applied field are too quick for the
domains to follow, and so the ferromagnetic response
vanishes. The only mechanism that could yield natu-
ral magnetism at optical frequencies is diamagnetism.
Classically speaking, diamagnetism is the manifesta-
tion of Lenz’s law on the atomic scale: when an
external magnetic field couples to orbiting electrons,
it forces an atom to precess (Larmor precession) and
thus induces additional orbital currents, which generate
a magnetic field that opposes the external one. Unfor-
tunately, diamagnetic response in natural materials is
˛ 2 times weaker than the electric one (where ˛ is the
fine-splitting constant), which is why the interaction
of matter with light occurs exclusively via the electric
field [56.10].
The metamaterial approach allows for the mimick-
ing of orbital currents with loops of conduction cur-
rents that are magnetically induced in metamolecules
via Faraday induction (Fig. 56.5a). Although meta-
molecules are much larger than natural atoms and
molecules, they are still smaller than the wavelength
of light and thus on the macroscopic scale (i. e., where
the effective material response is formed) the above
c) d)
j
j
j
j
m m
 Metamaterials 56.1 Bulk Metamaterials 1355

trick will remain unnoticed. Since each metamolecule magnetic waves whose wavevectors k form left-handed
operates as an LC-circuit, the induced conduction cur- triplets with the vectors of electric E and magnetic H
rents will be resonantly amplified, yielding artificial
magnetic response that is several orders of magnitude
stronger than found in natural materials. Note that the
sign of the effective magnetic permeability  can be
both negative and positive, depending on the detuning
from the resonance frequency f0 .
One of the most popular examples of the meta-
molecule that can exhibit artificial magnetism is
a metallic ring with a split (Fig. 56.5a), commonly re-
ferred to as a split-ring resonator (SRR). Along with its
derivative – a pair of concentric split-rings (Fig. 56.5b),
also known as a double split-ring resonator (DSSR),
it has been successfully exploited for demonstrating
artificial magnetism experimentally within a wide spec-
tral range, spanning from microwave to IR frequencies
(see [56.10] and references therein). At near-IR and
visible frequencies, however, the split-ring design was
rather challenging to implement given the limitations
of the fabrication techniques; it was also less effective
due to large kinetic inductance of plasmons that re-
place conduction currents at those frequencies. Instead,
magnetic metamolecules were engineered as pairs of
parallel metallic bars or pillars (Fig. 56.5c,d). Current
loops in those structures were formed by plasmons in
the metal and displacement currents in the gaps between
the ends of the bars/pillars [56.11, 12].
56.1.4 Negative-Index Metamaterials
(Left-Handed Media)
The negative index of refraction (n < 0) signifies a pe-
culiar regime of a medium’s macroscopic electromag-
netic response, when the electric permittivity " and
the magnetic permeability  become simultaneously
negative. Mathematically, negative n is given by the sec-
ondary value of the square-root function, which must be
chosen to respect the negative signs of " and  in such
a case
p p p illustrated in Fig. 56.6b. Subsequent efforts by various
n D " D .1/2 j"jjj D  j"jjj : (56.2)
The negative sign of n is also consistent with the laws
of physics and has a clear physical meaning: it indi-
cates that the phase velocity of a wave is antiparallel to
its group velocity. This was shown by several scientists
in the twentieth century [56.13–15], and in particular,
by the Soviet scientist Veselago in 1967, who inves-
tigated theoretically the electrodynamics of a medium
with " < 0 and  < 0 in great detail [56.16]. Such
a medium (commonly referred to as the double-negative
or negative-index medium) behaves as a peculiar trans-
parent medium supporting the propagation of electro-
fields, i. e., k / ŒH  E. The latter, in fact, gave rise to
the original term of the left-handed medium suggested
by Veselago, which was eventually abandoned by the
metamaterial community in order to avoid confusion
with an artificial chiral medium (see Sect. 56.1.5). The
double-negative medium also features anomalous (i. e.,
negative) refraction, the reversal of the Doppler shift,
Cherenkov radiation, and even radiation pressure.
These exotic effects, however, could not be experi-
mentally verified until recently due to the seeming ab-
sence of negative-index materials. Following Veselago’s
work, a number of attempts were made to find such ma-
terials among naturally available magnetic semiconduc-
tors, CdCr2 Se4 and alike, which were known to exhibit
both electric and magnetic resonances [56.17]. Unfortu-
nately, the task of minimizing the detuning of the reso-
nances so that they could spectrally overlap proved to be
impossible. Consequently, the notion of negative-index
medium and the associated electromagnetic phenomena
were ignored for over 30 years.
It was the demonstration of artificial magnetism
in metamaterials (considered in the previous section)
that enabled the engineering of a double-negative re-
sponse artificially, at virtually any frequency. The
first double-negative metamaterial operated at around
5 GHz [56.18]. It was realized by structurally com-
bining an array of 7 mm large double split-ring meta-
molecules with an array of continuous metallic wires
(Fig. 56.6a). The former exhibited narrow-band mag-
netic response, while the latter produced broadband
electric response characteristic to that of a bulk metal,
which ensured that the bands of negative effective
permeability  and permittivity " were spectrally
Part E | 56.1
overlapped. Note that while split rings and wires alone
behave as opaque media p (since the corresponding
p ef-
fective refractive indices i j j and i j" j are imagi-
nary), their combination displays the opposite behavior,
acting as an electromagnetically transparent medium, as
research groups worldwide were focused on demon-
strating double-negative response at higher frequencies
and eventually led to the development of negative-
index metamaterials for the near-IR part of the spectrum
with refractive indices ranging from  0:3 to  4:0
(see [56.10] and references therein). As in the case
of magnetic metamolecules, the designs of negative-
index metamolecules operating at optical frequencies
were substantially modified to take into account the in-
creasing kinetic inductance of electrons in metals and
to respect the limitations of nanofabrication techniques
existing at that time.
1356 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications

Fig. 56.6a,b Negative-index

a) b) T
metamaterial. (a) Diagram of the
1 metamolecule – a DSRR combined
with a straight wire. (b) Transmission
spectra schematically shown for
metamaterials composed of metallic
0
Frequency wires (top), DSRRs (middle), and their
T combination (bottom)
1

0
E f0 Frequency
T
k
1

H 0
f0 Frequency

It is important to note that wave propagation in sonable detail by Mandelshtam, who concluded that
double-negative media is necessarily complicated by as unfamiliar as this construction may be, there is,
the implicit frequency dependence of " and  or, in of course, nothing surprising about it [56.20]. Snell’s
other words, negative n is always strongly dispersive. law, however, does not address the refraction of ac-
The latter is dictated by the second law of thermo- tual energy carried by the wave. The initial conclusion
dynamics, which introduces the following constraints that in the negative-index medium the energy would
valid for nearly transparent media [56.19] flow also in the direction defined by the law of refrac-
d.!"/ d" tion [56.16, 21] was actively contested [56.22–25]. It
D! C" > 0 was eventually shown analytically and numerically that
d! d! the directions of both phase and group velocities, v ph
d.!/ d and v g , do undergo negative refraction [56.24, 26–29],
D! C > 0 : (56.3)
d! d! while the controversy resulted from the fact that in the
Since for negative-index media " < 0 and  < 0, it negative-index medium the wave packets exhibit slant-
Part E | 56.1

follows that d"=d! > 0 and d=d! > 0, which means
that both " and  cannot be constants.
Negative refraction was the most peculiar (to say
the least) effect anticipated in double-negative media. It
manifests itself as an anomalous change in the direction
of light propagation upon refraction, when a beam of
light bends the wrong way, while crossing the bound-
ary of double-negative media (Fig. 56.7a). It was the
demonstration of negative refraction that shook the sci-
entific community and led to a surge of interest in
metamaterial research.
The fact that the incident and refracted waves are
on the same side of the normal to the boundary of the
negative-index medium follows directly from Snell’s
law
n2 sin 2 D n1 sin 1 : (56.4)
Indeed, 2 must be negative to satisfy (56.4) when
n2 < 0. Negative refraction was first described in rea-
ing or crab-like motion (Fig. 56.7b). Correspondingly, it
was erroneous to interpret the normal to the fronts of the
packets as the direction of the group velocity, i. e., en-
ergy flow [56.24]. Besides, in isotropic media, the phase
and group velocities are always collinear. It was also es-
tablished that the group velocity of the refracted wave
is directed away from the boundary, while its phase ve-
locity was directed toward the boundary (Fig. 56.7b).
Negative refraction was also unambiguously
demonstrated by Smith et al. [56.1] in an elegant
experiment illustrated in Fig. 56.8. A microwave
beam was sent onto a prism that had been cut from
a double-negative metamaterial (a composite of DSRR
and wires), and the deflection of the beam was mea-
sured upon its transmission through the prism. The
measurements also involved a reference prism made of
Teflon, a low-loss dielectric with a refractive index of
1:4. The experimental data indicated that the beam was
deflected by the metamaterial prism to negative angles
 Metamaterials 56.1 Bulk Metamaterials 1357

Fig. 56.7a,b Negative refraction.

