Towards optical sensing with hyperbolic metamaterials

A possible means of optical sensing, based on a porous hyperbolic material which is infiltrated by a fluid containing an analyte to be sensed, was investigated theoretically. The sensing mechanism relies on the observation that extraordinary plane waves propagate in the infiltrated hyperbolic material only in directions enclosed by a cone aligned with the optic axis of the infiltrated hyperbolic material. The angle this cone subtends to the plane perpendicular to the optic axis is $\theta_c$. The sensitivity of $\theta_c$ to changes in refractive index of the infiltrating fluid, namely $n_b$, was explored; also considered were the permittivity parameters and porosity of the hyperbolic material, as well as the shape and size of its pores. Sensitivity was gauged by the derivative $d \theta_c / d n_b$. In parametric numerical studies, values of $d \theta_c / d n_b$ in excess of 500 degrees per refractive index unit were computed, depending upon the constitutive parameters of the porous hyperbolic material and infiltrating fluid, and the nature of the porosity. In particular, it was observed that exceeding large values of $d \theta_c / d n_b$ could be attained as the negative--valued eigenvalue of the infiltrated hyperbolic material approached zero

On the sensitivity of directions which support Voigt wave propagation in infiltrated biaxial dielectric materials

Voigt wave propagation (VWP) was considered in a porous biaxial dielectric material which was infiltrated with a material of refractive index $n_a$. The infiltrated material was regarded as a homogenized composite material in the long-wavelength regime and its constitutive parameters were estimated using the extended Bruggeman homogenization formalism. In our numerical studies, the directions which support VWP were found to vary by as much as $300^\circ$ per RIU as the refractive index $n_a$ was varied. The sensitivities achieved were acutely dependent upon the refractive index $n_a$ and the degrees of anisotropy and dissipation of the porous biaxial material. The orientations, shapes and sizes of the particles which constitute the infiltrating material and the porous biaxial material exerted only a secondary influence on the maximum sensitivities achieved. Also, for the parameter ranges considered, the degree of porosity of the biaxial material had little effect on the maximum sensitivities achieved. These numerical findings bode well for the possible harnessing of VWP for optical sensing applications

Plane waves with negative phase velocity in isotropic chiral mediums

The propagation of plane waves in an isotropic chiral medium (ICM) is investigated. Simple conditions are derived--in terms of the constitutive parameters of the ICM--for the phase velocity to be directed opposite to the direction of power flow. It is demonstrated that phase velocity and power flow may be oppositely directed provided that the magnetoelectric coupling is sufficiently strong

Controlling Voigt waves by the Pockels effect

Voigt wave propagation was investigated in a homogenized composite material (HCM) arising from a porous electro--optic host material infiltrated by a fluid of refractive index $n_a$. The constitutive parameters of the HCM were estimated using the extended Bruggeman homogenization formalism. Numerical studies revealed that the directions which support Voigt wave propagation in the HCM could be substantially controlled by means of an applied dc electric field. Furthermore, the extent to which this control could be achieved was found to be sensitive to the porosity of the host material, the shapes, sizes and orientations of the pores, as well as the refractive index $n_a$. These findings may be particularly significant for potential technological applications of Voigt waves, such as in optical sensing

Negative- and positive-phase-velocity propagation in an isotropic chiral medium moving at constant velocity

Analysis of electromagnetic planewave propagation in a medium which is a spatiotemporally homogeneous, temporally nonlocal, isotropic, chiral medium in a co-moving frame of reference shows that the medium is both spatially and temporally nonlocal with respect to all non-co-moving inertial frames of reference. Using the Lorentz transformations of electric and magnetic fields, we show that plane waves which have positive phase velocity in the co-moving frame of reference can have negative phase velocity in certain non-co-moving frames of reference. Similarly, plane waves which have negative phase velocity in the co-moving frame can have positive phase velocity in certain non-co-moving frames

Application of Bruggeman and Maxwell Garnett homogenization formalisms to random composite materials containing dimers

The homogenization of a composite material comprising three isotropic dielectric materials was investigated. The component materials were randomly distributed as spherical particles, with the particles of two of the component materials being coupled to form dimers. The Bruggeman and Maxwell Garnett formalisms were developed to estimate the permittivity dyadic of the homogenized composite material (HCM), under the quasi-electrostatic approximation. Both randomly oriented and identically oriented dimers were accommodated; in the former case the HCM is isotropic, whereas in the latter case the HCM is uniaxial. Representative numerical results for composite materials containing dielectric--dielectric dimers demonstrate close agreement between the estimates delivered by the Bruggeman and Maxwell Garnett formalisms. For composite materials containing metal--dielectric dimers with moderate degrees of dissipation, the estimates of the two formalisms are in broad agreement, provided that the dimer volume fractions are relatively low. In general, the effects of intradimer coupling on the estimates of the HCM permittivity are relatively modest but not insignificant, these effects being exacerbated by anisotropy when all dimers are identically oriented

Exorcizing ghost waves

The so-called electromagnetic ghost waves are simply electromagnetic nonuniform plane waves, whose association with both propagating and evanescent fields has long been known, even for isotropic dielectric materials that are non-dissipative

Towards a piecewise-homogeneous metamaterial model of the collision of two linearly polarized gravitational plane waves

We considered the experimental realization of a Tamm medium that is optically equivalent to the collision of two linearly polarized gravitational plane waves as a piecewise homogeneous metamaterial. Our formulation was based on the homogenization of remarkably simple arrangements of oriented ellipsoidal nanoparticles of isotropic dielectric-magnetic mediums. The inverse Bruggeman homogenization was used to estimate the constitutive parameters, volume fractions, and shape parameters for the component mediums. The presented formulation is appropriate for the regions of spacetime where the two gravitational plane waves interact, excluding the immediate vicinity of the nonsingular Killing-Cauchy horizon at the focusing point of the two plane waves

Negative reflection in a Faraday chiral medium

The four wavenumbers associated with planewave propagation in a Faraday chiral medium (FCM) with relatively huge magnetoelectric coupling give rise to enhanced possibilities for negative-phase-velocity propagation and therefore negative refraction. They can also give rise to the phenomenon of negative reflection. In particular, for a nondissipative example, we deduced that an incident plane wave with positive/negative phase velocity can result in a negatively reflected plane wave with negative/positive phase velocity, as well as a positively reflected plane wave with positive/negative phase velocity

Enhanced group velocity in metamaterials

The Bruggeman formalism is implemented to estimate the refractive index of an isotropic, dielectric, homogenized composite medium (HCM). Invoking the well--known Hashin--Shtrikman bounds, we demonstrate that the group velocity in certain HCMs can exceed the group velocities in their component materials. Such HCMs should therefore be considered as metamaterials