Ferrell-Berreman modes in plasmonic epsilon-near-zero media

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation and analysis of Ferrell-Berreman modes in epsilon-near-zero metamaterials, revealing microscopic resonances that can be exploited for advanced plasmonic applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of Ferrell-Berreman modes in ENZ metamaterials and analyzes their properties using complex propagation constants, offering new insights for device design.

Findings

Identification of multiple Ferrell-Berreman branches with slow light behavior

Microscopic resonances captured through complex propagation constants

Potential applications in sensing, imaging, and absorption enhancement

Abstract

We observe unique absorption resonances in silver/silica multilayer-based epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials that are related to radiative bulk plasmon-polariton states of thin-films originally studied by Ferrell (1958) and Berreman (1963). In the local effective medium, metamaterial descrip- tion, the unique effect of the excitation of these microscopic modes is counterintuitive and captured within the complex propagation constant, not the effective dielectric permittivities. Theoretical anal- ysis of the band structure for our metamaterials shows the existence of multiple Ferrell-Berreman branches with slow light characteristics. The demonstration that the propagation constant reveals subtle microscopic resonances can lead to the design of devices where Ferrell-Berreman modes can be exploited for practical applications ranging from plasmonic sensing to imaging and absorption enhancement.