a) b) Incident (a) Changes in the direction of the
wave wavevector k and energy flow S
packet
vg upon refraction at the interface with
a negative-index medium. (b) A series
k1 n1 > 0 of schematically shown wave packets
S1 θ1 exhibit negative refraction
vph

v'ph
S2
θ2 v'g
k2 n2 < 0

Refracted
wave packet

a) Antenna b)
Metamaterial
prism

θ2

θ1

Fig. 56.8a,b Experimental demonstration of negative refraction: (a) schematic of the experiment, (b) photograph show-
ing a fragment of a double-negative metamaterial prism. (After [56.1]. Image courtesy of NASA)

In the special case when " D 1 and  D 1, the

(compared to the reference case) in the frequency
range 10:2 to 10:8 GHz, which had been previously
identified as the left-handed propagation region. The
deflection angle data were also used to calculate the
corresponding index of refraction, which turned out
to be negative and highly dispersive (as expected),
taking values in the range  2:7 to  0:1. This and
subsequent experimental evidence indicated decisively
that negative refraction is a reality [56.30].
Perfect lens or superlens
One of the implications of negative refraction noted by
Veselago is that a flat slab made of a double-negative
material acts as a collecting lens that focuses light rather
than disperses it (Fig. 56.9a). Such a lens features no
focal plane and, therefore, forms a three-dimensional
image of an object (much like a flat metal mirror), pro-
vided that its distance from the lens does not exceed the
lens’ thickness (for n D 1). However, unlike a metal
mirror, such a flat lens produces a real image.
Part E | 56.1
flat lens reveals additional interesting properties [56.16,
21]. It appears to be perfectly matched to free space
exhibiting zero reflection, so that all the energy of the
incident wave passes to the refracted wave. Also, light
rays arrive at the image plane with zero phase delay,
thus preserving the phase information of the object.
This can be understood by noting that any ray con-
necting the object with the image travels half of the
distance in air and the other half in the negative-index
slab (Fig. 56.9a). Because the phase velocities in the
two media have equal magnitudes but opposite signs,
the corresponding phase delays compensate each other
exactly. However, the most fascinating property of such
a lens, perhaps, is that it can produce a sharper image
(compared to conventional optical systems) demon-
strating resolving power, which exceeds the limit set by
the wave nature of light – the so-called diffraction limit.
This was shown by Pendry in his seminal work Nega-
tive refraction makes a perfect lens [56.21].
1358 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications
a) Propagating Large
n = –1
fields details
Bacteria
b) n = –1
Evanescent
fields
Small
d 2d d z details
Indeed, the finest details of an object (those that
are smaller than the wavelength of light) are carried by
the waves with purely imaginary wavevectors. Conse-
quently, these waves decay exponentially as they prop-
agate in air away from the object (evanescent waves),
and thus cannot be focused by an ordinary lens. In the
negative-index slab, the sign of the exponent is reversed
and the amplitude of the evanescent waves is bound to
increase (Fig. 56.9b). It is easy to see that the decay
of the evanescent waves in air is completely negated by
the amplification occurring inside the slab. The flat lens,
therefore, behaves as a perfect lens (or superlens) – it
restores not only the phase but also the amplitude of
all light-field components and, as a result, preserves
subwavelength features of the object (as illustrated in
Fig. 56.9). On the other hand, this optical device should
not be regarded as a lens in the usual sense since it
cannot focus a parallel beam. The superlens acts as
a matching device that transfers light fields between
the object and image planes without aberrations; effec-
Part E | 56.1
tively, it annihilates the space between the object and
the image, so that the image becomes the object.
n D nC  n , and leads to a progressive ro-
The superlens, however, has an important draw-
back. The amplification of the evanescent waves inside
the negative-index slab, which at first may seem to
nd
violate the conservation of energy, is in fact a tran-
 D ; (56.5)
sient process. The slab here acts as a resonant cavity
that accumulates energy over time for each evanescent-
 is the angle of polarization azimuth rotation,
wave component. Correspondingly, imaging (or rather
transferring) finer details takes a progressively longer
time since the slab must amplify evanescent compo-
nents with a stronger decay, i. e., smaller input level.
Furthermore, the resonant enhancement is limited by
inevitable material losses, and although this limitation
would not necessarily ruin the super-resolution com-
pletely [56.21], the perfect lens will operate efficiently
only when the distance to the object z (as well as the
thickness of the lens 2d) is of the order of the wave-
length 0 .
Fig. 56.9a,b Perfect lens. (a) The
negative-index slab (thickness 2d) acts
as a collecting lens, which focuses
propagating electromagnetic waves
and restores the details of an object
that are larger than the wavelength.
(b) The negative-index slab also acts
as an amplifier of evanescent waves
and restores the details of an object
that are smaller than the wavelength
56.1.5 Chiral Metamaterials
While research efforts have mainly been focused on
engineering composite media with particular values of
permittivity and permeability (or, alternatively, refrac-
tive index), the metamaterial approach also enables the
enhancement of other, more complex optical properties,
such as those governed by chirality [56.31]:
I call any geometrical figure, or group of points, chi-
ral, and say it has chirality, if its image in a plane
mirror, ideally realized, cannot be brought to coin-
cide with itself.
In short, any object that cannot be superimposed with
its mirror image is chiral. A spring coil (helix), a screw,
and a human’s hand are the celebrated examples of chi-
ral objects. Chirality is the most fundamental type of
asymmetry, which in matter leads to the effect of optical
activity. It is characterized by a difference between the
refractive indices (i. e., phase velocities) experienced
by right and left-hand circular polarizations in a chiral
medium,
tation of linear polarization as light propagates through
the medium (Fig. 56.10)
0
where
d is the thickness of the medium, and 0 is the wave-
length of light.
In a lossy medium, the effect is also accompanied
by a difference in the absorption of right and left-hand
circular polarizations, known as circular dichroism.
This effect was discovered in quartz by Arago in 1811
and linked to the structural asymmetry of matter by
Pasteur in 1848. It is now widely used in analytical
chemistry, biology, and crystallography for identifying
the spatial structure of molecules and crystals. Chiral
materials are always in demand in optoelectronics, life

