Nonreciprocal electromagnetic wave propagation in one-dimensional ternary magnetized plasma photonic crystals

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a one-dimensional ternary photonic crystal based on magnetized plasma to obtain nonreciprocal propagation. By employing the transfer matrix method, the transmission spectra of the counterpropagating plane waves incident from air upon either end of the periodic structure are calculated. Our results reveal that there is a significant contrast between the transmittance of the waves propagated in opposite directions. This means that the structure shows nonreciprocal effects. It is shown that the bandwidth at which nonreciprocity is observed depends on the external magnetic field. The effects of the incident angle and the number of elementary cells on the nonreciprocal behaviors are studied. We demonstrate that nonreciprocity disappears in very small angles of incidence. The designed structure shows nonreciprocal response even in the case of a small number of layers. It is also demonstrated that nonreciprocal effects become stronger when increasing the plasma density and the wavelength of the incident wave.