Metamaterials designed for enhanced ENZ properties]{Metamaterials designed for enhanced ENZ properties

TL;DR

This paper explores layered metamaterials combining ENZ and dielectric films, enhancing their optical properties through resonances and guided modes, using analytical models to guide experimental design.

Contribution

It introduces a novel layered structure that enhances ENZ properties by leveraging multiple resonances and modes, not relying on effective medium approximations.

Findings

Enhanced refractive, reflective, and absorptive properties demonstrated

Analytical models reveal how interface resonances and guided modes influence behavior

Proposed parameters are experimentally feasible

Abstract

We examine layered metamaterial structures consisting of alternating films of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) and dielectric material, and show that for such a stack it is possible to enhance the refractive, reflective or absorptive properties of the ENZ. The proposed structure takes advantage of resonances from several interfaces, guided modes, and plasmon excitations to achieve the desired enhancement, and it is not an effective medium. We use analytical modeling tools to show how the different degrees of freedom affect the properties of the stack, and propose experimentally feasible parameters for such structures.