The rise of near-zero-index technologies

Liberal, Iñigo; Engheta, Nader

doi:10.1126/science.aaq0459

Cited by 92 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The arbitrary control of wave-matter interaction by spatially designing the electromagnetic properties of media has been of great interest within the research community for decades [1]. Within this context, metamaterials [and metasurfaces as their two-dimensional (2D) version] have been studied and demonstrated at different spectral ranges such as microwave, terahertz, and optics [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] achieving extreme parameters of permittivity (ε) and permeability (μ) such as near-zero or negative [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Metamaterials have opened new paths to tailor and engineer wave propagation at will giving rise to new and improved applications such as sensors [20][21][22], antennas [23][24][25][26][27], beam shaping, [28][29][30] and mathematical operators [31], to name a few.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective medium concept in temporal metamaterials

Pacheco‐Peña

Engheta

2019

Nanophotonics

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Metamaterials are mostly designed in the timeharmonic scenario where wave propagation can be spatially manipulated. Tailoring the electromagnetic response of media in time has also gained the attention of the scientific community in order to achieve further control on wave-matter interaction both in space and time. In the present work, a temporally effective medium concept in metamaterial is theoretically investigated as a mechanism to create a medium with a desired effective permittivity. Similar to spatially subwavelength multilayered metamaterials, the proposed "temporal multilayered", or "multistepped" metamaterial, is designed by alternating in time the permittivity of the medium between two values. In so doing, the temporally periodic medium can be modeled as an effective metamaterial in time with an effective permittivity initiated by a step function. The analogy between the temporal multistepped and the spatial multilayered metamaterials is presented demonstrating the duality between both domains. The proposed temporal metamaterial is analytically and numerically evaluated showing an excellent agreement with the designed parameters. Moreover, it is shown how the effective permittivity can be arbitrarily tailored by changing the duty cycle of the periodic temporal metamaterial. This performance is also connected to the spatial multilayer scenario in terms of the filling fraction of the different materials used to create the multilayered structures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective medium concept in temporal metamaterials

Pacheco‐Peña

Engheta

2019

Nanophotonics

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“…The interest in metamaterials with near-zero (NZ) parameters (refractive index, permittivity and permeability) is due to the fact that structures made of these materials offer enormous possibilities for applications 21 . Near-zero-index photonics is currently an area of rapid growth 22 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Casimir forces exerted by epsilon-near-zero hyperbolic materials

Nefedov

Rubı́

2020

Sci Rep

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The Casimir force exerted on a gold dipolar nanoparticle by a finite-thickness slab of the natural hyperbolic material namely, the ortorhombic crystalline modification of boron nitride, is investigated. The main contribution to the force originates from the TM-polarized waves, for frequencies at which the parallel and perpendicular components of the dielectric tensor reach minimal values. These frequencies differ from those corresponding to the Lorentzian resonances for the permittivity components. We show that when the slab is made of an isotropic epsilon-near-zero absorbing material the force on the nanoparticle is larger than that induced by a hyperbolic material, for similar values of the characteristic parameters. This fact makes these materials optimal in the use of Casimir’s forces for nanotechnology applications.

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“…Based on this exceptional wave behavior, different functionalities of NZI media have been proposed, including tunneling electromagnetic energy through channels of arbitrary geometry 16,17 (i.e., supercoupling), boosting nonlinear effects 23,24 , shaping radiation patterns 25,26 , geometry-invariant resonant cavities 27 , and modulating the individual and collective emission properties of quantum emitters 28,29 . However, the current challenge is to develop the technological platforms that can empower practical applications for these intriguing theoretical concepts, so as to enable NZI technologies 30 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substrate-integrated photonic doping for near-zero-index devices

Zhou

et al. 2019

Nat Commun

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Near-zero-index (NZI) media, a medium with near zero permittivity and/or permeability, exhibits unique wave phenomena and exciting potential for multiple applications. However, previous proof-of-concept realizations of NZI media based on bulky and expensive platforms are not easily compatible with low-cost and miniaturization demands. Here, we propose the method of substrate-integrated (SI) photonic doping, enabling the implementation of NZI media within a printed circuit board (PCB) integrated design. Additionally, the profile of the NZI device is reduced by half by using symmetries. We validate the concept experimentally by demonstrating NZI supercoupling in straight and curve substrate integrated waveguides, also validating properties of position-independent photonic doping, zero-phase advance and finite group delay. Based on this platform, we propose design of three NZI devices: a high-sensitivity dielectric sensor, an efficient acousto-microwave modulator, and an arbitrarily-curved ‘electric fiber’. Our results represent an important step forward in the development of NZI technologies for microwave/terahertz applications.

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The rise of near-zero-index technologies

Abstract: Materials with designed electromagnetic response have a wide range of exotic applications

Cited by 92 publications

References 14 publications

Effective medium concept in temporal metamaterials

Effective medium concept in temporal metamaterials

Casimir forces exerted by epsilon-near-zero hyperbolic materials

Substrate-integrated photonic doping for near-zero-index devices

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