Realizing remarkable tunability in optical properties without sacrificing speed is critical to obtain all optical ultrafast devices. In this work, we investigate the ultrafast temporal behavior of optically tunable epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials, operating in the visible spectral range. To perform this the ultrafast dynamics of the hot electrons is acquired by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy and studied based on two-temperature model (2TM). We show that pumping with femtosecond pulses changes the effective permittivity of the metamaterial more than 400 %. This significant modulation is more pronounced in ENZ region and we confirm this by the 2TM. The realized ultrafast modulation in effective permittivity, along with the ultrashort relaxation time of 3.3 ps, opens a new avenue towards ultrafast photonic applications.
In this work, we investigate wave transmission through an epsilon-near-zero metamaterial waveguide embedded with defects. We show that by adjusting the geometric sizes and material properties of the defects, total reflection and even transmission can be obtained, despite the impedance mismatch of epsilon-near-zero material with free space. Our work can greatly simplify the design of zero-index material waveguide applications by removing the dependence on permeability.
We study metamaterials with an anisotropic effective permittivity tensor in which one component is near zero. We find that such an anisotropic metamaterial can be used to control wave propagation and construct almost perfect bending waveguides with a high transmission rate (>95%). This interesting effect originates in the power flow redistribution by the surface waves on the input and output interfaces, which smoothly matches with the propagating modes inside the metamaterial waveguide. We also find that waves in such anisotropic epsilon-near-zero materials can be reflected by small-sized perf…
We verify the extraordinary transmission enhancement and collimation induced by the material loss in anisotropic near-zero permittivity (ENZ) metamaterials, and reveal the physical mechanism of this exotic electromagnetic phenomenon via the iso-frequency contour (IFC) analysis. In addition, we demonstrate the possibility in realization of such loss enhanced transmission of Gaussian beam in realistic silver-germanium multilayered structures by applying full-wave numerical simulations.
We suggest a principle for isolation of circularly polarized waves in magnetically active extreme-parameter metamaterials. Using theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, we show that metamaterials with extreme parameters, such as epsilon-near-zero materials (ENZ), when merged with magneto-optical materials, become transparent for forward circularly polarized waves of a given handedness and opaque for backward propagating waves of the same handedness. We theoretically study two possible implementations of such hybrid materials: (1) the case of metal-dielectric stacks; and (2) rectangular…
Near-infrared epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterial slabs based on silver-germanium (Ag-Ge) multilayers are experimentally demonstrated. Transmission, reflection and absorption spectra are characterized and used to determine the complex refractive indices and the effective permittivities of the ENZ metamaterial slabs, which match the results obtained from both the numerical simulations and the optical nonlocalities analysis. A rapid post-annealing process is used to reduce the collision frequency of silver and therefore decrease the optical absorption loss of multilayer metamaterial slabs. Furt…
Epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterial slabs at visible frequencies based on metal-dielectric multilayers are experimentally realized. Transmission, reflection and absorption spectra are measured and used to determine the complex refractive indices and the effective permittivities of the ENZ slabs, which agree with the results obtained from both the numerical simulations and the optical nonlocalities analysis. Furthermore, light propagation in ENZ slabs and directional emission from ENZ prisms are also analyzed. The accurate determination of the ENZ wavelength for metal-dielectric multilayer met…
The concept of the broadband epsilon-near-zero meta-atom consisting of layered stacks with specified metallic filling ratio and thickness is proposed based on the Bergman spectral representation of the effective permittivity. The step-like metal-dielectric multilayer structures are designed to achieve realistic broadband epsilon-near-zero meta-atoms in optical frequency range. These meta-atoms can be integrated as building blocks for unconventional optical components with exotic electromagnetic properties over a wide frequency range, such as the demonstrated broadband directional emission and …
Anomalous optical coupling properties between two silicon wires in a silicon slot waveguide embedded in epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials are proposed and demonstrated. The dependences of optical field enhancement in the slot region and transverse optical force on the slot size and the permittivity of surrounding material are studied in details. It is demonstrated that the optical field in the slot region is significantly enhanced due to the giant index contrast at the slot interface between silicon wires and ENZ metamaterials, but the optical mode coupling between silicon wires is greatly…
