Left-handed interfaces for electromagnetic surface waves

Abstract

We show that surface electromagnetic waves (SEMWs) propagating along two-dimensional (2D) interfaces separating different metamaterials can behave analogously to 3D electromagnetic waves in either usual or left-handed media, depending on the permeabilities and/or permittivities of the two materials forming the interface. We derive the conditions when SEMWs carry energy opposite to the phase velocity. In analogy to three-dimensional (3D) left-handed media, we derive both an anomalous Cherenkov emission and a reversed Doppler effect. We also predict a negative refraction at the boundary between two different interfaces, which can be useful for perfect 2D lensing. © 2007 The American Physical Society.