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Fundamental optical physics

The quest for zero refractive index

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A superlattice comprising alternating layers of negative-refractive-index photonic crystals and positive-refractive-index dielectric media has been shown to exhibit an effective refractive index of zero. Experiments show that light passing through such a material experiences no phase shift.

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Figure 1: Phase delays in a zero- superlattice.

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Correspondence to Jörg Schilling.

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Schilling, J. The quest for zero refractive index. Nature Photon 5, 449–451 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2011.172

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