A three-port plasmonic array is proposed to achieve a dual-field superfocusing using the forward-propagation method based on spatial Fourier transform. The algorithm of fast Fourier transform is used to facilitate the design process. Both the electric and magnetic fields can be superfocused on the focal plane of z = 0.1λ (λ is the free-space wavelength) based on an effect of radiationless electromagnetic interference. The full widths of the half-maximum of both two fields are 0.060λ and 0.072λ, respectively. Besides, the metrics of the dual-field superfocusing are 1.67 and 1.39. The proposed theory can simplify the design process of superfocusing, and the plasmonic array with brief three ports can sufficiently facilitate the construction of the desired source. This letter can be beneficial for the development of beam steering, sophisticated holography, super-resolution imaging, and other applications of near- or far-field devices.

To distinctively identify two objects at the deep-subwavelength scales requires sharp superfocusing to overcome the diffraction limit. However, conventional superfocusing effect and information-carrying capacity are limited by the focal length and single focusing field (only electric or magnetic field), which are hard to be apparently improved. Here, we introduce the concept of “dual-foci superfocusing”, an advanced focusing form that can provide either one or two focusing spots, simultaneously converging both electric and magnetic fields and presenting an effect of electromagnetostatic space-division multiplexing. The physical mechanism of the dual-foci superfocusing is analyzed and synthesized by an original theory of shaping functional fields using hybrid-magnitude evanescent modes. Through a terahertz plasmonic array, the dual-foci superfocusing is numerically demonstrated, whose metric (ratio of focal length to focusing-spot size) is sufficiently improved from traditional 1–1.8 up to 2.8. The proposed methodology could be exploited as a platform to investigate the novel concurrent characteristics of superfocusing and might represent an important step toward the development of beam manipulation and sophisticated holography.

Abstract As a bridge linking propagating waves and surface waves, reflective metasurfaces (with metal cladding at the bottom) play a significant role in the field of beam steering. The feasibility and flexibility to control electromagnetic waves by reflective metasurfaces depend on the recognition of their physical properties by researchers. As for bianisotropic reflective metasurfaces, however, the effective-medium characteristics cannot be appropriately described by conventional methods, which entail both transmission and reflection coefficients. Here, a robust method based on simplex S-parameters is proposed to retrieve constitutive effective parameters (CEPs) for bianisotropic reflective metasurfaces. By illuminating the transverse electric-polarization plane waves on a split-ring unit cell normally and obliquely, the CEPs can be calculated with only S11 parameters. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the retrieval results, an analysis of small incident angles is employed to examine the consistency of both the x- and y-directions effective impedance and determine the accurate range of the incident angles. Moreover, the sensitivity of the retrieval results to S-parameters is also sufficiently discussed. This method is beneficial for the applications of one-side complex materials, e.g., dual-function reflective metasurfaces, multichannel reflectors, excitation of spoof space plasmon polaritons, and ground-penetrating-radar applications.

Reflective metasurfaces are utilized as a bridge linking propagating waves and surface waves. However, the effective constitutive parameters (permittivity and permeability) cannot be retrieved by conventional theory without transmission coefficients. In this paper, an innovative method based on a quasi-one-port network model is proposed to robustly retrieve the effective electromagnetic parameters (εeff, μeff, neff, and zeff) for reflective metasurfaces with isotropic unit cells. The validity of the method is demonstrated by imping TE-polarized terahertz waves normally and obliquely (10°) on the multiple-layer unit cells. The effective boundary of the multiple-layer cells is determined by minimizing the deviation of the effective refractive indices from 0.1018 to 0.0260 using a genetic algorithm, which increases the consistency of the retrieval results. The sensitivity of the effective constitutive parameters to the accuracy of reflection coefficients and nonzero incident angle θi is also discussed. This method is beneficial for the design of reflective metasurfaces or multichannel reflectors, the coupling of spoof space plasmon polaritons, and other applications of anomalous reflection.