Metamaterial Optical Waveguides

Abstract

Optical metamaterials are man-made composite materials constructed with nanometer-sized periodic structures containing both dielectric and metal materials. These structures can produce materials with negative index of refraction-a unique material property that does not occur naturally. The theoretical breakthroughs made in this new class of electromagnetic materials are closely linked with progress in developing physics-driven design, novel fabrication, and characterization methods. For the optical waveguiding, a perfect control of the interaction between light and matter has been brought closer by the advances in fabrication of optical metamaterials. The unusual electromagnetic properties of metamaterials are expected to enable a new generation of miniaturized passive and active optical devices based on novel optical waveguides. In developing design strategies and new concepts for such devices, it is paramount that anisotropic properties of metamaterials are considered along with their other material features. Moreover, even the ways in which common devices operate require revisions when ordinary materials in their design are replaced by anisotropic metamaterials. Therefore, these metamaterials provide a route to creating potential devices through artificially engineered structures with negative average relative permittivity and permeability. The electromagnetic response of a metamaterial can be designed to produce desired waveguide properties. One particularly interesting metamaterial device is planar metamaterial waveguide structure that has potentially exciting applications. Properties of metamaterial waveguides when the limitations arise from fabrication techniques and physical principles have been taken into account. A considerable amount of theoretical effort has also been devoted to the analysis of optical propagation through different types of metamaterial structures, including uniaxial dielectrics and indefinite media, metal-dielectric heterostructures and superlattices, as well as strongly anisotropic waveguides. This chapter will give a brief review about perspective and prospective of the metamaterial optical waveguides. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.