Chiral surface waves supported by biaxial hyperbolic metamaterials

Abstract

We discover a new kind of surface wave on biaxial hyperbolic metamaterial, which, in the k-space, connects the two diabolical points (or conical singularities) of the equifrequency surface. Interestingly, the propagation of such surface wave is found to be sensitive to the refractive index of the surrounding dielectric medium, showing a convex, concave or flat phase front when the refractive index is varied. Furthermore, the surface wave shows an elliptically polarized state, in which helicity is dependent on the propagation direction. This feature can be utilized for the spin-controllable excitation of surface waves, opening a gateway towards integrated photonic circuits with reconfigurable functionalities.