Sampling and Squeezing Electromagnetic Waves through Subwavelength Ultranarrow Regions or Openings

Here, we investigate the physical mechanisms that may enable squeezing a complex electromagnetic field distribution through a narrow and/or partially obstructed region with little amplitude and phase distortions. Following our recent works, such field manipulations may be made possible by a procedure in which the incoming wave is first “sampled” “pixel by pixel” using an array of metallic waveguides, and in a second step the energy corresponding to each individual pixel is “squeezed” through a very narrow channel filled with a permittivity-near-zero material. In this work, we study in detail these processes in scenarios in which the electromagnetic wave is compressed along a single direction of space and present theoretical models that enable the analytical modeling of such phenomena. Full-wave results obtained with an electromagnetic simulator, demonstrate the possibility of compressing an incoming wave several folds through ultranarrow channels filled with silicon carbide. The “sampling and squeezing” concept may enable unparalleled control of electromagnetic waves in the nanoscale. Disciplines Engineering | Physics Comments Silveirinha, M. and Engheta, N. (2012). Sampling and squeezing electromagnetic waves through subwavelength ultranarrow regions or openings. Physical Review B, 85(8), 085116. doi: 10.1103/ PhysRevB.85.085116 ©2012 American Physical Society This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/ese_papers/604 PHYSICAL REVIEW B 85, 085116 (2012) Sampling and squeezing electromagnetic waves through subwavelength ultranarrow regions or openings Mário G. Silveirinha1,2,* and Nader Engheta1 1University of Pennsylvania, Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA 2Universidade de Coimbra, Electrical Engineering Department, Instituto de Telecomunicações, Coimbra 3030-290, Portugal (Received 20 November 2011; published 21 February 2012) Here, we investigate the physical mechanisms that may enable squeezing a complex electromagnetic field distribution through a narrow and/or partially obstructed region with little amplitude and phase distortions. Following our recent works, such field manipulations may be made possible by a procedure in which the incoming wave is first “sampled” “pixel by pixel” using an array of metallic waveguides, and in a second step the energy corresponding to each individual pixel is “squeezed” through a very narrow channel filled with a permittivity-near-zero material. In this work, we study in detail these processes in scenarios in which the electromagnetic wave is compressed along a single direction of space and present theoretical models that enable the analytical modeling of such phenomena. Full-wave results obtained with an electromagnetic simulator, demonstrate the possibility of compressing an incoming wave several folds through ultranarrow channels filled with silicon carbide. The “sampling and squeezing” concept may enable unparalleled control of electromagnetic waves in the nanoscale. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.85.085116 PACS number(s): 42.70.Qs, 78.66.Sq, 52.40.Db, 52.40.Fd