Optical Bloch oscillations in periodic structures with metamaterials

TL;DR

This paper predicts and demonstrates optical Bloch oscillations in layered structures with metamaterials, revealing a new type associated with coupled surface waves at material interfaces.

Contribution

It introduces a novel type of Bloch oscillations in structures with left-handed metamaterials and zero average refractive index, involving coupled surface waves.

Findings

Optical Bloch oscillations can occur in layered metamaterial structures.

A new type of Bloch oscillations linked to surface wave coupling is demonstrated.

Layer thickness variation enables the observation of these oscillations.

Abstract

We predict that optical Bloch oscillations can be observed in layered structures with left-handed metamaterials and zero average refractive index where the layer thickness varies linearly across the structure. We demonstrate a new type of the Bloch oscillations associated with coupled surface waves excited at the interfaces between the layers with left-handed material and conventional dielectric.