Fig. 56.10
Δϕ E Optical activity:
k
polarization
Δn azimuth of
linearly polarized
E H light rotates
d
k as the latter
propagates inside
a chiral medium
H
science microscopy, and display technology providing
a means of manipulating the polarization state of light;
they are also widely used in photography.
In naturally available chiral media, optical ac-
tivity is relatively weak and, therefore, slabs with
the thickness of hundreds of wavelengths must be
used to achieve measurable rotation. For example, the
specific rotatory power in quartz, cinnabar, and liq-
uid crystals corresponds to 20ı =mm, 600ı =mm, and
1000ı=mm [56.32] in the visible part of the spec-
trum. Chiral metamaterials, on the other hand, can
exhibit optical activity several orders of magnitude
stronger [56.33–35]. The latter is particularly appealing
for applications in the terahertz frequency range (and
below) where the effect is virtually absent. There are
many possible realizations of the chiral metamolecule
depending on the application, targeted frequency range,
and limits of the fabrication technique, but in all cases
its design reveals a structural twist that can be related to
either right or left-handed screws (Fig. 56.11).
The first chiral metamolecules, which were ex-
perimentally tested in 1898 by Bose using millimeter
waves [56.8], were made of twisted jutes (Sect. 56.1.2).
a) b)
e) f)
Fig. 56.11a–h Examples of chiral metamolecules: twisted jute (a), wire coil (b), pairs of mutually twisted metallic
bars (c), crosses (d), rosettes (e), split rings (f), mutually twisted wire cross and cross-shaped aperture (g) and a pair of
metallic rosettes of different sizes featuring zero twist (h)
Metamaterials 56.1 Bulk Metamaterials 1359
Two decades later, Lindman [56.36] suggested using
small (a few centimeters long) randomly oriented cop-
per helices as artificial molecules that would promote
polarization azimuth rotation for radio waves. The
idea was verified and eventually extended to the case
of oriented helices by Tinoco and Freeman [56.37].
Recent advances in three-dimensional nanofabrication
techniques have enabled the realization of such artifi-
cial chiral molecules in the optical part of the spec-
trum [56.38]. The demonstrated array of submicron gold
helices formed a uniaxial photonic metamaterial, which
operated as a compact and efficient broadband circu-
lar polarizer. A very different approach was taken by
Zheludev et al. [56.39], who proposed the design of
chiral metamolecules based on pairs of identical, spa-
tially separated, and mutually twisted planar metallic
resonators such as bars, crosses, rosettes, split rings,
etc. (Fig. 56.11c–f). The advantage of this approach
was that chiral metamaterials could be readily fabri-
cated for any frequency of operation in the range from
microwave [56.33] to optical [56.40, 41] frequencies
using well-established planar lithography techniques.
Moreover, due to the resonant electromagnetic (induc-
tive [56.39]) coupling between the constituent metallic
elements of the bi-layered metamolecule, the complete
90ı rotation of the polarization can be achieved with just
one layer of such metamolecules (with the thickness of
the resulting metamaterial slab in the direction of light
propagation being less than 0 =30) [56.34]. Zheludev’s
approach also enables the engineering of strong, virtu-
ally dispersionless polarization rotation within a wide
spectral range [56.42] when the twisted pair is formed
by complimentary metallic patterns (Fig. 56.11g). Op-
tical activity may also be observed for bi-layered meta-
Part E | 56.1
c) d)
g) h)
1360 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications
molecules that feature zero twist between their layers
(Fig. 56.11h). In such a case, the structural twist of the
constituent resonators was shown to be sufficient pro-
vided that the resonators have different sizes [56.43].
It is easy to see that the designs of chiral meta-
molecules can be reduced to the combination of two
basic elements, a split ring and a cut wire resonator
electrically connected together, as shown in Fig. 56.12.
This illustrates that chiral metamaterials exhibit si-
multaneously electric and magnetic responses, which
appear to be mixed such that magnetic dipole moments
are induced in the split rings by the electric component
of light (via cut wires), and vice versa. This cross-
coupling between the electric and magnetic fields is
described by a dimensionless chirality parameter ,
which in the simplest case of an isotropic chiral medium
is a scalar [56.44]
p designing complex electromagnetic media that can con-
D D "0 "E  i "0 0 H
p
B D 0 H C i "0 0 E : (56.6)
It is the chirality parameter that gives rise to the dif-
ference between the refractive indices for right- and
left-hand circular polarizations
p treated by the general theory of relativity as the mani-
n˙ D " ˙  : (56.7)
While the studies of artificial chiral media found ap-
plications in many areas of microwave engineering,
such as antennas, absorbers, polarizers, and waveg-
uides [56.45, 46], the recent explosive interest in chi-
ral metamaterials was triggered by the opportunity of
achieving negative refraction in such media in a rela-
tively simple way. It was identified independently by
Tretyakov et al. [56.47] and Pendry [56.48], who noted
that according to (56.7) the index of refraction of a chi-
Part E | 56.1
ral medium becomes negative for one of the circularly
p
polarized waves if jj > ". Also, in that case neither
" nor  need to be negative, which was in stark contrast
to the previously formulated, more complex condi-
tion for the negative refraction of linearly polarized
waves (Sect. 56.1.4). Thus, the proposed chiral route
to negative refraction, although limited to one circular
+ perception, however, has changed recently with the ad-
Fig. 56.12 Chiral metamolecule and its two basic struc-
tural elements – a split ring and a cut wire
polarization, relies on the engineering of only one res-
onance – the resonance of optical activity (where  can
become sufficiently large), and is, therefore, expected to
improve and simplify the designs of negatively refract-
ing composites [56.48]. The validity of this approach
was confirmed experimentally using microwave [56.49]
and terahertz [56.50] chiral metamaterials based on
stacks of mutually twisted metallic patterns, which en-
ables effective refractive indices as low as 2 and 5,
respectively, to be attained.
56.1.6 Transformation Optics
and Metamaterial Cloaks
One of the successful applications of the metamaterial
concept was in the practical implementation of trans-
formation optics, a mathematical technique aimed at
trol the flow of light in a desired manner [56.51, 52].
The transformation optics approach enables the recre-
ation of an electromagnetic phenomenon in a warping
virtual space as an optical illusion in the physical Eu-
clidean space. For example, the effect of gravitational
lensing caused by a massive celestial body (which is
festation of a gravity-induced distortion in an abstract
spacetime continuum) can be viewed as the ordinary
refraction of light by a shell of the dielectric medium
enclosing the body in the physical space. This appears
possible because Maxwell’s equations have exactly the
same form in any coordinate system, while the permit-
tivity and permeability are just scaled by a common
factor, which absorbs the transformation from one co-
ordinate system into another [56.53]
0 0 0 j0
"0i j D jdet.ƒ/j1 ƒii ƒj "ij ; (56.8a)
 0i0 j0
D jdet.ƒ/j 1 j0
i0
ƒi ƒj ij ; (56.8b)
0
0˛ 0
where ƒ˛
˛
˛
D @x =@x denotes the Jacobian transfor-
mation matrix between the virtual space fx˛ g and the
0
physical space fx0˛ g.
The correspondence between coordinate transfor-
mations and the material parameters was noted by Dolin
more than 50 years ago [56.54], but it was perceived
as being merely a mathematic trick because (56.8a) and
(56.8b) do not impose physical constraints on the values
of the transformed permittivity and permeability. The
vent of the metamaterial approach, which in principle
enables the engineering of extreme values of "0 and 0 ,
as well as their spatial variation prescribed by the trans-
formations in (56.8). Originally driven by the desire to
realize the invisibility cloak, transformation optics has
now become a powerful tool for designing a wide range

of new optical effects and devices, including electro-
magnetic wormholes, hidden gateways, optical black
holes, field rotators and concentrators, etc. (see [56.55]
and references therein).
The shell cloak is the most remarkable example of
space distortion; it can steer light around an object mak-
ing the latter invisible, when imitated in the physical
space using metamaterials. The distortion squeezes the
space from within a sphere with the radius R2 to within
a shell with the same outer radius and inner radius R1
(Fig. 56.13). Electromagnetic waves will not interact
with or scatter from the core of the shell because it is
not a part of the resulting curvilinear space, while the
shell itself will neither scatter waves nor cast a shadow
in the transmitted field (either of which would allow one
to detect the cloak).
In the local spherical coordinate system with the ori-
gin placed at the center of the sphere, the transformation
rules give the following values of "0 and 0 in the shell
(R1 < r0 < R2 ) [56.52]
R2 .r0  R1 /2
"0r0 D 0r0 D ; layers of 3:3 mm large magnetic SRR metamolecules,
R2  R1 r0
R2
"0™0 D 0™0 D ;
R2  R1
R2
"0®0 D 0®0 D : (56.9)
R2  R1
Correspondingly, "0 and 0 are free to take any val-
ues in the core (r0 < R1 ), while "0 D 0 D 1 outside the
shell (r0 > R2 ). It is easy to see that (56.9) correspond
to extremely anisotropic distributions of "0 and 0 in the
global Euclidean space, while some of the components
of the permittivity and permeability tensors, although
a) b)
R1 R2
Virtual space
Metamaterials 56.1 Bulk Metamaterials 1361
positive, approach zero near the core. Clearly, no nat-
ural material system can offer such complex variations
of its parameters.
A proof-of-principle demonstration of a metama-
terial shell cloak was performed in 2006 by Smith
et al. [56.56]. The experiments were conducted in the
microwave part of the spectrum, where the fabrication
of bulk metamaterial samples and their characterization
was generally easier to accomplish. Even in that case,
the implementation of a true three-dimensional cloak
was not practical, given the limitations of the measure-
ment technique and the complexity of the metamaterial
properties [56.56]. The cloaking principle was demon-
strated for TE-waves in a parallel-plate waveguide
using a two-dimensional cylindrical shell structure
(Fig. 56.14). Such a configuration of the experiment
enabled substantial simplification of the metamaterial
design. Also, additional steps were taken to reduce the
set of required material parameters; however, this was
at the expense of nonzero reflectance. The metama-
terial shell was formed by 10 concentric cylindrical
and had the inner and outer radii R1 D 27:1 mm and
R2 D 58:9 mm, respectively. The cloak was designed to
operate at 8:5 GHz.
Figure 56.15 compares the measured and simulated
fields inside and outside the cloak, which show a rather
good match. As the waves propagate through the meta-
material shell, the center section of the wavefront starts
to slow down when it approaches the core, exhibit-
ing wavelength compression. The wavefront splits to
pass around the core and rejoins on the opposite side.
Upon exiting the shell, the wavefronts are seen to match
those propagating alongside in the empty space. The
Part E | 56.1
R1 R2
Fig. 56.13a,b Transfor-
mation optics. (a) Space
distortion of a finite extent
that results in (b) an
electromagnetic cloaking
shell, when imitated in the
physical space through
Physical space
a distribution of material
parameters
1362 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications

plex design and strong electromagnetic anisotropy of

4 the shell cloak call for the development of sophisticated
εz computation and fabrication techniques.
3 The carpet cloak or ground-plane cloak represents
an alternative, easier to implement strategy of conceal-
10 μr
2 ing an object [56.57]. It employs a reflective bump
(a perturbation on a surface of a conducting plane) cov-
1 μθ ered by a layer of metamaterial with a specially tailored
variation of the refractive index. The bump provides
0 a cavity for hiding the object, while the metamaterial
10 20 30 40 50 60
mm layer conceals the presence of the bump, creating an il-
–1 lusion of a flawless mirror (see Fig. 56.16a–c). In this
case, given the restricted geometry of the cloak, it be-
comes possible to minimize the anisotropy of the trans-
formed material parameters, while the required values
ẑ of the refractive index turn out to be merely greater
θ̂ than unity. This allows one to substantially simplify
the design of the metamaterial cover and exploit meta-
r̂ molecules off their resonance, which makes the carpet
cloak a truly broadband and scalable optical device.
Fig. 56.14 Photograph of a two-dimensional microwave The first metamaterial carpet cloak was experimen-
cloaking shell. (Reprinted from [56.56], with permission tally demonstrated in 2009 at microwave frequencies
from AAAS) by Smith et al. [56.58], who built the device using over
10,000 I-shaped 2 mm large metamolecules. Its func-
fields outside the cloak also feature a small but non- tionality was confirmed for the 1316 GHz range of
negligible component of scattering (reflection) resulting frequencies and could be extended to up to 18 GHz.
from the implementation of the reduced parameters set. Low levels of absorption due to nonresonant opera-
A pronounced attenuation of the transmitted fields is at- tion of carpet cloaks and the relative simplicity of their
tributed to resistive losses present in the metamaterial designs have enabled successful demonstrations of the
structure. concept also in the IR [56.59] and visible [56.60] do-
Although this demonstration illustrates the feasi- mains (Fig. 56.16d).
bility of the metamaterial approach in the context
of transformation optics, the practical deployment of 56.1.7 Hyperbolic Metamaterials
a shell invisibility cloak is still rather challenging. The
main reason is that the required values of the material
Part E | 56.1