We investigate non-diffracting hollow-core nonlinear optical waves propagating in a layered nanoscaled metal-dielectric structure characterized by a very small average linear dielectric permittivity (Nonlinear Epsilon-Near-Zero metamaterial). We analytically show that hollow-core waves have a power flow exactly vanishing at a central region and exhibiting a sharp sloped profile at the edges of the regions surrounding the core. Physically, the absence of power flow at the core region is due to the vanishing of the transverse component of the electric displacement field, condition that can be sa…
Epsilon-Near-Zero materials exhibit a transition in the real part of the dielectric permittivity from positive to negative value as a function of wavelength. Here we study metal-dielectric layered metamaterials in the homogenised regime (each layer has strongly subwavelength thickness) with zero real part of the permittivity in the near-infrared region. By optically pumping the metamaterial we experimentally show that close to the Epsilon-Equal-to-Zero (EEZ) wavelength the permittivity exhibits a marked transition from metallic (negative permittivity) to dielectric (positive permittivity) as a…
We investigate the emission of electromagnetic waves from biaxial subwavelength metamaterials. For tunable anisotropic structures that exhibit a vanishing dielectric response along a given axis, we find remarkable variation in the launch angles of energy associated with the emission of leaky wave radiation. We write closed form expressions for the energy transport velocity and corresponding radiation angle $ϕ$, defining the cone of radiation emission, both as a functions of frequency, and material and geometrical parameters. Full wave simulations exemplify the broad range of directivity that c…
We demonstrate ultrafast resonance switching of terahertz metamaterials through optical excitation of radiation damaged silicon placed in the gap of single split gap ring resonator. We observe the dynamic switching OFF of the fundamental resonance mode on a time scale of 4 picoseconds (ps) followed by the switching ON of the same resonance after 20 ps. Electric field distributions in the metamaterials unit cell derived through numerical simulations clearly support our experimental observations, showing that the high electric field at the resonator gaps, responsible for inductive-capacitive res…
All-optical active plasmonic devices are of fundamental importance for designing efficient nanophotonic circuits. We theoretically propose and numerically investigate an active plasmonic device made up of a nonlinear epsilon-near-zero metamaterial slab of thickness smaller than 100 nanometers lying on a linear epsilon-near-zero metamaterial substrate. We predict that, in free-space coupling configuration, the device, operating at low-intensity, would display plasmon mediated hysteresis behavior since the phase difference between the reflected and the incident optical waves turns out to be mult…
We suggest that electromagnetic chirality, generally displayed by 3D or 2D complex chiral structures, can occur in 1D patterned composites whose components are achiral. This feature is highly unexpected in a 1D system which is geometrically achiral since its mirror image can always be superposed onto it by a 180 deg rotation. We analytically evaluate from first principles the bi-anisotropic response of multilayered metamaterials and we show that the chiral tensor is not vanishing if the system is geometrically one-dimensional chiral, i.e. its mirror image can not be superposed onto it by using…
We propose a method for engineering thermally excited far field electromagnetic radiation using epsilon-near-zero metamaterials and introduce a new class of artificial media: epsilon-near-pole metamaterials. We also introduce the concept of high temperature plasmonics as conventional metamaterial building blocks have relatively poor thermal stability. Using our approach, the angular nature, spectral position, and width of the thermal emission and optical absorption can be finely tuned for a variety of applications. In particular, we show that these metamaterial emitters near 1500 K can be used…
Contrary to conventional wisdom that light bends away from the normal at the interface when it passes from high to low refractive index media, here we demonstrate an exotic phenomenon that the direction of electromagnetic power bends towards the normal when light is incident from arbitrary high refractive index medium to ε-near-zero metamaterial. Moreover, the direction of the transmitted beam is close to the normal for all angles of incidence. In other words, the electromagnetic power coming from different directions in air or arbitrary high refractive index medium can be redirected to the di…
Coulomb interaction of charges in a metamaterial may be expressed via its effective dielectric response function. Coulomb interaction appears considerably enhanced in artificially engineered epsilon near zero (ENZ) and hyperbolic metamaterials. Indeed, very recently it was observed that negative ENZ conditions enhance superconducting properties of a composite metamaterial via enhancement of Cooper pairing. Here we demonstrate that positive ENZ conditions enhance Coulomb repulsion of charges, leading to considerable enhancement of the Coulomb blockade effect in such metamaterials. Similar to hi…
