Second Harmonic Generation in Metamaterials

Research

Coexistence of magnetic and electric domains in hexagonal YMnO3

Introduction In 1968, V. G. Veselago [1] theoretically investigated the electrodynamics of socalled left-handed, or doubly-negativesubstances. These materials are defined by simultaneous negative values for the electric permittivity and the magnetic permeability . He predicted that the wave vector k of a wave propagating through a left-handed substance is antiparallel to its Poynting-vector S, as pictured in Fig.1. This remarkable property has far-reaching consequences.

Fig. 1: The wave vector k is antiparallel to the Poynting vector S in left-handed materials. Consider a light wave impinging from vacuum/air onto the surface of a left-handed material under an angle with respect to the surface normal. According to Veselagos calculations the wave is refracted with a negative angle from the normal. This unusual behavior is still compatible with Snells law of refraction. However one has to

consider a negative index of refraction for lefthanded substances. The refractive index n = () being a fundamental material property in optics, one can expect an alteration to almost every electromagnetic phenomenon in lefthanded substances. Unfortunately, natural substances exhibit a negligible magnetic response at optical frequencies, i.e., their magnetic permeability is unity (=1). Consequently, their optical properties are solely determined by the electronic response characterized by the permittivity . Under these circumstances, the work of Veselago appeared to be rather academic at the time of its publication.

From theory to applications: Rise of the metamaterials The situation changed dramatically in 1999, when Prof. J.B. Pendry proposed to utilize metamaterials in order to obtain a negative magnetic permeability [2]. These new materials consist of many small elements assembled into periodic arrays. The interaction of electromagnetic waves with such metamaterials depends on the shape, composition, and arrangement of the structures that developers can adjust to get the desired properties. If the wavelength is large compared to the elements and their spacing, the waves interact with the metamaterial as if it had uniform bulk properties. The structures behave as artifical magnetic atoms offering novel optical properties.

Fig. 2: Towards applications of metamaterials in the near-infrared and visible domains. Thus, metamaterials open a whole new chapter of photonics connected with innovative concepts and potential applications. In this perspective, Science magazine declared left-handed materials one of the top ten scientific breakthroughs of 2003 [3].

Negative refractive index The basic physics of magnetic atoms can be explained as shown in Fig. 3 : In order to obtain a magnetic response from a metal nanostructure the incident light field has to excite local currents circulating in loops (solenoidal currents). These currents in turn give rise to a magnetic dipole-moment. By properly designing the metal nanostructure, one can obtain a resonant enhancement of the local currents leading to a strong magnetic response and potentially a negative magnetic permeability.

Fig. 3: The LC-model used to explain linear resonance in metamaterials. For instance, Pendrys metamaterial is based on an array of metallic sub-wavelength split-ring resonators (SRR). Each of the SRR mimics an LCOscillator consisting of a magnetic coil with inductance L and a capacitor with capacitance C. If the frequency of the incident light lies within a spectral band slightly above the LC-resonance frequency, the effective magnetic permeability of the SRR array can indeed be negative [4]. In analogy, one can understand the physics of electric atoms, e.g., short wires (cut wires). These wires act as electric dipoles whose electric response can lead to a negative permittivity. Combining wires with SRR can finally result in metamaterials with negative index of refraction.

In 2001, V.G. Veselagos vision was finally materialized and a metamaterial which exhibits a frequency band in the microwave regime with negative index of refraction was demonstrated experimentally by the group of Prof D. R.Smith [5]. In this experiment, a prism formed of a twodimensional array of copper strips and SRR was used. Measurement of the refraction angle of the beam transmitted through the prism revealed negative refraction in accordance with V.G. Veselagos prediction.

Second Harmonic Generation on Metamaterials Our research is devoted to understanding the physical processes leading to nonlinear phenomena in metamaterials. To achieve this goal a <130 fs pulse width and 250 J pulse energy laser beam is used. The availability to tune the wavelength over visible and nearinfrared range makes it a very versatile light source, ideally suited to investigate spectral response. Please check our page about the laboratory for further information. The setup is presented in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4: Our setup makes possible to vary both the polarization and the wavelength used. It can also easily be switched from a reflection configuration to a transition setup.

The main optical tool used is SHG, which is sensitive to the sample symmetries. Furthermore, anisotropic metamaterial structures exhibit radically different resonances for different incoming light polarization. This allows for extraction of information, e.g., about the localization of SH generation.

Fig. 5: Typical sample shapes under investigation. The material used, gold, is noncentrosymmetric and does not alter under laboratory atmosphere. This project is a collaboration with the group of Prof. Dr. Harald Giessen, 4th Physics Institute Stuttgart, where the samples are produced using electron beam lithography, which is a prevalent technique for the fabrication of planar nanostructures.