arXiv subjects

J. B. Pendry

Publications and source records attributed to J. B. Pendry.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

Calculation of material properties and ray tracing in transformation media

Complex and interesting electromagnetic behavior can be found in spaces with non-flat topology. When considering the properties of an electromagnetic medium under an arbitrary coordinate transformation an alternative interpretation presents itself. The transformed material property tensors may be interpreted as a different set of material properties in a flat, Cartesian space. We describe the calculation of these material properties for coordinate transformations that describe spaces with spherical or cylindrical holes in them. The resulting material properties can then implement invisibility cloaks in flat space. We also describe a method for performing geometric ray tracing in these materials which are both inhomogeneous and anisotropic in their electric permittivity and magnetic permeability.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2003

A spherical perfect lens

It has been recently proved that a slab of negative refractive index material acts as a perfect lens in that it makes accessible the sub-wavelength image information contained in the evanescent modes of a source. Here we elaborate on perfect lens solutions to spherical shells of negative refractive material where magnification of the near-field images becomes possible. The negative refractive materials then need to be spatially dispersive with $ε(r) \sim 1/r$ and $μ(r)\sim 1/r$. We concentrate on lens-like solutions for the extreme near-field limit. Then the conditions for the TM and TE polarized modes become independent of $μ$ and $ε$ respectively.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2003

Focussing Light Using Negative Refraction

A slab of negatively refracting material, thickness d, can focus an image at a distance 2d from the object. The negative slab cancels an equal thickness of positive space. This result is a special case of a much wider class of focussing: any medium can be optically cancelled by an equal thickness of material constructed to be an inverted mirror image of the medium, with, $ε$ and $μ$ reversed in sign. We introduce the powerful technique of coordinate transformation, mapping a known system into an equivalent system, to extend the result to a much wider class of structures including cylinders, spheres, and intersecting planes and hence show how to produce magnified images. All the images are perfect in the sense that both the near and far fields are brought to a focus and hence reveal sub wavelength details.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Imaging the Near Field

In an earlier paper we introduced the concept of the perfect lens which focuses both near and far electromagnetic fields, hence attaining perfect resolution. Here we consider refinements of the original prescription designed to overcome the limitations of imperfect materials. In particular we show that a multi-layer stack of positive and negative refractive media is less sensitive to imperfections. It has the novel property of behaving like a fibre-optic bundle but one that acts on the near field, not just the radiative component. The effects of retardation are included and minimized by making the slabs thinner. Absorption then dominates image resolution in the near-field. The deleterious effects of absorption in the metal are reduced for thinner layers.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Limitations on Sub-Diffraction Imaging with a Negative Refractive Index Slab

Recently it has been proposed that a planar slab of material, for which both the permittivity and permeability have the values of -1, could bring not only the propagating fields associated with a source to a focus, but could also refocus the nonpropagating near-fields, thereby achieving a subdiffraction image. In this work we discuss the sensitivity of the subwavelength focus to various slab parameters, pointing out the connection to slab plasmon modes. We also note and resolve a paradox associated with the perfect imaging of a point source. We conclude that subwavelength resolution is achievable with available technology, but only by implementation of a critical set of design parameters.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

The asymmetric lossy near-perfect lens

We extend the ideas of the recently proposed perfect lens [J.B. Pendry, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 85}, 3966 (2000)] to an alternative structure. We show that a slab of a medium with negative refractive index bounded by media of different positive refractive index also amplifies evanescent waves and can act as a near-perfect lens. We examine the role of the surface states in the amplification of the evanescent waves. The image resolution obtained by this asymmetric lens is more robust against the effects of absorption in the lens. In particular, we study the case of a slab of silver, which has negative dielectric constant, with air on one side and other media such as glass or GaAs on the other side as an `asymmetric' lossy near-perfect lens for P-polarized waves. It is found that retardation has an adverse effect on the imaging due to the positive magnetic permeability of silver, but we conclude that subwavelength image resolution is possible inspite of it.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Near Field Lenses in Two Dimensions

