Optical negative-index metamaterials

V. M. Shalaev, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University

Abstract

Artifi cially engineered metamaterials are now demonstrating unprecedented electromagnetic properties that cannot be obtained with naturally occurring materials. In particular, they provide a route to creating materials that possess a negative refractive index and offer exciting new prospects for manipulating light. This review describes the recent progress made in creating nanostructured metamaterials with a negative index at optical wavelengths, and discusses some of the devices that could result from these new materials.