Investigation of the fishnet design for optical meta-materials with negative index, determination of appropriate scalings and rigorous derivation of the effective index

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ben Schweizer
• Subject Area: Mathematics
• Term: from 2011 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 192746492

In nature, we know two different classes of optical media: usual transparent media and opaque media. Since the invention of smart optical meta-materials, it is possible to design media with a qualitatively new optical behavior: Left handed media with a negative index of refraction. These meta-materials are meanwhile well-established, qualitative predictions are possible and experiments up to the range of optical frequencies verified the left-handed behavior. Instead, a mathematical description with formulas for the effective coefficients is available with only for the original split ring geometry. The aim of the proposed project is to extend the analysis to modern designs like the fishnet.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants