Theory of Supercoupling, Squeezing Wave Energy, and Field Confinement in Narrow Channels and Tight Bends Using Epsilon-Near-Zero Metamaterials

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the detailed theory of the supercoupling, anomalous tunneling effect, and field confinement originally identified in [M. Silveirinha, N. Engheta, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 157403, (2006)], where we demonstrated the possibility of using materials with permittivity near zero to drastically improve the transmission of electromagnetic energy through a narrow irregular channel with very subwavelength transverse cross-section. Here, we present additional physical insights, describe new applications of the tunneling effect in relevant waveguide scenarios (e.g., the "perfect" or "super" waveguide coupling), study the effect of metal losses in the metallic walls, and the possibility of using epsilon-near zero materials to confine energy in a subwavelength cavity with gigantic field enhancement. In addition, we systematically study the propagation of electromagnetic waves through narrow channels filled with anisotropic epsilon-near zero materials. It is demonstrated that these materials may have interesting potentials, and that for some particular geometries the reflectivity of the channel is independent of the specific dimensions or parameters of epsilon-near zero transition. We also describe several realistic metamaterial implementations of the studied problems, based on standard metallic waveguides, microstrip line configurations, and wire media.

arXiv commentunder review

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• Controlling hybrid nonlinearities in transparent conducting oxides via two-colour excitation
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• Experimental realization of epsilon-near-zero metamaterial slabs with metal-dielectric multilayers
• Plasmonics without negative dielectrics
• A Semi-Classical View on Epsilon-Near-Zero Resonant Tunneling Modes in Metal/Insulator/Metal Nanocavities
• Below-Cutoff Propagation in Metamaterial-Lined Circular Waveguides
• Loss enhanced transmission and collimation in anisotropic epsilon-near-zero metamaterials
• Experimental demonstration of near-infrared epsilon-near-zero multilayer metamaterial slabs
• Hot Electron Dynamics in Ultrafast Multilayer Epsilon-Near-Zero Metamaterial
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• On-chip all-dielectric fabrication-tolerant zero-index metamaterials
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• Mid-infrared optics using dielectrics with refractive indices below unity
• Optical modes in slab waveguides with magnetoelectric effect
• Waveguide-Integrated Mid-Infrared Plasmonics with High-Efficiency Coupling for Ultracompact Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy
• Resonant Transmission of Electromagnetic Fields through Subwavelength Zero-$\epsilon$ Slits
• The Physics of Unbounded, Broadband Absorption/Gain Efficiency in Plasmonic Nanoparticles
• Strategy for designing broadband epsilon-near-zero metamaterial with loss compensation by gain media
• Tailoring Infrared Absorption and Thermal Emission with Ultrathin-film Interferences in Epsilon-Near-Zero Media
• Layer-Resolved Resonance Intensity of Evanescent Polariton Modes in Anisotropic Multilayers
• Integrated optical devices based on broadband epsilon-near-zero meta-atoms
• Dispersion engineering of infrared epsilon-near-zero modes by strong coupling to optical cavities
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• Experimental demonstration of a thermal-EM concentrator for enhancing EM signals and converging heat fluxes simultaneously
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• Disordered Zero-Index Metamaterials Based On Metal Induced Crystallization
• Realization of broadband index-near-zero modes in nonreciprocal magneto-optical heterostructures
• Sampling and Squeezing Electromagnetic Waves through Subwavelength Ultranarrow Regions or Openings
• Abnormal enhancement of electric field inside a thin permittivity-near-zero object in free space
• Five-channel frequency-division multiplexing using low-loss epsilon-near-zero metamaterial waveguide
• Zero-index and Hyperbolic Metacavities: Fundamentals and Applications
• Tunable uniform field enhancement in a subwavelength air pillar by photonic doping in epsilon-near-zero medium
• Topologically induced transparency in a two-phase metamaterial
• Nanoscale Graphene Electro-Optic Modulators
• Pursuing complex optical energy through Exceptional Points of Degeneracy (EPDs)
• Unlocking the full potential of wave-matter nonlinear coupling in the epsilon-near-zero regime