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Originally published in Science Express on 20 August 2009
Science 18 September 2009:
Vol. 325. no. 5947, pp. 1513 - 1515
DOI: 10.1126/science.1177031
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Reports

Gold Helix Photonic Metamaterial as Broadband Circular Polarizer

Justyna K. Gansel,1,* Michael Thiel,1 Michael S. Rill,1 Manuel Decker,1 Klaus Bade,2 Volker Saile,2 Georg von Freymann,1,3 Stefan Linden,1,3 Martin Wegener1,3

We investigated propagation of light through a uniaxial photonic metamaterial composed of three-dimensional gold helices arranged on a two-dimensional square lattice. These nanostructures are fabricated via an approach based on direct laser writing into a positive-tone photoresist followed by electrochemical deposition of gold. For propagation of light along the helix axis, the structure blocks the circular polarization with the same handedness as the helices, whereas it transmits the other, for a frequency range exceeding one octave. The structure is scalable to other frequency ranges and can be used as a compact broadband circular polarizer.

1 Institut für Angewandte Physik and DFG-Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN), Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Wolfgang-Gaede-Straße 1, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
2 Institut für Mikrostrukturtechnik, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.
3 Institut für Nanotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Justyna.Gansel{at}physik.uni-karlsruhe.de

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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