Anomalous lateral beam shift and total absorption due to excitation of surface waves in materials with negative refraction

Abstract

We studied electromagnetic beam reflection from layered structures that include materials with negative refraction. Excitation of leaky surface waves leads to the formation of anomalous lateral shifts in the reflected beams with single or double peak structures. The presence of reasonable losses within material with negative refraction, besides significant influence on manifestation of the giant lateral shifts, can lead to their total suppression and anomalously high absorption of the incident radiation. If, in addition to the resonant excitation of leaky surface waves, radiation inflow exactly compensates their irreversible damping, total absorption of the incoming radiation can be achieved for moderately wide beams.