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Photonic metamaterials by direct laser writing and silver chemical vapour deposition

Nature Materials volume 7, pages 543–546 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Metamaterials are artificial materials that—unlike natural substances—enable magnetism to be achieved at optical frequencies1,2,3. The vast majority of photonic metamaterials4,5 has been fabricated by electron-beam lithography and evaporation of metal films, both of which are well-established two-dimensional (2D) technologies. Although stacking of three6 or four7 functional layers made using these methods has been reported, a truly 3D fabrication approach would be preferable for 3D photonic metamaterials. Here, we report first steps in this direction by using a combination of direct laser writing8,9 and silver chemical vapour deposition10,11—the 3D analogues of electron-beam lithography and evaporation, respectively. The optical characterization of a planar test structure composed of elongated split-ring resonators is in good agreement with theory. Retrieval of the effective optical parameters reveals the importance of bi-anisotropy. Once suitable theoretical blueprints are available, our fabrication approach will enable rapid prototyping of truly 3D photonic metamaterials.

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Figure 1: Metamaterial structures.
Figure 2: Electron micrographs of fabricated structures.
Figure 3: Normal-incidence optical transmittance spectra.
Figure 4: Retrieved effective metamaterial parameters.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. M. Soukoulis for stimulating discussions. We acknowledge financial support provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the State of Baden-Württemberg through the DFG-Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) within subprojects A1.4 and A1.5. The project PHOME acknowledges the financial support of the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) programme within the Seventh Framework Programme for Research of the European Commission, under FET-Open grant number 213390. Also we acknowledge funding by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF). The research of G.v.F. is further supported through a DFG Emmy-Noether fellowship (DFG-Fr 1671/4-3), that of S.L. through a ‘Helmholtz-Hochschul-Nachwuchsgruppe’ (VH-NG-232).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Wolfgang-Gaede-Straße 1, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

    Michael S. Rill, Christine Plet, Michael Thiel, Isabelle Staude, Georg von Freymann, Stefan Linden & Martin Wegener

  2. Institut für Nanotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany

    Georg von Freymann, Stefan Linden & Martin Wegener

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  1. Michael S. Rill
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Correspondence to Michael S. Rill.

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G.v.F., M.T. and M.W. have holdings in Nanoscribe, a company that may have a commercial interest in the results of this research and technology.

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Rill, M., Plet, C., Thiel, M. et al. Photonic metamaterials by direct laser writing and silver chemical vapour deposition. Nature Mater 7, 543–546 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2197

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