Because the refractive index of hemoglobin in the visible range is sensitive to the hemoglobin concentration, optical investigations of hemoglobin are important for medical diagnostics and treatment. Direct measurements of the refractive index are, however, challenging; few such measurements have previously been reported, especially in a wide wavelength range. We directly measured the refractive index of human deoxygenated and oxygenated hemoglobin for nine wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm for the hemoglobin concentrations up to 140 g l(-1). This paper analyzes the results and suggests a set of model functions to calculate the refractive index depending on the concentration. At all wavelengths, the measured values of the refractive index depended on the concentration linearly. Analyzing the slope of the lines, we determined the specific refraction increments, derived a set of model functions for the refractive index depending on the concentration, and compared our results with those available in the literature. Based on the model functions, we further calculated the refractive index at the physiological concentration within the erythrocytes of 320 g l(-1). The results can be used to calculate the refractive index in the visible range for arbitrary concentrations provided that the refractive indices depend on the concentration linearly.

A simple approximate expression is derived for the resonant frequency of a singly split single ring that is among the first microwave resonators designed to be small relative to the wavelength. In addition to the usual gap capacitance the concept of surface capacitance is introduced. The surface capacitance is determined analytically by two different methods, first using analytical expressions for the electric field of a split cylinder, and second by using conformal mapping. Taking two practical examples the resonant frequency, found analytically, is shown to agree with that obtained by numerical simulations. The model could be used for studies of the resonant properties of split rings in the terahertz region.

Because direct measurements of the refractive index of hemoglobin over a large wavelength range are challenging, indirect methods deserve particular attention. Among them, the Kramers-Kronig relations are a powerful tool often used to derive the real part of a refractive index from its imaginary part. However, previous attempts to apply the relations to solutions of human hemoglobin have been somewhat controversial, resulting in disagreement between several studies. We show that this controversy can be resolved when careful attention is paid not only to the absorption of hemoglobin but also to the dispersion of the refractive index of the nonabsorbing solvent. We present a Kramers-Kroning analysis taking both contributions into account and compare the results with the data from several studies. Good agreement with experiments is found across the visible and parts of near-infrared and ultraviolet regions. These results reinstate the use of the Kramers-Kronig relations for hemoglobin solutions and provide an additional source of information about their refractive index.

We present a theoretical and experimental study of a bilayered metamaterial structure for subwavelength imaging of magnetic field. The simplest version of such a structure consists of one or two linear arrays of capacitively loaded split pipe resonators. Its subwavelength physics is governed by strongly anisotropic magnetic coupling between individual resonators and by propagation of magnetoinductive waves with wavelength much shorter than the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation in free space. It is shown that magnetoinductive waves propagating in the lateral direction are undesirable because they spread the image. Good subwavelength imaging is achieved when, due to the strong interlayer coupling, a stop band in the vicinity of the resonant frequency appears in the dispersion characteristics. The imaging properties of the single and double lens are compared and it is shown that the double lens has a superior performance. Excellent agreement is obtained between experimental and theoretical results for the magnetic field in the image plane in the operation frequency range of 30-60 MHz. It is shown that the same mechanism is responsible for image formation using bilayered planar metamaterial structures and a design of such a lens comprising two planar layers with a total of 542 elements is provided. The conclusions are not restricted to the radio frequency region because the elements can be scaled down.

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The dispersion characteristics of magnetoinductive (MI) waves for a one-dimensional array of metamaterial elements are investigated for the case where the element properties vary in a bi-periodic manner. It is shown that, by this means (analogously to acoustic waves in a solid), a variety of dispersion curves can be obtained including those displaying an “optical” branch. The flexibility of the metamaterial design makes it possible to apply this approach for obtaining specified dispersion properties. A design permitting parametric amplification is proposed.

A generalized equivalence theorem for polarization theory is formulated and proven. It is shown that anisotropic properties of homogeneous nondepolarizing media can be presented as a combination of four basic mechanisms: linear and circular phase and linear and circular amplitude anisotropy. Expressions for the generalized effect operators of algebraic (or operator) optics are obtained and the inverse problem of crystal optics is solved in terms of physically realizable anisotropy parameters.