Threaded-chiral media: reflectors for elliptically polarized light
2004
Effective medium theory is applied to nanoengineered inorganic
coatings in which a primary chiral medium (A) threads through a
second medium (B) that may be isotropic, birefringent or chiral.
In general A and B are represented by thin locally-birefringent
layers with axes that rotate through the thickness of the
coating. Local properties of the complex medium are represented
by a Herpin birefringent period (A/2)B(A/2), with effective
principal refractive indices and with thickness much less than
the chiral period.
The effect of changing the fraction fB of material B is
considered. With simplicity of fabrication in mind, the special
case in which A and B are identical apart from thickness and
azimuthal orientation is developed. Then, by maintaining a
constant optical thickness for the Herpin period, the circular
Bragg resonant wavelength of the primary medium can be retained.
As an example of the potential use of threaded-chiral materials,
handed resonant reflectors for elliptically-polarized light are
considered.
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