Experimental demonstration of the microscopic origin of circular dichroism in two-dimensional metamaterials

A. B. Khanikaev, N. Arju, Z. Fan, D. Purtseladze, F. Lu, J. Lee, P. Sarriugarte, M. Schnell, R. Hillenbrand, M. A. Belkin and G. Shvets ()
Additional contact information
A. B. Khanikaev: Queens College and Graduate Center of The City University of New York
N. Arju: The University of Texas at Austin
Z. Fan: The University of Texas at Austin
D. Purtseladze: The University of Texas at Austin
F. Lu: The University of Texas at Austin
J. Lee: The University of Texas at Austin
P. Sarriugarte: CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Tolosa Hiribidea, 76
M. Schnell: CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Tolosa Hiribidea, 76
R. Hillenbrand: CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Tolosa Hiribidea, 76
M. A. Belkin: The University of Texas at Austin
G. Shvets: The University of Texas at Austin

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Optical activity and circular dichroism are fascinating physical phenomena originating from the interaction of light with chiral molecules or other nano objects lacking mirror symmetries in three-dimensional (3D) space. While chiral optical properties are weak in most of naturally occurring materials, they can be engineered and significantly enhanced in synthetic optical media known as chiral metamaterials, where the spatial symmetry of their building blocks is broken on a nanoscale. Although originally discovered in 3D structures, circular dichroism can also emerge in a two-dimensional (2D) metasurface. The origin of the resulting circular dichroism is rather subtle, and is related to non-radiative (Ohmic) dissipation of the constituent metamolecules. Because such dissipation occurs on a nanoscale, this effect has never been experimentally probed and visualized. Using a suite of recently developed nanoscale-measurement tools, we establish that the circular dichroism in a nanostructured metasurface occurs due to handedness-dependent Ohmic heating.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12045

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