EAGER: Optical Negative Index Materials Using 3d Metals

这项工作建议设计和创造一种新型的天然的，主要是非复合的，基于中波长红外(MWIR)的三维铁磁性金属(Fe，Ni)的负折射率超材料，用于安全屏蔽、可调带通滤光片、无损检测、生物分子的无标记技术和超透镜。在这个设计中，我们利用新的内部微观分子响应机制来获得负折射率。我们应该强调的是，基于这里提出的机制，在光学领域中没有其他建议的类似的超材料设计。我们的初步结果表明，在这些材料中确实存在电磁波与等离子体和磁子之间的耦合，这种耦合确保了介电常数和磁导率的同时响应，这些响应可以被调节以提供负折射率。因此，我们提出了负指数效应的新材料和新机制。本研究提出的主要任务包括：1)这些材料的制备和表征；2)通过实验和理论研究来验证所制备材料的独特性质。这是一个大胆的新想法，将固体物理的两个领域：等离子体和磁振子结合起来，在均匀材料中实现理想的负折射率效应，并有可能改变这一非常受欢迎的光学和光学领域，因为所有其他光学NIM都是非均匀的。这种获得光学负折射率材料的全新方法在目标(负折射率)和实现这一目标的手段(等离子体和磁振子)方面都是新颖的。智力上的优点：所提出的设计的成功验证将代表着均匀、全各向同性和低损耗负折射率太赫兹超材料的首批实际实现之一。我们应该强调的是，这种主要是均匀的(或自然的)金属基介质在负折射率超材料领域还没有报道。如果要在实际应用中使用多层结构(尤其是当高频区域的尺度变得更小时)，我们建议的材料在制造方面比其复合材料具有优势，这是因为对准、对准和创建多层结构的难度较大。因此，这些均匀的材料更适合于实现现实世界的应用。该工作的主要创新之处在于首次提出了一种新型的基于金属铁磁体的负折射率材料，并提出了一种新的获得负折射率效应的机理。这两项创新都可能改变光学负折射率材料的设计方式。本文提出的非复合、全光学各向同性和低损耗的超材料可能实现各种应用，包括带通滤波器、倍频器、THz亚波长分辨率成像系统、生物传感器的分子光谱和安全系统，并在增强近场成像领域产生重大影响。广泛影响：所提出的设计的成功验证将是MWIR中均匀、低损耗、金属基负折射率材料的首批实际实现之一。这些超材料可能在人员安全筛查、医学成像、遥感、生物医学和高通量筛查传感器等领域产生重大影响。这些应用可能会对国土安全和药物发现产生重要影响。

This work proposes to design and create a novel natural, principally non-composite, negative refraction index metamaterial based on 3d ferromagnetic metals (Fe, Ni) in the Mid-wavelength Infrared (MWIR) regime for applications in security screening, tunable bandpass filters, non-destructive testing, label-free techniques for biomolecules, and superlensing. In this design, we exploit novel internal microscopic molecular response mechanisms to obtain the negative index of refraction. We should emphasize that there are no other suggested analogous metamaterial designs in the optical domain based on the mechanism proposed herein. Our preliminary results show that, indeed, coupling between the electromagnetic wave and both plasmons and magnons exists in these materials, and this coupling ensures simultaneous permittivity and permeability responses, which can be adjusted to provide a negative index of refraction. Hence, we suggest both new materials as well as new mechanisms for the negative index effect. The major tasks proposed in this research include: 1) fabrication and characterization of these materials and 2) validation of the unique properties of the fabricated materials through experimental and theoretical studies. This is a bold novel idea of combining the two fields of solid state physics: plasmonics with magnonics to achieve the desirable negative refractive index effect in homogeneous materials and has the potential to transform this very popular area of and optics since all other optical NIMs are non-homogeneous. This radically new approach to obtaining optical negative index materials is novel in terms of both the target (negative refractive index), and the means (plasmonics and magnonics) of reaching this goal.Intellectual Merit: The successful validation of the proposed design would represent one of the first practical implementation of a homogenous, fully isotropic, and low-loss negative index THz metamaterial. We should stress that this principally homogeneous (or natural), metal-based medium has not been reported in the field of negative index of refraction metamaterials. Our proposed material has an advantage in fabrication over its composite counterparts, with respect to the difficulty in alignment, registration, and in creating multi-layer structures if one is to use these in actual applications (especially as scales become smaller for high frequency regimes). Consequently, these homogeneous materials are better suited for the realization of real-world applications. The major innovation of the proposed work lies in the creation of a novel type of negative index material based on metallic ferromagnets for the first time and the new mechanism which is exploited to obtain the negative index effect. Both of these innovations could transform the way optical negative index materials are designed. The non-composite, fully optically isotropic, and low-loss metamaterial, as is proposed here, may allow the implementation of various applications including, bandpass filters, frequency multipliers, THz sub-wavelength resolution imaging systems, molecular spectroscopy for biosensors, and security systems and make a great impact in the field of enhanced near-field imaging.Broader Impact: The successful validation of the proposed design would represent one of the first practical implementation of a homogenous, low-loss, metal-based negative index material in the MWIR. These metamaterials could potentially make a significant impact in the areas of personnel security screening, medical imaging, remote sensing, biomedicine, and sensors for high throughput screening. These applications could have important implications in for Homeland Security and drug discovery.