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Realization of an all-dielectric zero-index optical metamaterial

Nature Photonics volume 7, pages 791–795 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Metamaterials offer unprecedented flexibility for manipulating the optical properties of matter, including the ability to access negative index1,2,3,4, ultrahigh index5 and chiral optical properties6,7,8. Recently, metamaterials with near-zero refractive index have attracted much attention9,10,11,12,13. Light inside such materials experiences no spatial phase change and extremely large phase velocity, properties that can be applied for realizing directional emission14,15,16, tunnelling waveguides17, large-area single-mode devices18 and electromagnetic cloaks19. However, at optical frequencies, the previously demonstrated zero- or negative-refractive-index metamaterials have required the use of metallic inclusions, leading to large ohmic loss, a serious impediment to device applications20,21. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an impedance-matched zero-index metamaterial at optical frequencies based on purely dielectric constituents. Formed from stacked silicon-rod unit cells, the metamaterial has a nearly isotropic low-index response for transverse-magnetic polarized light, leading to angular selectivity of transmission and directive emission from quantum dots placed within the material.

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Figure 1: Diagram and images of fabricated ZIM structure.
Figure 2: Optical properties of bulk ZIM.
Figure 3: Optical properties and transmittance of fabricated ZIM.
Figure 4: Angular selectivity of transmission.
Figure 5: Directional quantum dot emission from within the ZIM.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Office of Naval Research (programmes N00014-11-1-0521 and N00014-12-1-0571) and the United States–Israel Binational Science Foundation (programme 2010460). A portion of this research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is sponsored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy. The authors thank N. Lavrik for discussions regarding RIE processing.

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  1. Parikshit Moitra and Yuanmu Yang: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, 37212, Tennessee, USA

    Parikshit Moitra & Yuanmu Yang

  2. School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt, Nashville, 37232, Tennessee, USA

    Zachary Anderson

  3. Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, 37831, Tennessee, USA

    Ivan I. Kravchenko & Dayrl P. Briggs

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, 37212, Tennessee, USA

    Jason Valentine

Authors
  1. Parikshit Moitra
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  2. Yuanmu Yang
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  3. Zachary Anderson
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  4. Ivan I. Kravchenko
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  5. Dayrl P. Briggs
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  6. Jason Valentine
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Contributions

P.M. fabricated the metamaterials and both P.M. and Y.Y. conducted the numerical simulations and experimental characterization. Z.A. assisted in measuring transmission as a function of incident angle. I.I.K. assisted in developing the electron-beam lithography and RIE processes and D.P.B. performed the low-pressure chemical vapour deposition. The idea was developed by J.V., who assisted in all aspects of the work and supervised the project. All authors discussed the results and contributed to writing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason Valentine.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Moitra, P., Yang, Y., Anderson, Z. et al. Realization of an all-dielectric zero-index optical metamaterial. Nature Photon 7, 791–795 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2013.214

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