It has been shown that a slab of materials with refractive index = -1 behaves like a perfect lens focussing all light to an exact electromagnetic copy of an object. The original lens is limited to producing images the same size as the object, but here we generalise the concept so that images can be magnified. For two dimensional systems, over distances much shorter than the free space wavelength, we apply conformal transformations to the original parallel sided slab generating a variety of new lenses. Although the new lenses are not `perfect' they are able to magnify two dimensional objects. The results apply equally to imaging of electric or magnetic sub wavelength objects in two dimensions. The concepts have potential applications ranging from microwave frequencies to the visible.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Optical gain removes absorption and increases resolution in a near-field lens

A recent paper showed how to construct a lens that focuses near field radiation and hence produce resolution unlimited by wavelength. The prescription requires lossless materials with negative refractive index: finite loss cuts off the finer details of the image. In this paper we suggest compensating for losses by introducing optical gain media into the lens design. Calculations demonstrate a dramatic improvement in performance for a silver/gain composite medium at optical frequencies.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Comment on "Left-Handed Materials Do Not Make a Perfect Lens"

In a recent Physical Review Letter [1] Garcia and Nieto Vesperinas (GNV) dispute the claim of perfect lensing made in [2]. The thrust of the GVN paper is that the solutions proposed in [2] imply infinite energy density and are therefore inadmissible. They claim that finite absorption leads to catastrophic collapse of the amplifying solutions vital to focussing and that no useful effect can be achieved. In this Comment I show that, on the contrary, careful consideration of absorption results in solutions that are always well behaved and evolve smoothly and continuously to perfect resolution in the limiting case of zero absorption.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2000

Theory of extraordinary optical transmission through subwavelength hole arrays

We present a fully three-dimensional theoretical study of the extraordinary transmission of light through subwavelength hole arrays in optically thick metal films. Good agreement is obtained with experimental data. An analytical minimal model is also developed, which conclusively shows that the enhancement of transmission is due to tunneling through surface plasmons formed on each metal-dielectric interfaces. Different regimes of tunneling (resonant through a ''surface plasmon molecule", or sequential through two isolated surface plasmons) are found depending on the geometrical parameters defining the system.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1999

Transmission resonances on metallic gratings with very narrow slits

In this paper we show how transmission metallic gratings with very narrow and deep enough slits can exhibit transmission resonances for wavelengths larger than the period of the grating. By using a transfer matrix formalism and a quasi-analytical model based on a modal expansion, we show that there are two possible ways of transferring light from the upper surface to the lower one: by the excitation of coupled surface plasmon polaritons on both surfaces of the metallic grating or by the coupling of incident plane waves with waveguide resonances located in the slits. Both mechanisms can lead to almost perfect transmittance for those particular resonances.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1998

Interface modes of two-dimensional composite structures

The surface modes of a composite consisting of aligned metallic wires with square cross sections are investigated, on the basis of photonic band structure calculations. The effective long-wavelength dielectric response function is computed, as a function of the filling fraction. The dependence of the optical absorption on the shape of the wires and the polarization of light is discussed, and the effect of sharp corners analyzed. The effect of the interaction between the wires on the localization of surface plasmons is also addressed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1998

Order N photonic band structures for metals and other dispersive materials

We show, for the first time, how to calculate photonic band structures for metals and other dispersive systems using an efficient Order N scheme. The method is applied to two simple periodic metallic systems where it gives results in close agreement with calculations made with other techniques. Further, the approach demonstrates excellent numerical stablity within the limits we give. Our new method opens the way for efficient calculations on complex structures containing a whole new class of material.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1998