We analytically investigate transverse magnetic (TM) spatial bright solitons, as exact solutions of Maxwell's equations, propagating through nonlinear metamaterials whose linear dielectric permittivity is very close to zero and whose effective nonlinear Kerr parameters can be tailored to achieve values not available in standard materials. Exploiting the fact that, in the considered medium, linear and nonlinear polarization can be comparable at feasible and realistic optical intensities, we identify two novel self-trapping mechanisms able to support two-peaked and flat-top solitons, respectivel…
We report on the demonstration of a femtosecond all-optical modulator providing, without nonlinearity and therefore at arbitrarily low intensity, ultrafast light-by-light control. The device engages the coherent interaction of optical waves on a metamaterial nanostructure only 30 nm thick to efficiently control absorption of near-infrared (750-1040 nm) femtosecond pulses, providing switching contrast ratios approaching 3:1 with a modulation bandwidth in excess of 2 THz. The functional paradigm illustrated here opens the path to a family of novel meta-devices for ultra-fast optical data process…
Above-light-line surface plasmon polaritons can arise at the interface between a metal and epsilon-near-zero metamaterial. This unique feature induces unusual fast-wave non-radiative modes in a epsilon-near-zero material/metal bilayer. Excitation of this peculiar mode leads to wide-angle perfect absorption in low-loss ultrathin metamaterials. The ratio of the perfect absorption wavelength to the thickness of the epsilon-near-zero metamaterial can be as high as 10^4; the electromagnetic energy can be confined in a layer as thin as λ/10000. Unlike conventional fast-wave leaky modes, these fast-w…
A strategy is proposed to design the broadband gain-doped epsilon-near-zero (GENZ) metamaterial. Based on the Milton representation of effective permittivity, the strategy starts in a dimensionless spectral space, where the effective permittivity of GENZ metamaterial is simply determined by a pole-zero structure corresponding to the operating frequency range. The physical structure of GENZ metamaterial is retrieved from the pole-zero structure via a tractable inverse problem. The strategy is of great advantage in practical applications and also theoretically reveals the cancellation mechanism …
The key feature of a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) emitter is the enhancement of thermal emission corresponding to energies just above the bandgap of the absorbing photovoltaic cell and simultaneous suppression of thermal emission below the bandgap. We show here that a single layer plasmonic coating can perform this task with high efficiency. Our key design principle involves tuning the epsilon-near-zero frequency (plasma frequency) of the metal acting as a thermal emitter to the electronic bandgap of the semiconducting cell. This approach utilizes the change in reflectivity of a metal near its pla…
Ultrafast control of light-matter interactions constitutes a crucial feature in view of new technological frontiers of information processing. However, conventional optical elements are either static or feature switching speeds that are extremely low with respect to the timescales at which it is possible to control light. Here, we exploit high-quality-factor engineered epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) modes of a metal-insulator-metal nanocavity to realize an all-optical ultrafast modulation of the reflectance of light at a tailored wavelength. Our approach is based on the presence of the two, spectrall…
Optical materials with vanishing dielectric permittivity, known as epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials, have been shown to possess enhanced nonlinear optical responses in their ENZ region. These strong nonlinear optical properties have been firmly established in homogeneous materials; however, it is as of yet unclear whether metamaterials with effective optical parameters can exhibit a similar enhancement. Here, we probe an optical ENZ metamaterial composed of a subwavelength periodic stack of alternating Ag and SiO$_2$ layers and measure a nonlinear refractive index $n_2 = (1.2 \pm 0.1) \times …
We report on the optical and physical characterization of metallic nanowire (NW) metamaterials fabricated by electrodeposition of ~30 nm diameter gold nanowires in nano-porous anodic aluminum oxide. We observe a uniaxial anisotropic dielectric response for the NW metamaterials that displays both epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) and epsilon-near-pole (ENP) resonances. We show that a fundamental difference in the behavior of NW-metamaterials from metal-dielectric multilayer (ML) metamaterials is the differing directions of the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) and epsilon-near-pole (ENP) dielectric responses relat…