Hyperbolic metamaterials are perhaps the only class

parameters in this type of cloak are attained via meta-
material resonances, which renders it as an inherently
narrow-band device. Also, the resonant nature of meta-
material properties makes cloaking performance highly
sensitive to resistive losses in the constituent materials
(especially at optical frequencies), while fairly com-
of artificial electromagnetic media that does not rely
on resonant interaction with the incident radiation.
Instead, the unusual optical properties of the hyper-
bolic metamaterials result from extreme anisotropy of
their effective permittivity " , when the sign of "
reverses for the electric field parallel (k) and orthog-

a) b) c)

Fig. 56.15a–c Two-dimensional microwave cloak in action: propagation of an electromagnetic wave in the presence of the cloak
with (a) exact material parameters in a simulation, (b) reduced material parameters in a simulation, and (c) reduced material
parameters in the experiment. (Reprinted from [56.56], with permission from AAAS)
 Metamaterials 56.1 Bulk Metamaterials 1363

a) b) c) d)

5 μm

Fig. 56.16a–d Reflection of light rays shown schematically for (a) a flat mirror, (b) a deformed mirror, and (c) a de-
formed mirror covered by a carpet cloak. (d) Scanning electron microscope image of a carpet cloak operating in the
visible spectral range. (Reprinted with permission from [56.60]. © American Chemical Society)

onal (?) to the anisotropy axis of the metamaterial anisotropy of both types leads to unusual, hyperbolic
crystals. In other words, depending on the direction dependences for the frequency ! of the allowed TM-
of light propagation (and polarization) such meta- polarized modes (Hk D 0) on their wavevectors k D
materials behave either as metals or as dielectrics fkx ; ky ; kz g, which explains the name given to this
(i. e., insulators). This is achieved for material com- class of metamaterials (Fig. 56.17c,d)
posites typically formed by an array of parallel
kz2 kx2 C ky2 !2  
metallic wires/rods embedded into a dielectric matrix
   D 2 " 
k < 0; "? > 0 (56.10a)
(Fig. 56.17a), or a stack of alternating thin layers of "? j"k j c
metal and dielectric (Fig. 56.17b). Normally (at vis- kx2 C ky2 kz2 !2   
ible frequencies and below), in the first case, " <0  D "k > 0; "
? < 0 : (56.10b)
k
" 
j"? j c2
and " ? > 0 (type I anisotropy), while in the second k

case, " k
> 0 and " ? < 0 (type II anisotropy). The In principle, such relations (known as the dispersion
relations) allow, at any given frequency, the propagation
of waves with infinitely large wavevectors, which is in
a) Hyperbolic type I b) Hyperbolic type II
stark contrast to spherical or, in the general case, ellip-
tical dispersions characteristic of natural materials. In
practice, however, the range of the permitted wavevec-
tors k appears to be capped, although at rather large
magnitudes, due to the small but finite structural period-
icity of the composites at the microscopic level (owing
to the effective medium description no longer being

Part E | 56.1
valid when the wavelength becomes comparable to the
composite’s lattice constant).
One of the immediate consequences of the hyper-
c) d)
bolic dispersions is that there are no evanescent waves,
ε*|| < 0 k*z ε*⊥ > 0 ε*|| > 0 k*z ε*⊥ < 0 while for certain light propagation directions, the ef-
fective index of refraction can be extremely large. The
latter finds applications in miniaturizing photonic de-
vices, subdiffraction photonic funnels, and nanoscale
resonators (see [56.61] and references therein). Also,
k*x k*x due to strong material dispersion, the hyperbolic media
can act as spatial frequency filters [56.62], while the ex-
k*y
k*y treme anisotropy of its dielectric permittivity " can be
exploited in linear polarizers [56.63].

Fig. 56.17a–d Hyperbolic metamaterials of types I and II.
(a,b) Metamaterial crystals exhibiting hyperbolic disper-
sion. (c,d) Isofrequency surfaces of extraordinary waves
propagating in hyperbolic media of types I and II, corre-
spondingly
Negative Refraction
Negative refraction was perhaps the first phenomenon
demonstrated in hyperbolic media [56.65, 66]. In par-
ticular, the effect can be observed for TM-polarized
waves at a facet cut perpendicular to the anisotropy axis
of a type I metamaterial crystal (Fig. 56.18a). In this
1364 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications

case, the dielectric permittivity in the direction normal Subwavelength Imaging

to the vacuum–metamaterial interface is negative and,
due to the continuity of the normal component of the
electric displacement across the interface (Ez D " Ez ),
the normal component of the wave’s electric field in-
side the metamaterial Ez appears to be reversed. As
a result, the component of the Poynting vector propa-
gating in the metamaterial parallel to the interface Sx is
also reversed, rendering the angle of the beam refrac-
tion negative (Fig. 56.18a).
Nevertheless, a hyperbolic metamaterial slab oper-
ating in the negative refraction regime can exhibit only
partial focusing of light, as illustrated in Fig. 56.18b.
This is because the mutual orientation of the Poynt-
ing vector and the wavevector (in other words, group
and phase velocities) is not always antiparallel or even
collinear, as in the case of isotropic negative-index me-
dia, but depends on the propagation direction relative to
the metamaterial’s anisotropy axis.
Subwavelength imaging is one of the most promising
applications of hyperbolic media. Unlike negative-index
metamaterials, which enable the complete restoration of
evanescent waves at the image plane (Sect. 56.1.4), the
hyperbolic media make it possible to convert evanescent
waves in air/vacuum into propagating ones, which then
can be collected in the far-field zone and processed by
conventional optical microscopes. The device that does
such a trick is called the hyperlens [56.67].
A conventional hyperlens has the form of a hol-
low cylinder made of a type I hyperbolic metamaterial.
An example of such a lens designed to operate in the
ultraviolet (UV) spectrum is shown in Fig. 56.19a. If
an object is placed on the inner surface of the cylin-
der, the scattered evanescent waves, which carry all the
subwavelength information in air/vacuum, can enter the
hyperlens where they will propagate radially with no
decay (kr is no longer imaginary), as dictated by the hy-

a) b)
E
Ez
S
S*x Ex, E*x Fig. 56.18a,b Negative
x refraction in a hyperbolic
E*
E*z metamaterial of type I.
(a) Components of electric
S*
field E and pointing vector
S at the surface of the
z metamaterial. (b) Partial
focussing by a slab of the
metamaterial
Part E | 56.1

a) b)
Hyperlens

ε*r < 0
ε*φ > 0

kr kr
Substrate

Fig. 56.19a,b Hyperlens. (a) The lens and principle of its operation. The lens is formed by a stack of curved alternating
layers of metal and dielectric, which behaves as a type I hyperbolic metamaterial at UV frequencies. (b) Scanning
electron microscope image of the cross-sectional view of a lens operating at the wavelength of 410 nm. The scale bar is
500 nm. (After [56.64])

perbolic dispersion. While the waves spread inside the
hyperlens, the azimuthal component of their wavevec-

tors k' gradually becomes smaller due to the con-
servation of the angular momentum in the cylindrical

geometry, k' r D const. Correspondingly, at a certain
radius r, the azimuthal component of the wavevectors

may become small enough (k' < !=c) for the radial
component to be real even outside the cylinder,
s available high-k states [56.73], and the radiative de-
!2
kr D  k'
2 ; (56.11)
c2

