COMPARISONS OF NEGATIVE REFRACTION IN LEFT-HANDED MATERIALS AND PHOTONIC CRYSTALS

Abstract

Using the equifrequency surfaces (EFS) to describe negative refractions in left-handed materials (LHMs) and photonic crystals (PCs), negative phase and negative group refractive indexes in LHMs were compared with positive phase and negative group refractive indexes in PCs. The refractive indexes in PCs were dependent on frequencies and incident angles of electromagnetic wave, while indexes in LHMs were constant in the left-handed region. Furthermore, the phase compensating effect resulting from the negative phase refractive index was addressed to distinguish the perfect lens made of LHMs from the superlens realized in the all angle negative refraction (AANR) region of PCs.