Propagation properties of an elliptical anisotropic metamaterial cylinder

Abstract

The propagation characteristics were investigated of an open elliptical cylinder comprising a uniaxial anisotropic metamaterial. The dispersion relation for hybrid modes in this cylinder was examined theoretically. It is shown that forward and backward waves can be supported by such a metamaterial cylinder. Even and odd modes have different losses in a realistic anisotropic elliptical cylinder. The forward wave can propagate longer distances than the backward wave because of its lower loss. The light can propagate backward on the cylinder without the limit of structure size. The odd modes have higher operating wavelengths than the even modes. The extraordinary properties in this structure are identified as multilayer plasmons. The validity of the effective medium approximation of this structure is examined.