Negative refraction in 1D plasmonic photonic crystals

Abstract

The phenomenon of negative refraction of light in 1D photonic crystals with metal layers is studied. It is demonstrated that this phenomenon is due to the excitation of plasmons, which transfer energy in different directions the metal and inside the dielectric layers. The ratio between these two fluxes determines the sign of the group velocity, and therefore, the sign of the refraction angle. It is shown that the sign of refraction is independent of the metal permittivity dispersion and is determined by the permittivity value and by the geometric parameters of an elementary cell only.