No abstract

Unusual performances of metamaterials such as negative index of refraction, memory effect, and cloaking originate from the resonance features of the metallic composite atom [1][2][3][4][5][6] . Indeed, control of metamaterial properties by changing dielectric environments of thin films below the metallic resonators has been demonstrated [7][8][9][10][11] . However, the dynamic control ranges are still limited to less than a factor of 10, 7-11 with the applicable bandwidth defined by the sharp resonance features. Here, we present ultra-broad-band metamaterial thin film with colossal dynamic control range, fulfilling present day research demands. Hybridized with thin VO 2 (vanadium dioxide) 12-18 films, nanoresonator supercell arrays designed for one decade of spectral width in terahertz frequency region show an unprecedented extinction ratio of over 10000 when the underlying thin film experiences a phase transition. Our nanoresonator approach realizes the full potential of the thin film technology for long wavelength applications.

The nature of light as an electromagnetic wave with transverse components has been confirmed using optical polarizers, which are sensitive to the orientation of the electric field. Recent advances in nanoscale optical technologies demand their magnetic counterpart, which can sense the orientation of the optical magnetic field. Here we report that subwavelength metallic apertures on infinite plane predominantly sense the magnetic field of light, establishing the orientation of the magnetic component of light as a separate entity from its electric counterpart. A subwavelength aperture combined with a tapered optical fibre probe can also serve as a nanoscale polarization analyser for the optical magnetic field, analogous to a nanoparticle sensing the local electric polarization. As proof of its functionality, we demonstrate the measurement of a magnetic field orientation that is parallel to the electric field, as well as a circularly polarized magnetic field in the presence of a linearly polarized electric field.

We use coupled mode theory (CMT) to analyze a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) plasmonic stub structure, to reveal the existence of asymmetry in its transmittance spectra. Including the effect of the near field contribution for the stub structure, the observed asymmetry is interpreted as Fano-type interference between the quasi-continuum T-junction-resonator local-modes and discrete stub eigenmodes. Based on the asymmetry factor derived from the CMT analysis, methods to control transmittance asymmetry are also demonstrated.

The common behaviour of a wave is determined by wave parameters of its medium, which are generally associated with the characteristic oscillations of its corresponding elementary particles. In the context of metamaterials, the decoupled excitation of these fundamental oscillations would provide an ideal platform for top–down and reconfigurable access to the entire constitutive parameter space; however, this has remained as a conceivable problem that must be accomplished, after being pointed out by Pendry. Here by focusing on acoustic metamaterials, we achieve the decoupling of density ρ, modulus B−1 and bianisotropy ξ, by separating the paths of particle momentum to conform to the characteristic oscillations of each macroscopic wave parameter. Independent access to all octants of wave parameter space (ρ, B−1, ξ)=(+/−,+/−,+/−) is thus realized using a single platform that we call an omni meta-atom; as a building block that achieves top–down access to the target properties of metamaterials.