where k' D k' . It is easy to show that the resolution
of such a hyperlens, that is, the smallest separation be-
tween two successfully resolved features of the object,
is simply proportional to the ratio between the inner
and outer radius of the cylinder [56.67]. Hyperlenses
have been successfully demonstrated experimentally
in the microwave [56.68], visible [56.69, 70], and
near-UV [56.64, 71] domains (Fig. 56.19b).
Enhancement of Spontaneous Emission
Enhancement of spontaneous emission (or control of
spontaneous emission) is another promising applica-
tion of hyperbolic metamaterials. It is based on Fermi’s
golden rule, which states that the lifetime of sponta-
neous emission is strongly influenced by the density
56.2 Planar Metamaterials
Planar metamaterials, also known as metafilms or meta-
surfaces, represent a special class of low-dimensional
artificial media. They are formed by metal films pe-
riodically patterned on a subwavelength scale, which
are many times thinner than the wavelength of light.
Despite their vanishing thickness, planar metamateri-
als can strongly interact with electromagnetic waves,
which they transmit, absorb, or reflect without diffrac-
tion, acting as media of zero dimension in the direction
of light propagation. As a result, planar metamateri-
als are able to efficiently mimic (and improve) the
functionalities of the existing bulk optical components
such as lenses, prisms, polarizers, filters, beam splitters,
etc. More importantly, they make accessible a range of
new exotic effects including a magnetic mirror, perfect
absorption, asymmetric transmission, optical activity
without chirality, wavefront rectification, etc.
Importantly, while practical implementation of bulk
metamaterials (especially in the optical domain) still
very much depends on advances in the development of
three-dimensional fabrication techniques, planar pho-
tonic metamaterials are fully compatible with the exist-
Metamaterials 56.2 Planar Metamaterials 1365
of available electromagnetic modes [56.72]. Given the
analogy with the electronic density of states in solid
state physics, the latter is proportional to the area of
the isofrequency surface defining the dispersion, and
is, therefore, finite in dielectrics (where the dispersion
is elliptical) but diverges in hyperbolic media. Conse-
quently, when an emitter is brought close to the surface
of a hyperbolic metamaterial it starts to couple to the
cay rate of the emitter increases compared to that in
air/vacuum.
There are, however, several factors that in prac-
tice limit the enhancement of spontaneous emission.
Most notably these are the finite structural periodicity
of a metamaterial composite, which introduces a cut-off
for the largest wavevectors permitted by the metamate-
rial, and the finite separation between the emitter and
the metamaterial, which makes it impossible for some
of the evanescent harmonics to reach the metamaterial
and hence couple to its high-k states.
Although many experiments involving hyperbolic
metamaterials of types I and II demonstrated a short-
ening of the lifetime [56.73–75], the discrimination
between the true radiative mechanism involving prop-
agating high-k modes and the nonradiative mechanism
(i. e., dissipation due to ohmic resistance of materials)
has been challenging [56.75, 76].
ing micro and nanofabrication techniques exploited by
complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS)
Part E | 56.2
technology. This, in combination with the unusual
electromagnetic properties of the planar metamaterials
achieved through the nanoscale control of light, renders
this type of artificial media an intriguing and viable al-
ternative to various conventional photonic components.
56.2.1 Frequency Selective Surfaces
One of the most basic properties of planar metamate-
rials is the ability to resonantly transmit, reflect, or ab-
sorb electromagnetic radiation within narrow frequency
bands that can be engineered on demand. The idea of
such metamaterial filters, which were termed frequency
selective surfaces (FSS) because of their vanishing
thickness, originated in the RF and microwave commu-
nities [56.77, 78] and can be traced back to the work
on phased antenna arrays done in the 1960s [56.79].
The simplest example of an FSS is the perforated metal
screen placed behind the glass window of a microwave
oven, which blocks microwave radiation escaping from
1366 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications
the oven but at the same time allows one to see through
the window.
An FSS is typically formed by an array of complex-
shaped patches of a metal foil arranged on a two-
dimensional lattice with a subwavelength period, and
mechanically supported by a thin dielectric substrate
(Fig. 56.20a). The FSS is transparent everywhere apart
from a specific range of frequencies, known as the
stop band, where the array of patches reflects elec-
tromagnetic waves as if it were a continuous sheet
of metal (Fig. 56.20b). Such a spectrally selective
response is underpinned by the electromagnetic res-
onances of individual patches, which have the same
nature as the geometrical resonances in bulk metamate-
rials (Sect. 56.1.1). They are controlled by the shape and
size of the patches (also regarded as metamolecules),
and the dielectric permittivity of the immediate sur-
roundings. Consequently, planar metamaterials share
a) Dielectric b)
1 T
T
I R
0 can, therefore, support electrical currents.
R f0 Frequency
Dielectric
c) d)
1 R
T
I T
Part E | 56.2
0 the passband, where electrical currents induced in the
R f0 Frequency
e) Dielectric f)
T (Fig. 56.20d). The spectral selectivity of the nega-
1 tive FSS is shaped by the resonances of individual
T
I magnetic currents [56.80]. Nevertheless, the passband
0 of a negative FSS can be predicted based on the spectral
f0 Frequency
d << λ0
Fig. 56.20a–f Examples of frequency selective surfaces
based on SRR. (a) An array of split-ring patches and (b) its
transmission (solid line) and reflection (dashed line) spec-
tra. (c) An array of split-ring slits made in a thin metal
foil and (d) its transmission (solid line) and reflection
(dashed line) spectra. (e) An array of asymmetrically-split-
ring patches and (f) its transmission spectrum
most of the design features of their bulk counterparts
(Fig. 56.2), and the wavelength of their resonances
0 D c=f0 is given by the expressions similar to (56.1),
r
" C 1 2le
0  ; (56.12)
2 m
where le is the total electrical length of the metallic
pattern that forms the metamolecule, " is the relative
permittivity of the supporting substrate, and m is a pos-
itive integer. As with bulk metamaterials, resonances
with m > 4 are usually not possible to engineer. The
p difference between (56.1)
only p and (56.12) is that factor
" has been replaced with ." C 1/=2. Such a modifi-
cation reflects the fact that an FSS is usually supported
by a dielectric on one side, while the other side contacts
with air. The effective permittivity in this case can be
calculated as the average between the permittivities of
the dielectric and air, which happens to be a good ap-
proximation that works well for dielectric layers as thin
as 0:050 [56.77]. It is easy to see that when an FSS is
sandwiched between two dielectric layers with permit-
tivity ", (56.12) and (56.1) become identical. As in the
case of bulk metamaterials, (56.12) works particularly
well for metamaterials operating at near-IR frequencies
and below, where metals are still good conductors and
An FSS can also be formed by an array of complex-
shaped subwavelength apertures, rather than patches,
made in a thin metal screen (Fig. 56.20c). Such an in-
verse or negative type of planar metamaterials does not
necessarily require supporting substrates, as mechani-
cal stability here is often ensured by the metal screen
itself. A negative FSS behaves as a mirror everywhere
apart from in a certain range of frequencies, known as
perforated screen are resonantly suppressed, rendering
the metallic structure electromagnetically transparent
apertures, which are different in nature from the reso-
nances of conventional (i. e., positive) metamolecules
and are usually described with the help of fictitious
response of its complementary structure. According to
the Babinet principle, the specular reflection coefficient
of a perforated metal screen equals the transmission co-
efficient of a free-standing array of metallic patches that
have the same shape as the apertures in the screen, and
vice versa. Such an approach works particularly well in
the RF and microwave domains where metals behave
as perfect conductors, while the thickness of the screen
can be made as 0 =103 or less. Thicker screens have the

