Numerical tool to take nonlocal effects into account in metallo-dielectric multilayers.

We provide a numerical tool to quantitatively study the impact of nonlocality arising from free electrons in metals on the optical properties of metallo-dielectric multilayers. We found that scattering matrices are particularly well suited to take into account the electron response through the application of the hydrodynamic model. Though effects due to nonlocality are, in general, quite small, they, nevertheless, can be important for very thin (typically below 10 nm) metallic layers, as in those used in structures characterized by exotic dispersion curves.

Lens equation for flat lenses made with hyperbolic metamaterials.

This study aims to give a general theory that enables the design of flat lenses based on hyperbolic metamaterials. We derive a lens equation that is demonstrated to involve the curvature of the dispersion relation. Guided by this theory, hyperbolic lenses of focal length ranging from zero to a few wavelength are simulated.

Large negative lateral shifts due to negative refraction.

When a thin structure in which negative refraction occurs (a metallo-dielectric structure or a photonic crystal) is illuminated by a beam, the reflected and transmitted beam can undergo a large negative lateral shift. This phenomenon can be seen as an interferential enhancement of the geometrical shift and can be considered a signature of negative refraction.