Metamaterials: taming the interaction between light and matter
By: Mário Silveirinha
From: Univ. Coimbra
At: Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar, Anfiteatro
[2011-03-24]
Novel functional materials have attracted a lot of attention in recent years due to their anomalous interaction with the radiation field, determined mainly by the geometry of their nanoscopic constituents rather than from the chemical composition. It has been shown that by introducing a new length scale in conventional metals and dielectrics – by tailoring the microstructure – it is possible to control electromagnetic waves in an unprecedented manner. Particularly, materials with simultaneously negative permittivity and permeability [1] have stimulated the imagination of many researchers due to the fact that they effectively behave as some form of optical anti-matter, and potentially enable perfect lensing [2] and electromagnetic cloaking [3].
In this talk, I will present an overview of recent developments in the metamaterials field, with some emphasis on my research work. I will talk about applications and effects such as tunneling electromagnetic waves through narrow channels using near zero permittivity materials [4], engineering the material dispersion [5], ultra-long range Casimir forces and quantum levitation in nanowire structures [6], and mimicking surface plasmons at terahertz and microwave frequencies.
References:
[1] D. R. Smith, W. J. Padilla, D. C. Vier, S. C. Nemat-Nasser, and S. Schultz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 4184 (2000).
[2] J. B. Pendry, Phys. Rev. Lett., 85, 3966 (2000).
[3] A. Alù, N. Engheta, Phys. Rev. Lett, 102, 233901 (2009).
[4] M. Silveirinha, N. Engheta, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 157403, (2006);
M. G. Silveirinha, N. Engheta, Phys. Rev. Lett., 102, 103902, (2009).
[5] M. G. Silveirinha, Phys. Rev. Lett, 102, 193903 (2009).
[6] S. I. Maslovski, M. G. Silveirinha, Phys. Rev. A, 82, 022511, (2010);
M. G. Silveirinha, S. I. Maslovski, Phys. Rev. Lett., 105, 189301, (2010);
S. I. Maslovski, M. G. Silveirinha, Phys. Rev. A, (in press)