opposite effects on the bandwidths of the complimen-
tary metamaterial patterns, making the transmission
passband narrower and the stopband wider. Also, the
two types of FSS will behave differently if the thick-
ness of the dielectric substrates d exceeds 0 =4 [56.77].
The shape of the transmission stopband (or pass-
'j < =2 to either side of f0 , since
band) and its width can be modified by introduc-
ing additional resonant elements in the design of the
metamolecules (e.g., asymmetrically split wire rings,
Fig. 56.20e) or, alternatively, by cascading several
FSS [56.77, 78]. In particular, both methods can be
used to engineer a very narrow window of trans-
parency within the stopband of a planar metamate-
rial (Fig. 56.20f), which mimics the famous effect
of electromagnetically induced transparency in cryo-
genically cooled gases [56.81–83]. The metamaterial
transparency window is characterized by a very sharp
normal dispersion of the phase of passing electro-
magnetic waves, which corresponds to a substantial
reduction of the group velocity. For example, a 0 =35
thick planar structure can delay electromagnetic pulses
by more than 1=3 of their initial width [56.82].
FSSs play a key role in many antenna systems
for modern fixed and mobile communication sys-
tems [56.77, 78], and can be configured to operate as
low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass, or dichroic fil-
ters [56.84–87]. Other applications include laser–cavity
output couplers [56.88, 89] and narrow-band infrared
sources [56.90–92]. Also, owing to their resonant be-
havior, planar metamaterials are able to enhance light–
matter interaction, facilitating optical sensing [56.93,
94], energy harvesting [56.95], and generation of co-
herent radiation [56.96, 97].
56.2.2 Magnetic Mirrors
(High Impedance Surfaces)
If an FSS is placed on top of a continuous metal screen
such that the supporting substrate is sandwiched be-
tween the metallic pattern of the FSS and the screen,
acting as a spacer, the electromagnetic boundary condi-
tions at the surface of the resulting planar metamaterial
can be altered in a peculiar way. In contrast to the
case of regular metallic mirrors (Fig. 56.21a), the di-
rection of the E-field component of an electromagnetic
wave reflected off the structure will not reverse. In-
stead, the reversal will occur for the H-field component
(Fig. 56.21b), and the total magnetic field tangential to
the surface will vanish [56.98, 99], as if the metamate-
rial acts as an artificial magnetic conductor (hence the
term magnetic mirror).
When the change of the phase upon reflection
' HIS have been realized and studied mainly in the
is exactly zero and ohmic losses are absent, such a pla-
nar metamaterial can be regarded as a perfect magnetic
Metamaterials 56.2 Planar Metamaterials 1367
conductor, the counterpart of a perfect electric conduc-
tor. In practice, the reflection phase of a magnetic mirror
crosses zero only at a certain frequency f0 , correspond-
ing to the resonant mode of the structure (Fig. 56.21c).
The useful bandwidth of a magnetic mirror is usu-
ally defined by j
these changes of the phase would not cause destruc-
tive interference between the incident and reflected
waves [56.98, 99].
The behavior of the magnetic mirror can be un-
derstood by examining a corrugated metal slab, where
a series of narrow slots are cut vertically, or a =4 thick
dielectric slab backed by a metal plate. In the first case,
each slot can be regarded as a parallel-plate transmis-
sion line, which runs into the slab and is shorted at the
bottom (Fig. 56.22a). If the slots are 0 =4 deep, the
short circuit at the bottom end is transformed by the
length of the slots into an open circuit with zero cur-
rents at the top end, and hence exhibits high impedance.
In the second case, the total optical path in the dielectric
slab upon reflection equals =2, so that the first antin-
ode of the standing wave, where the E-component is at
maximum and the H-component is zero, coincides with
the top surface of the slab (Fig. 56.22b). A magnetic
mirror is the planar analog of the two cases that effec-
tively have been transformed to a much more compact
form by virtue of the strong resonant coupling between
the top and bottom surfaces – the FSS and metal screen,
respectively. Given the analogy, magnetic mirrors act as
two-dimensional electric filters that block surface cur-
rents and are thus often referred to as high impedance
surfaces (HIS) [56.99].
The resonant frequencies of HIS are typically lower
than the resonant frequencies of the constituent FSS due
Part E | 56.2
to the capacitive coupling of the latter with the metal
screen. For many designs of metamolecules, the wave-
length of their resonances can be estimated based on
the expression for the guided wavelength in a microstrip
transmission line [56.100]
v
u" C 1 "  1 2le
u
0  t C q ; (56.13)
2 2 1 C 5d m
w
where le is the total electrical length of the metallic pat-
tern that forms the metamolecule, 2w is the width of the
metallic strips forming the metamolecule, " is the rela-
tive permittivity of the dielectric spacer, d is the spacer’s
thickness, and m is a positive integer (m < 5). As in
the case of (56.1) and (56.12), this formula is practi-
cally useful only in the near-IR and lower frequency
domains.
RF and microwave domains where, due to their un-
usual boundary condition, they have been used as a new
1368 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications
a) Metal
b)
E /2
E
H H
I H
H I
R E
R
Fig. 56.21 Electromagnetic boundary conditions at the surface of (a) a conventional metallic mirror and (b) a magnetic
mirror. (c) Dispersion of the reflection phase schematically shown for a magnetic mirror at its resonance
a) Open ciruit b)
Node
(E = 0)
λ0/4
Short ciruit
type of ground plane for low-profile antennas [56.99,
101, 102]. Indeed, an electric-dipole antenna lying flat
against a HIS will not be shorted out (as it happens
on a regular metal sheet), while its radiation will ap-
Part E | 56.2
pear amplified due to the in-phase oscillations of the
antenna’s image created by such a mirror. Moreover,
since at resonance HIS do not support propagating sur-
face waves, the antenna will radiate efficiently, with
a smooth radiation pattern that is free from the effects
of multipath interference along the ground plane.
The magnetic mirror effect has been successfully
demonstrated also in the visible part of the spec-
trum [56.103], where one faces challenges in metama-
terial fabrication and has to deal with the plasmonic
behavior of nanostructured metals and increased ohmic
losses. The interest in optical magnetic mirrors is driven
by applications in surface-enhanced spectroscopy, and
the opportunity to increase the efficiency of optical
antennas and nanoemitters, and engineer compact op-
tical cavities. The first metamaterial sample was based
on a periodic grid of 40 nm thick meandering alu-
minum nanowires forming a resonant fish-scale pattern,
which was placed on top of an aluminum film coated
Dielectric c)
Δφ
Metal
“Magnetic mirror”
band
E 0
–/2
–
d << λ0 f0 Frequency
Fig. 56.22a,b Bulk analogs of
a magnetic mirror: corrugated metal
Standing slab (a) and dielectric slab backed by
wave a metal plate (b)
Antinode
(E = max)
λ/4
E=0
with a 50 nm thick silicon dioxide layer (Fig. 56.23).
The resulting nanostructured mirror exhibited high-
impedance resonances in the yellow and red spectral
bands. In particular, its reflection at 560 and 630 nm was
accompanied by changes of the phase as small as =9
and =6, respectively.
56.2.3 Perfect Metamaterial Absorbers
One of the most promising practical applications of
magnetic mirrors has proven to be resonant loss ampli-
fication (or perfect absorption [56.104]), which benefits
from the presence of, otherwise detrimental, resis-
tive losses. This metamaterial functionality exploits the
high-impedance resonance where the tangential com-
ponent of the total electric field on the surface of
a magnetic mirror is significant. Consequently, if an
electrically resistive sheet (for example, a thin slab of
a lossy dielectric) is placed on top of the structure,
a part of the incident energy will be dissipated in this
slab and, as a result, the reflection coefficient of the
system may become significantly reduced. This can be
shown quantitatively by using transmission line the-
 Metamaterials 56.2 Planar Metamaterials 1369

Fig. 56.23a,b First optical mag-

Aluminum
a) b) “fish scales” pattern netic mirror. (a) Scanning electron
(cross-section 50 x 50 nm 2) microscope image of the aluminum
fish-scale nanopattern. (After [56.60,
103]) (b) Cross-section of the mirror
SiO2 spacer (thickness 50 nm)

Aluminum mirror
(thickness 100 nm)

Silicon substrate
1 μm

ory. In fact, the reflectivity may drop as low as 30 dB
(R D 0:1%) [56.105], indicating that the resonant ab-
sorption of light by the metamaterial mirror is virtually
complete.
The idea of the metamaterial absorbing screen was
originally conceived by Engheta [56.106] and experi-
mentally demonstrated by Fedotov et al. [56.105], who
also showed that the source of losses could simply be
the dielectric spacer of the magnetic mirror itself. An
absorbing magnetic mirror may, therefore, be regarded
as an extremely compact electromagnetic cavity, where
light bounces back and forth (effectively being trapped
between the constituent FSS and metal screen) while
passing through the lossy dielectric many times until it
is completely absorbed. Such an interpretation is also
supported by the results of numerical simulations when
presented in the form of field lines of the total Poynt-
ing vector, which are often used to visualize the flow
of electromagnetic energy near subwavelength scatter-
ers [56.107, 108]. At high-impedance resonance, these
a certain, optimum range of resistive losses (i. e., values
of imaginary part of the substrate’s permittivity, Imf"g);
the absorption is naturally weak if the losses are too
small, and it is also weak if the losses are too high,
since large Imf"g destroys the magnetic mirror behav-
ior [56.105].
Resonant loss amplification may be used to improve
the sensitivity of photodetectors outside their main
spectral band by enhancing a small tail of interband
absorption. In this case, for example, the photosensi-
tive material could replace the dielectric spacer of the
magnetic mirror, while the metamaterial structure itself
would act as a light-harvesting device. This approach
should be particularly efficient for semiconductor de-
tectors and solar cells, and for increasing the quantum
efficiency of photomultipliers.
56.2.4 Designer Metasurfaces
and Flat Optics

lines are seen to wind around the metallic fabric of the
metamaterial, going in and out of the dielectric spacer
where they eventually terminate (Fig. 56.24). Achiev-
ing maximum absorption, however, is possible only for
Part E | 56.2
The resonant response of a planar metamaterial is ac-
companied by a phase shift of the transmitted wave,
which varies between =2 and C=2, depending on
the detuning from the resonance frequency. Remark-

