Retrieving the effective parameters of metamaterials from the single interface scattering problem

Jianji Yang (1) , Christophe Sauvan (1) , T. Paul (2) , C. Rockstuhl (3) , F. Lederer (3) , Philippe Lalanne (1)

1 Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Naphel
2 Institute of Solid State Theory and Condensed Matter Optics
3 Institute of Condensed Matter Theory and Solid State Optics

In order to better understand when man-made structures may be considered as metamaterials with effective properties at optical frequencies, we study the scattering reflection, transmission of light at a single interface between a uniform half-space and a bulk metamaterial, i.e., a semi-infinite three-dimensional periodic structure. We accurately compute the scattering coefficients between plane waves and Bloch modes and test the validity of the single-Bloch-mode approximation within the metamaterial. The knowledge of the single-interface scattering coefficients allows us to propose an innovative method for deriving effective optical parameters.

Domains: Optics / Photonic; Optics [physics.optics]

Jianji Yang, Christophe Sauvan, T. Paul, C. Rockstuhl, F. Lederer, et al.. Retrieving the effective parameters of metamaterials from the single interface scattering problem. Applied Physics Letters, 2010, 97 (6), pp.061102. ⟨10.1063/1.3478241⟩. ⟨hal-00570656⟩