Manipulating polarization of light with ultrathin epsilon-near-zero metamaterials

Abstract

One of the basic functionalities of photonic devices is the ability to manipulate the polarization state of light. Polarization components are usually implemented using the retardation effect in natural birefringent crystals and, thus, have a bulky design. Here, we have demonstrated the polarization manipulation of light by employing a thin subwavelength slab of metamaterial with an extremely anisotropic effective permittivity tensor. Polarization properties of light incident on the metamaterial in the regime of hyperbolic, epsilon-near-zero, and conventional elliptic dispersions were compared. We have shown that both reflection from and transmission through λ/20 thick slab of the metamaterial may provide nearly complete linear-to-circular polarization conversion or 90° linear polarization rotation, not achievable with natural materials. Using ellipsometric measurements, we experimentally studied the polarization conversion properties of the metamaterial slab made of the plasmonic nanorod arrays in different dispersion regimes. We have also suggested all-optical ultrafast control of reflected or transmitted light polarization by employing metal nonlinearities.

Permittivity evaluation of multilayered hyperbolic metamaterials: Ellipsometry vs. reflectometry

“…This unique material dispersion leads to novel optical properties, such as negative refractive index in a waveguiding geometry, 1 nominally unbounded density of photonic states, 2 and the existence of an ENZ (epsilon-near-zero) wavelength range for one of the permittivity components. 3 Metamaterial development relies on nanofabrication of features much smaller than the wavelength, traditionally requiring expensive techniques, such as electron beam lithography, with difficulty in scaling up samples to practical sizes. Notably, there have been recent demonstrations of large-area fabrication of two types of hyperbolic metamaterials: anodized alumina membranes, filled with metal nanocolumns 4,5 and metallo-dielectric laminates.…”

Photonic spin Hall effect in hyperbolic metamaterials for polarization-controlled routing of subwavelength modes

“…We have used the inherent property of hyperbolic metamaterials to support broadband, in both frequency and wave vector, electromagnetic modes 34 with high LDOS to demonstrate on-demand routing of electromagnetic signals on a deep subwavelength scale. In particular, we have shown that the new effect of near-field interference enables the broadband mapping of light in space, depending on its polarization handedness.…”

Application of the Phase Difference of the Variable Components of the Stokes Vector for Measuring Linear Birefringence

“…A magnetic field x h perpendicular to the direction of light propagation is created by the Helmholtz coils. Alternating current with a circular frequency 2 from the generator is fed to the solenoid through a resistor 1 R . The resistor 1 R together with the solenoid self-inductance 1 L forms a phase-shifting circuit.…”

“…Control of the light polarization and measuring birefringence of materials has a significant value for fundamental and applied researches [1][2][3]. There are known methods for measuring of birefringence using a rotating phase plate   4  and an analyzer [4].…”