Fig. 56.24 Perfect absorption: lines

of the total Poynting vector (power
flow) calculated for two different
absorption resonances of a microwave
fish-scale magnetic mirror
1370 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications
ably, it occurs on the length scale of one-tenth or
even one-hundredth of a wavelength, which renders the
phase shift virtually discontinuous. Thus, by varying
the size and geometry (and hence the detuning from
the resonance frequency) of individual metamolecules
along the surface of the metamaterial, one can spa-
tially modulate the phase discontinuity and, in accor-
dance with Huygens’s principle, imprint the resulting
phase profile on the transmitted beam. The same ap-
plies to the reflected beam, which is produced by the
coherent superposition of the waves scattered by the
individual metamolecules in the backward direction.
Given the ever-expanding choice of resonant patterns,
metasurfaces with gradient structuring (designer meta-
surfaces) should enable the shaping of transmitted and
reflected wavefronts in nearly arbitrary ways, thus per-
forming as sophisticated but ultimately flat optical de-
vices [56.109]. This is in stark contrast to conventional
bulk optical components (e.g., lenses, prisms, wave
plates, and curved mirrors), where the phase shifts are
accumulated gradually along the optical path, typically
over the distance of several wavelengths.
Although the idea of designer metasurfaces can be
traced back to earlier works on microwave FSS [56.110,
111], it attracted significant attention only recently
following the work of Capasso et al. [56.109], who
demonstrated wavefront manipulation in the IR and for-
mulated generalized laws of refraction and reflection in
the presence of phase discontinuities
n1 0 d'
sin 2 D sin 1 C ; (56.14a)
n2 2 n2 dx
0 d'
sin 10 D sin 1 C ; (56.14b)
2 n1 dx
Part E | 56.2
where d'=dx is the gradient of the phase discontinuity
along the interface (Fig. 56.25). These relations im-
ply that the refracted and reflected beams can have
k1 k′1
θ′1
θ1 n1
φ(x) = a x
x
θ2
k2 n2
z
Fig. 56.25 Anomalous refraction and reflection at an in-
terface with linearly varying phase discontinuity '.x/
arbitrary directions, provided that suitable d'=dx is in-
troduced. In particular, refraction and reflection of light
incident at angle 1 become negative for phase gradi-
ents smaller than d'=dx D .2=0/ n1 sin 1 . While
deriving (56.14a)–(56.14b) it was assumed that ' varies
continuously along the interface, so that all the incident
energy is transferred into the modified reflection and
refraction. Since, in practice, a metasurface is a dis-
crete array of scatterers, although with subwavelength
separation, there will also be regularly refracted and
reflected beams that obey the conventional laws of re-
fraction and reflection [56.112].
An example of the designer metasurface exhibiting
negative refraction and reflection in the IR is pre-
sented in Fig. 56.26a. It features a regular array of
V-shaped gold metamolecules arranged in the groups of
8, with their shape and size changing gradually in each
group in the x-direction. Compared to more simple cut
wires, V-shaped metamolecules produce much stronger
scattering contributions to modified refraction and re-
flection for all their permutations and ensure phase
shifts in the entire range from 0 to 2, as required for
engineering a continuous phase gradient.
A more complex scattering phenomenon, such as
the generation of a vortex beam, is observed when
the phase shift varies linearly in the azimuthal direc-
tion. This can be achieved with a designer metasurface,
for instance, by arranging V-shaped metamolecules of
different permutations in eight equal sectors, which
imprint constant phase shifts with =4 increment coun-
terclockwise (Fig. 56.26b). By re-arranging the meta-
molecules such that the phase shift is constant in the
azimuthal direction but increases hyperbolically in the
radial direction, one obtains an aberration-free optical
flat lens [56.113].
Very recently, the concept of wavefront manipu-
lation using designer metasurfaces was taken further
with the introduction of the so-called Huygens meta-
surfaces [56.114, 115], planar arrays of metamolecules
that react to both E and H components of light. Huygens
metasurfaces are expected to have major implications
for integrated and transformation optics, as they allow
one to control the amplitude and phase of the scattering
independently, and hence generate truly arbitrary field
patterns for given illumination.
56.2.5 Polarization Manipulation
with Planar Metamaterials
Similar to bulk metamaterials, homogeneously pat-
terned planar metamaterials can exhibit complex polar-
ization effects, which lie beyond trivial polarization con-
version originating from structural anisotropy [56.116].
These phenomena include, in particular, enhanced con-

a) Г b)
3/4
y 2 μm
x
Fig. 56.26 Scanning electron microscope images of IR designer metasurfaces, which exhibit negative refraction and
reflection (a) and generate vortex beams (b). (After [56.109])
ventional optical activity, optical activity occurring in
the absence of structural chirality, and asymmetric trans-
mission [56.117], which, unlike the first two effects,
does not seem to have an analog in bulk media.
Natural (Intrinsic) Optical Activity
Natural optical activity manifests itself as the polar-
ization azimuth rotation of linearly polarized light, as
well as the preferential absorption of either right or
left-hand circularly polarized light in a lossy medium
(Sect. 56.1.5). Conventionally, optical activity is at-
tributed to intrinsic chirality of matter, a particular type
of asymmetry characterized by the presence of a screw-
like twist in its very structure (either on molecular or
crystal lattice levels). Such a twist exists only in three
dimensions and, therefore, cannot be realized in a truly
planar structure. Instead, it may be introduced in a bi-
layered stack, for example, by rotating metamaterial
patterns in the first and second layers with respect to
each other, as illustrated in Fig. 56.11c–g. Due to the
strong resonant coupling between the mutually twisted
patterns, the rotation of the polarization plane of up to
90ı can be achieved for interlayer separation of only
0 =30 or so [56.33, 34]. Consequently, all bi-layered
chiral metamaterials considered in Sect. 56.1.5, al-
though not technically planar, can be regarded as planar
metamaterials given their vanishing thickness. More-
over, it is easy to see that even the presence of a support-
ing substrate makes the structure of a planar metamate-
rial intrinsically chiral if its pattern features a spiral-like
twist. In this case, however, the manifestation of optical
activity is usually rather weak [56.33, 40, 118].
Extrinsic Optical Activity
Extrinsic optical activity is a practically unknown in-
stance of the polarization phenomenon, which is very
Metamaterials 56.2 Planar Metamaterials 1371
5/4 3/2
 7/4
0
/2 /4 10 μm
difficult to observe using natural materials but which
can be easily engineered in planar metamaterials, offer-
ing an efficient and robust polarization control mech-
anism. It is attributed to the chirality that is drawn
extrinsically from the experimental arrangement that in-
cludes not only molecules (or metamolecules), which
must be oriented and can be structurally achiral, but
also the wave propagation direction. This special con-
dition for observing optical activity was first identified
by Bunn [56.119] and confirmed in liquid crystals by
Williams [56.120].
In the context of metamaterial research, the ef-
fect was experimentally demonstrated by Plum et al.
in both the microwave [56.121] and optical [56.122]
parts of the spectrum by characterizing the transmis-
sion response of specially designed metasurfaces at
Part E | 56.2
oblique incidence. The metasurfaces were based on
regular arrays of achiral asymmetrically split-ring meta-
molecules (Fig. 56.27a), although, in principle, any
metamaterial pattern that does not possess twofold ro-
tational symmetry could have formed an extrinsically
chiral arrangement with an obliquely incident beam
(and hence exhibited optical activity). The observed
rotation of the polarization azimuth exceeded 80ı for
microwave and 1ı for optical metasurfaces, which in
absolute terms surpasses the strength of optical activity
achieved in most intrinsically chiral planar metamateri-
als.
Optical activity of an extrinsically chiral metasur-
face has the following key features:
1. No effect can be observed at normal incidence.
2. No effect can be observed at oblique incidence if the
metamolecules possess twofold rotational symme-
try or if the line of their mirror symmetry is parallel
to the plane of incidence.
1372 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications

which gives rise to extrinsic chirality of opposite hand-

a) Supported modes of excitation
edness (see Fig. 56.27d,e). Understanding the fourth
feature, however, requires one to revisit the physical
p mechanism of the effect, as detailed below.
= + Similar to conventional optical activity, its extrinsic
m
counterpart results from the simultaneous presence of
electric and magnetic responses in the metamolecules.
The asymmetry of the metamolecules (such as, for
Achiral configurations example, asymmetrically split rings) plays a key role
b) c) here: an electromagnetic wave resonantly induces un-
equal currents oscillating in the upper and lower arcs
p of the rings. Such a current configuration may be repre-
p sented as a sum of symmetric and antisymmetric current
m modes. The symmetric mode yields an electric dipole
m moment, p, oscillating in the plane of the ring and par-
allel to the split, while the antisymmetric mode gives
k k rise to a magnetic dipole moment, m, which oscillates
perpendicular to the plane (Fig. 56.27a). At oblique in-
Extrinsically chiral configurations cidence, each dipole moment acquires a component in
the plane orthogonal to the wave propagation direction
d) e)
(Fig. 56.27d). When the split is parallel to the plane
of incidence (the line of mirror symmetry is orthogo-
p nal to the plane of incidence), the projections of m and
p p become collinear and scatter electromagnetic waves
m
m
with orthogonal polarizations, so that the polarization
of the resulting transmitted wave exhibits maximal ro-
k k
tation. Clearly, by varying the angle of incidence, one
changes the difference between the magnitudes of the
Fig. 56.27a–e Optical activity due to extrinsic chirality. dipole projections, and hence controls their relative
(a) Oscillating currents in an asymmetrically split ring can contributions to the polarization state of the transmit-
be represented as a sum of symmetric and antisymmetric ted wave. Also, it can be seen that for opposite angles
modes, corresponding to an electric dipole p (green arrow) of incidence, the mutual phase difference between the
and a magnetic dipole m (red arrow). Optical activity is projections of m and p reverses, which directly affects
controlled by the projections of p and m onto the plane the sign of optical activity (see Fig. 56.27d,e). When
Part E | 56.2