We observe unique absorption resonances in silver/silica multilayer-based epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials that are related to radiative bulk plasmon-polariton states of thin-films originally studied by Ferrell (1958) and Berreman (1963). In the local effective medium, metamaterial descrip- tion, the unique effect of the excitation of these microscopic modes is counterintuitive and captured within the complex propagation constant, not the effective dielectric permittivities. Theoretical anal- ysis of the band structure for our metamaterials shows the existence of multiple Ferrell-Berreman…
Nonreciprocal transmission is the fundamental process behind unidirectional wave propagation phenomena. In our work, a compact and practical parity-time (PT) symmetric metamaterial is designed based on two Silicon Carbide (SiC) media separated by an air gap and photonically doped with gain and loss defects. We demonstrate that an exceptional point (EP) is formed in this PT-symmetric system when SiC operates as a practical epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) material and by taking into account its moderate optical loss. Furthermore and even more importantly, strong self-induced nonreciprocal transmission i…
We discuss the imaging properties of uniaxial epsilon-near-zero metamaterial slabs with possibly tilted optical axis, analyzing their sub-wavelength focusing properties as a function of the design parameters. We derive in closed analytical form the associated two-dimensional Green's function in terms of special cylindrical functions. For the near-field parameter ranges of interest, we are also able to derive a small-argument approximation in terms of simpler analytical functions. Our results, validated and calibrated against a full-wave reference solution, expand the analytical tools available…
Dispersion properties of metals and propagation of quantum bulk plasmon in the high photon energy regime are studied. The nonlocal dielectric permittivity of a metal is determined by the quantum plasma effects and is calculated by applying the Wigner equation in the kinetic theory and taking into account the electron lattice collisions. The properties of epsilon near zero material are investigated in a thin gold film. The spectrum and the damping rate of the quantum bulk plasmon are obtained for a wide range of energies, and the electron wave function is analytically calculated in both classic…
Levitation of objects with action at a distance has always been intriguing to humans. Several ways to achieve this, such as aerodynamic, acoustic, or electromagnetic methods, including radiation pressure, stable potential wells, and quantum Casimir-Lifshitz forces, exist. A fascinating approach for levitation is that of magnets over superconductors based on the Meissner effect -the expulsion of the magnetic field by a superconductor. With the advent of metamaterials -designed structures with electromagnetic properties that may not be found in nature- we ask whether a material may be conceived …
The rapidly growing global data usage has demanded more efficient ways to utilize the scarce electromagnetic spectrum resource. Recent research has focused on the development of efficient multiplexing techniques in the millimeter-wave band (1-10 mm, or 30-300 GHz) due to the promise of large available bandwidth for future wireless networks. Frequency-division multiplexing is still one of the most commonly-used techniques to maximize the transmission capacity of a wireless network. Based on the frequency-selective tunnelling effect of the low-loss epsilon-near-zero metamaterial waveguide, we nu…
An optical topological transition is defined as the change in the photonic isofrequency surface around epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) frequencies which can considerably change the spontaneous emission of a quantum emitter placed near a metamaterial slab. Here, we show that due to the strong Kerr nonlinearity at ENZ frequencies, a high power pulse can induce a sudden transition in the topology of the iso-frequency dispersion curve, leading to a significant change in the transmission of propagating as well as evanescent waves through the metamaterial slab. This evanescent wave switch effect allows for …
Nonreciprocal transmission forms the basic operation mechanism of optical diodes and isolators and requires the tantalizing task of breaking the Lorentz reciprocity law. In this work, strong nonreciprocal transmission is demonstrated by using a compact nonlinear parity-time (PT) symmetric system based on epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials photonically doped with gain and loss defects and separated by an ultrathin air gap. The nonlinear response of this scalable configuration is triggered at relatively low optical intensities due to the strong electric field confinement in the defects. The extre…
We propose a mechanism of active near-field heat transfer modulation relying on externally tunable metamaterials. A large modulation effect is observed and can be explained by the coupling of surface modes, which is dramatically varied in the presence of controllable magnetoelectric coupling in metamaterials. We finally discuss how a practical picosecond-scale thermal modulator can be made. This modulator allows manipulating nanoscale heat flux in an ultrafast and noncontact (by optical means) manner.
