Analytical modelling of metamaterials and a new principle of sub-wavelength imaging

Abstract

The thesis is devoted to an analytical modeling of metamaterials, artificial media with electromagnetic properties not available among natural materials. The development of metamaterials is a new branch of research in the multidisciplinary field of material physics, electromagnetics, optics, radio engineering, and electronics. The metamaterials will play a key role in providing new functionalities and enhancements to the future electronic devices and components, since it will be possible to create materials with fundamentally new properties required by new technologies.

The thesis consists of comprehensive historical overview about various kinds of the metamaterials including artificial dielectrics and magnetics, bianisotropic media, double-negative materials, photonic and electromagnetic crystals, high impedance surfaces, etc., and two logically separated parts representing a summary of original results of the author on analytical modeling of some of these metamaterials and sub-wavelength imaging using canalization regime, respectively.

In the analytical modeling part, the metamaterials with various inner geometries have been studied using the local field approach. This approach allows to reduce complicated eigenmode and reflection\transmission problems for periodical structures of complex inclusions to rigorously analytically solvable problems for arrays of elementary scatterers (electrical or/and magnetic dipoles, linear currents) with certain polarizability with respect to the local (acting) field.

In the last part of the thesis, an original opportunity of imaging with sub-wavelength resolution by flat slabs of the metamaterials is proposed. This regime (which is called as canalization) does not involve negative refraction and amplification of evanescent modes in contrast to the case of perfect lenses formed by double-negative media. The sub-wavelength image happens to be transmitted from one interface to another one by propagating modes of the metamaterial. The canalization of images with sub-wavelength resolution may be used in medical and microwave imaging, near field microscopy and it may allow to design optical storages (DVD) with significantly improved capacity.