perpendicular to the incident wavevector k (green and red
dashed arrows correspondingly). The effect is absent ei-
ther (b) at normal incidence, when one of the projections is
zero, or (c) if the projections are mutually orthogonal. The
strongest optical activity of opposite sign occurs if these
projections are either (d) parallel or (e) antiparallel
3. Opposite angles of incidence yield the effects of op-
posite signs.
4. The magnitude of the polarization rotation and
circular dichroism is controlled by the angle of in-
cidence.
Most of the features can be readily understood based on
geometrical considerations. Indeed, the first and second
features expose mutual orientations of the metasurface
and incident beam that result in vanishing extrinsic chi-
rality (Fig. 56.27b,c). The third feature simply reflects
the fact that reversing the angle of incidence trans-
forms an experimental arrangement into its mirror form,
the split is perpendicular to the plane of incidence (the
line of mirror symmetry is parallel to the plane of inci-
dence), the projections of m and p become orthogonal
to each other (Fig. 56.27c). In this case, the electro-
magnetic waves scattered by the projections have the
same polarizations, and so the polarization state of the
transmitted wave cannot change. Finally, at normal in-
cidence, the projection of m is zero, which makes the
absence of optical activity trivial (Fig. 56.27b).
The mechanism described above equally applies
to the reflection off an extrinsically chiral metasur-
face, where it leads to strong specular optical activity
(the existence of this effect in bulk media is still be-
ing debated) [56.123]. Intriguingly, this reflection effect
mimics the longitudinal magneto-optical Kerr effect,
but obviously does not require a magnetic field for its
observation.
Even though extrinsic chirality can only be as-
cribed to an anisotropic metasurface, its response fea-
tures a spectral band where the manifestation of the

anisotropy (i. e., linear birefringence) is negligible. For
this band the incident polarization state remains linear
upon transmission/reflection, exhibiting pure azimuth
rotation [56.121, 122]. Importantly, extrinsic optical ac-
tivity is exhibited by truly planar metamaterials, which
are typically much easier to fabricate than the bi-layered
stacks. The scalability of the metamaterial designs and
inherent tunability of the phenomenon, the magnitude
(and sign) of which can be continuously controlled
by tilting the metasurface with respect to the inci-
dent beam, enables the exploitation of extrinsic optical
activity in polarization control applications both in mi-
crowave and photonic devices. Examples of the latter
may include compact and efficient polarization rotators,
circular polarizers, and polarization modulators, as well
as vibration sensors.
Asymmetric Transmission
Asymmetric transmission is a new fundamental phe-
nomenon of electromagnetism, which manifests itself
as a difference in the overall intensity of circularly po-
larized waves transmitted by a medium in the opposite
directions. In some ways, it resembles the famous non-
reciprocity of the Faraday effect in magnetized media
but requires no magnetic field for its observation and is
fully compliant with the Lorentz reciprocity principle.
Asymmetric transmission was discovered in 2006 by
Fedotov et al. in planar chiral metamaterials [56.124],
a new distinct class of metasurfaces that feature two-
dimensional (2-D) chirality in the structure of their
metamolecules.
2-D chirality implies that a planar object or a pat-
tern cannot be brought into congruence with its mirror
image (which is obtained by reflection across a line
in the object’s plane) unless it is lifted off the plane.
The simplest example of a planar chiral object is the
Archimedean spiral. 2-D chirality has been rarely ac-
knowledged in the context of optics and materials
research simply because natural planar materials were
Line of mirror reflection
W W
Metamaterials 56.2 Planar Metamaterials 1373
not known to men (at least until 2004, when graphene
sheets were physically isolated and studied [56.125]).
The study of optical implications of 2-D chirality was
pioneered by Zheludev, who introduced the notion of
2-D chirality (termed as planar chirality) to the field of
metamaterials research in 2003 [56.126].
While conventional chirality reveals a structural
twist in three dimensions, planar chirality does so in
two dimensions. It is convenient to associate the twist
of a planar chiral pattern with a special unitary vector,
W, known as the twist vector. It points along the normal
to the plane of the pattern, and its direction is governed
by the corkscrew law: if the screw rotates in the direc-
tion of the structural twist, then it moves along the twist
vector. Correspondingly, if W points along the direc-
tion of observation, the pattern is perceived as being
twisted clockwise and, conversely, if W points toward
the observer, the pattern is twisted counter-clockwise
(Fig. 56.28). Importantly, the sense of the twist (and
hence the direction of W) reverses when a planar chi-
ral pattern is observed from opposite sides, and this is
exactly what makes the engineering of the asymmetric
transmission effect possible.
Phenomenologically, the origin of the effect may be
traced to a particular structure of the complex matrix
that describes the transmission of circularly polarized
waves through a planar chiral metamaterial
 
tCC tC 
¦ D
2D
; (56.15)
tC t 
which is a non-Hermitian matrix with equal diagonal
elements (tCC D t ). When expressed in terms of
transmission coefficients in the linear (Cartesian) basis,
this matrix can be transformed into a sum [56.124]
Part E | 56.2
¦2D D ¦2D
0 C i txy sgn .k  W/ g
O; (56.16)
where k is the wavevector of the incident wave, txy is
the coefficient characterizing the conversion of a lin-
Fig. 56.28 Examples of planar
chiral metamaterial patterns featuring
clockwise and counter-clockwise
twists
1374 Part E Novel Materials and Selected Applications

early polarized state into its orthogonal counterpart
upon transmission,
 
1 txx C tyy txx  tyy
¦0 D
2D
(56.17a)
2 txx  tyy txx C tyy
is a symmetric matrix that describes the anisotropy of
the chiral pattern, and
 
0 1
gO D (56.17b)
1 0
is a unitary antisymmetric matrix. The antisymmet-
ric part of ¦2D is proportional to the pseudoscalar
combination (k  W) and is, therefore, responsible for
direction-dependent transmission, as the latter changes
sign upon the reversal of the wave propagation direc-
tion. The antisymmetric part is also proportional to
txy , which can only exist for anisotropic metamolecules
of low-structural symmetry and vanishes for patterns
possessing a fourfold symmetry axis. The polariza-
tion conversion term txy cannot be eliminated by the
choice of appropriate coordinate systems only in the
presence of dissipation. In other words, the asymmetric
transmission effect can be observed in a planar chi-
ral metamaterial if, and only if, it is simultaneously
anisotropic and lossy. It also follows form (56.16) that
the asymmetry is reversed for the opposite handedness
of (i) incident polarization and (ii) structural twist.
The transmission asymmetry exhibited by planar
chiral metamaterials is different from that of the Fara-
day effect in magnetized media. Indeed, in the case of
the Faraday effect, the asymmetry applies to the trans-
mission amplitude and phase of an incident circularly
polarized wave itself, whereas planar chiral metamateri-
als, due to their anisotropy, partially convert the incident
wave into one of the opposite handedness, and it is the
efficiency of this conversion that is asymmetric with re-
spect to the direction of propagation. The fundamental
novelty of the asymmetric transmission effect may also
be appreciated by comparing the polarization eigen-
states (i. e., the polarizations that are preserved upon
transmission) of planar chiral metamaterials with that
of the Faraday media. The eigenstates of the transparent
Faraday media, in general, are two elliptical polariza-
tions of opposite handedness, while the eigenstates of
planar chiral metamaterials are two elliptical polariza-
tions of the same handedness, which differ only in
the azimuths of their main axes – they are orthogonal
(Fig. 56.29). The eigenstates of planar chiral metama-

Propagation of circularly polarized wave through

media in opposite directions Polarization eigenstates

lntensities and phase retardations Forward Backward

are the same

Conventional + + + +
chiral media
Part E | 56.2

lntensities and phase retardations

H are different H

Faraday + + + + H H
media

lntensities and phase retardations

of converted waves are different
W W
– –
Planar chiral + +
W W
media
+ +
Total intensities are different

Fig. 56.29 Manifestations of polarization effects and corresponding polarization eigenstates in conventional chiral me-
dia, Faraday media, and planar chiral media. Vectors H and W denote magnetization and planar chiral twist, respectively

terials are also different from those of conventionally
chiral media (and chiral metamaterials) exhibiting opti-
cal activity. The eigenstates of the latter are completely
symmetric with respect to the propagation direction,
whereas the eigenstates of planar chiral metamaterials
reverse their handedness (Fig. 56.29).
At an abstract crystallographic level, it has been
shown that a combination of birefringence and cir-
cular dichroism (termed elliptical dichroism) provides
a basis for the optical manifestation of asymmetric
transmission and that a hypothetical bi-axial elliptically
dichroic bulk medium should exhibit optical properties
characteristic to a planar chiral metamaterial [56.127].
More rigorous, quantitative descriptions of asymmetric
transmission with a detailed analysis of the effect on
a microscopic level and systematic study of planar chi-
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