Electromagnetic wave analogue of electronic diode
Abstract
An electronic diode is a nonlinear semiconductor circuit component that allows conduction of electrical current in one direction only. A component with similar functionality for electromagnetic waves, an electromagnetic isolator, is based on the Faraday effect of the polarization state rotation and is also a key component of optical and microwave systems. Here we demonstrate a chiral electromagnetic diode, which is a direct analogue of an electronic diode: its functionality is underpinned by an extraordinary strong nonlinear wave propagation effect in the same way as electronic diode function is provided by a nonlinear current characteristic of a semiconductor junction. The effect exploited in this new electromagnetic diode is an intensity-dependent polarization change in an artificial chiral metamolecule. This microwave effect exceeds a similar optical effect previously observed in natural crystals by more than 12 orders of magnitude and a direction-dependent transmission that differing by a factor of 65.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1010.5830,
title = {Electromagnetic wave analogue of electronic diode},
author = {Ilya V. Shadrivov and David A. Powell and Yuri S. Kivshar and Vassili A. Fedotov and Nikolay I. Zheludev},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1010.5830},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
10 pages, 4 figures