Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Originally published in Science Express on 22 March 2007
Science 20 April 2007:
Vol. 316. no. 5823, pp. 430 - 432
DOI: 10.1126/science.1139266
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Negative Refraction at Visible Frequencies

Henri J. Lezec,1,2*{dagger} Jennifer A. Dionne,1* Harry A. Atwater1

Nanofabricated photonic materials offer opportunities for crafting the propagation and dispersion of light in matter. We demonstrate an experimental realization of a two-dimensional negative-index material in the blue-green region of the visible spectrum, substantiated by direct geometric visualization of negative refraction. Negative indices were achieved with the use of an ultrathin Au-Si3N4-Ag waveguide sustaining a surface plasmon polariton mode with antiparallel group and phase velocities. All-angle negative refraction was observed at the interface between this bimetal waveguide and a conventional Ag-Si3N4-Ag slot waveguide. The results may enable the development of practical negative-index optical designs in the visible regime.

1 Thomas J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
2 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75794 Paris Cedex 16, France.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lezec{at}caltech.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Optical Negative Refraction in Bulk Metamaterials of Nanowires.
J. Yao, Z. Liu, Y. Liu, Y. Wang, C. Sun, G. Bartal, A. M. Stacy, and X. Zhang (2008)
Science 321, 930
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Circuits with Light at Nanoscales: Optical Nanocircuits Inspired by Metamaterials.
N. Engheta (2007)
Science 317, 1698-1702
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)