Negative refraction via radiative surface phonon polaritons in a silicon carbide–based multilayer structure

Abstract

In this letter, we predict that radiative surface phonon polariton (RSPhP) modes, in a multilayer structure consisting of thin-film silicon carbide (SiC) bounded by silicon (Si) and diamond (Di), can be used to achieve negative refraction of mid-infrared light at approximately 11 μm. Dispersion relations, calculated for the Si/SiC/Di structure, show that the RSPhP mode exhibits negative dispersion and couples with incident light. Poynting vector calculations show how the energy flux may be refracted, negatively, in the SiC layer. © 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).