Silver Filled Carbon Nanotubes used as Spectroscopic Enhancers

We analyse from a theoretical point of view the optical properties of arrays of carbon nanotubes filled with silver. Dependence of these properties on the different parameters involved is studied using a Transfer Matrix formalism able to work with tensor-like dielectric functions and including the full electromagnetic coupling between the nanotubes. We find these structures exhibit very strong linear optical response and hence could be used as spectroscopic enhancers or chemical sensors in the visible range. Very localised surface plasmons, created by the electromagnetic interaction between the capped silver cylinders, are responsible of this enhancing ability. Enhancements of up to $10^6$ in the Raman signal of molecules absorbed on these arrays could be obtained.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1998

Effective electronic response of a system of metallic cylinders

The electronic response of a composite consisting of aligned metallic cylinders in vacuum is investigated, on the basis of photonic band structure calculations. The effective long-wavelength dielectric response function is computed, as a function of the filling fraction. A spectral representation of the effective response is considered, and the surface mode strengths and positions are analyzed. The range of validity of a Maxwell-Garnett-like approach is discussed, and the impact of our results on absorption spectra and electron energy-loss phenomena is addressed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1998

Calculating photonic Green's functions using a non-orthogonal finite difference time domain method

In this paper we shall propose a simple scheme for calculating Green's functions for photons propagating in complex structured dielectrics or other photonic systems. The method is based on an extension of the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, originally proposed by Yee, also known as the Order-N method, which has recently become a popular way of calculating photonic band structures. We give a new, transparent derivation of the Order-N method which, in turn, enables us to give a simple yet rigorous derivation of the criterion for numerical stability as well as statements of charge and energy conservation which are exact even on the discrete lattice. We implement this using a general, non-orthogonal co-ordinate system without incurring the computational overheads normally associated with non-orthogonal FDTD. We present results for local densities of states calculated using this method for a number of systems. Firstly, we consider a simple one dimensional dielectric multilayer, identifying the suppression in the state density caused by the photonic band gap and then observing the effect of introducing a defect layer into the periodic structure. Secondly, we tackle a more realistic example by treating a defect in a crystal of dielectric spheres on a diamond lattice. This could have application to the design of super-efficient laser devices utilising defects in photonic crystals as laser cavities.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1998

Electromagnetic forces in photonic crystals

We develop a general methodology for numerical computations of electromagnetic (EM) fields and forces in matter, based on solving the macroscopic Maxwell's equations in real space and adopting the Maxwell Stress Tensor formalism. Our approach can be applied to both dielectric and metallic systems of frequency-dependent dielectric function; as well as to objects of any size and geometrical properties in principle. We are particularly interested in calculating forces on nanostructures. We find that a body reacts to the EM field by minimising its energy, i.e. it is attracted (repelled) by regions of lower (higher) EM energy. When travelling waves are involved, forces can be additionally understood in terms of momentum exchange between the body and its environment. However when evanescent waves dominate, the forces are complicated, often become attractive and cannot be explained by means of real momentum being exchanged. We study the EM forces induced by a laser beam on a crysta! l of dielectric GaP spheres. We ob serve effects due to the lattice structure, as well as due to single scattering from each sphere. In the former case the two main features are a maximum momentum exchange when the frequency lies within a band gap; and a multitude of force orientations when the Bragg conditions for multiple outgoing waves are met. In the latter case the radiation couples to the EM eigenmodes of isolated spheres (Mie resonances) and very sharp attractive and repulsive forces occur. Depending on the intensity of the incident radiation these forces can overcome all other interactions present (gravitational, thermal and Van der Waals) and may provide the main mechanism for formation of stable structures in colloidal systems.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1997

Mie resonances and bonding in photonic crystals

Isolated dielectric spheres support resonant electromagnetic modes which are analogous to electronic orbitals and, like their electronic counterparts, can form bonding or anti-bonding interactions between neighbouring spheres. By irradiating the system with light at the bonding frequency an attractive interaction is induced between the spheres. We suggest that by judicious selection of bonding states we can drive a system towards a desired structure, rather than rely on the structure dictated by gravitational or Van der Waals forces, the latter deriving from the zero point energy population of a state.

cond-mat.soft↗