Coupling effects in optical metamaterials

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2010 Dec 17;49(51):9838-52. doi: 10.1002/anie.200906211.

Abstract

Metamaterials have become one of the hottest fields of photonics since the pioneering work of John Pendry on negative refractive index, invisibility cloaking, and perfect lensing. Three-dimensional metamaterials are required for practical applications. In these materials, coupling effects between individual constituents play a dominant role for the optical and electronic properties. Metamaterials can show both electric and magnetic responses at optical frequencies. Thus, electric as well as magnetic dipolar and higher-order multipolar coupling is the essential mechanism. Depending on the structural composition, both longitudinal and transverse coupling occur. The intricate interplay between different coupling effects in a plasmon hybridization picture provides a useful tool to intuitively understand the evolution from molecule-like states to solid-state-like bands.