Anisotropic metamaterial optical fibers.

Internal physical structure can drastically modify the properties of waveguides: photonic crystal fibers are able to confine light inside a hollow air core by Bragg scattering from a periodic array of holes, while metamaterial loaded waveguides for microwaves can support propagation at frequencies well below cutoff. Anisotropic metamaterials assembled into cylindrically symmetric geometries constitute light-guiding structures that support new kinds of exotic modes. A microtube of anodized nanoporous alumina, with nanopores radially emanating from the inner wall to the outer surface, is a manifestation of such an anisotropic metamaterial optical fiber. The nanopores, when filled with a plasmonic metal such as silver or gold, greatly increase the electromagnetic anisotropy. The modal solutions in such anisotropic circular waveguides can be uncommon Bessel functions with imaginary orders.