Design of Optical Metamaterials

After the prediction of Veselago, materials with simultaneous negative magnetic permeability and electric permittivity are able to transmit electromagnetic waves without exponential damping. These materials gained attention because they can be used for sub-wavelength resolution imaging and invisibility cloaking. The main problem is the fact that metamaterials have to consist of internal features smaller than the wavelength used, but for applications in the optical range still larger than typical molecular structures or lattice constants. We performed a careful evaluation of layered metamaterials of resonant structures by RCWA simulation of their effect on the phase and amplitude of the transmitted light and calculating an effective refractive index. The transmission and reflection spectra are calculated together with the predicted negative index of refraction. These materials are suited for the design of Pendry’s superlens, capable of imaging the near-field. Further investigations are about magnifying super lenses using geometric shape functions and a near-field to far-field transformer. Both RCWA and differential method analysis were performed on magnifying superlens designs.