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arXiv · 1212.2292

Optical isolation with epsilon-near-zero metamaterials

Arthur R. Davoyan·Ahmed Mahmoud·Nader Engheta
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Abstract

We suggest a principle for isolation of circularly polarized waves in magnetically active extreme-parameter metamaterials. Using theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, we show that metamaterials with extreme parameters, such as epsilon-near-zero materials (ENZ), when merged with magneto-optical materials, become transparent for forward circularly polarized waves of a given handedness and opaque for backward propagating waves of the same handedness. We theoretically study two possible implementations of such hybrid materials: (1) the case of metal-dielectric stacks; and (2) rectangular waveguide near its cut-off frequency. We prove that these structures can be utilized as compact isolators for circularly polarized waves.

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Arthur R. Davoyan, Ahmed Mahmoud, Nader Engheta. 2012-12-11. Optical isolation with epsilon-near-zero metamaterials. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.21.003279

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