We show that a metamaterial slab with arbitrary values of epsilon and mu behaves as a cloak at a finite frequency for a small object located sufficiently close to it due to the suppression of the object's optical excitations by enhanced reflections. Reflections due to propagating components can partially suppress the excitation while evanescent components can cloak the object completely. In particular, a Veselago slab with epsilon = mu = -1 + i delta, as well as a class of anisotropic negative refractive index slabs, can completely cloak the small object placed within a finite distance from th…
Inspired by the parity-time symmetry concept, we show that a judicious spatial modulation of gain and loss in epsilon-near-zero metamaterials can induce the propagation of exponentially-bound interface modes characterized by zero attenuation. With specific reference to a bi-layer configuration, via analytical studies and parameterization of the dispersion equation, we show that this waveguiding mechanism can be sustained in the presence of moderate gain/loss levels, and it becomes leaky (i.e., radiative) below a gain/loss threshold. Moreover, we explore a possible rod-based metamaterial implem…
Transparent conducting oxides have recently gained great attention as CMOS-compatible materials for applications in nanophotonics due to their low optical loss, metal-like behavior, versatile/tailorable optical properties, and established fabrication procedures. In particular, aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) is very attractive because its dielectric permittivity can be engineered over a broad range in the near infrared and infrared. However, despite all these beneficial features, the slow (> 100 ps) electron-hole recombination time typical of these compounds still represents a fundamental limi…
We investigate the interaction of polarized electromagnetic waves with hyperbolic metamaterial structures, whereby the in-plane permittivity component $ε_x$ is opposite in sign to the normal component $ε_z$. We find that when the thickness of the metamaterial is smaller than the wavelength of the incident wave, hyperbolic metamaterials can absorb significantly higher amounts of electromagnetic energy compared to their conventional counterparts. We also demonstrate that for wavelengths leading to $\Re(ε_z) \approx 0$, near-perfect absorption arises and persists over a range of frequencies and s…
We demonstrate an ultrafast reversible modulation of resonant terahertz (THz) response in strongly photoexcited metamaterials. The transient spectral-temporal response of the dipole transition ~1.6 THz exhibits a distinct non-monotonic variation as a function of pump fluence. The transition energy shift, strength, spectral width and density-dependent ultrafast relaxation manifest a remarkable re-emergence of the resonances after initial quenching. Our simulation, incorporating the first-order diffraction from the photoinduced transient grating, reproduces the salient features, providing a new …
In recent years, unconventional metamaterial properties have triggered a revolution of electromagnetic research which has unveiled novel scenarios of wave-matter interaction. A very small dielectric permittivity is a leading example of such unusual features, since it produces an exotic static-like regime where the electromagnetic field is spatially slowly-varying over a physically large region. The so-called epsilon-near-zero metamaterials thus offer an ideal platform where to manipulate the inner details of the "stretched" field. Here we theoretically prove that a standard nonlinearity is abl…
We verify the feasibility of the proposed theoretical strategy for designing the broadband near-zero permittivity (ENZ) metamaterial at optical frequency range with numerical simulations. In addition, the designed broadband ENZ stack are used as meta-atoms to build functional nanophotonic devices with extraordinary properties, including an ultranarrow electromagnetic energy tunneling channel and an ENZ concave focusing lens.
We examine layered metamaterial structures consisting of alternating films of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) and dielectric material, and show that for such a stack it is possible to enhance the refractive, reflective or absorptive properties of the ENZ. The proposed structure takes advantage of resonances from several interfaces, guided modes, and plasmon excitations to achieve the desired enhancement, and it is not an effective medium. We use analytical modeling tools to show how the different degrees of freedom affect the properties of the stack, and propose experimentally feasible parameters for …
Ultrafast All-Optical Polarization Control via Symmetry Breaking in an Au Nanorod Dimer Metamaterial
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”（纳米科学与技术研究所，国家科学研究中心“德莫克里斯”）；Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, NHRF（理论与物理化学研究所，希腊国家研究基金会）
We present an analytical nonlocal effective medium approximation to describe the optical nonlocal effects in metallic nanorod metamaterials based on Mie scattering theory. It is shown that the developed nonlocal effective medium theory can predict a coexistence state of two modes around the epsilon-near-zero region, where strong optical nonlocal effects lead to the behavior of both positive refraction and negative refraction in the nanorod metamaterials. Outside of the coexistence region, only one mode can be excited and its behavior can be well described using the local effective medium theor…
Epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials have shown significant potential for nonlinear optical applications due to their ultrafast hot carriers and consequent optical nonlinearity enhancement. Modified poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films show metallic characteristics and a resultant ENZ wavelength near 1550nm through polar solvent treatment and annealing. The metallic PEDOT film exhibits an intrinsic optical nonlinear response that is comparable to gold and 100-fold higher than typical inorganic semiconductor ENZ materials due to π-conjugated delocalized electrons. Hot carriers generate a…
Epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials, including artificial metamaterials, have been advanced to mold laser beams and antenna-mediated radiated waves. Here we propose an efficient method to control Ohmic losses inherent to natural ENZ materials by the assembly of subwavelength structures in a nonperiodic matrix constituting an ENZ metacoating. Implemented over plano-concave transparent substrates whose radius can be of only a few wavelengths, ENZ surface-relief elements demonstrate to adequately shape a plane wave into highly localized fields. Furthermore, our proposal provides an energy efficienc…
The electromagnetic response of a two-dimensional metal embedded in a periodic array of a dielectric host can give rise to a plasmonic Dirac point that emulates Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) behavior. This theoretical result is extremely sensitive to tructural features like periodicity of the dielectric medium and thickness imperfections. We propose that such a device can actually be realized by using graphene as the 2D metal and materials like the layered semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides or hexagonal boron nitride as the dielectric host. We propose a systematic approach, in terms of …
