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Journal of the Physical Society of Japan

A Three-Dimensionally Isotropic and Perfectly Vacuum-Impedance-Matched Negative-Index Material

Jian Qi Shen

Published Nov 10, 2014• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A new scenario for realizing a gain left-handed atomic vapor medium based on both dressed-state mixed-parity transitions (for simultaneous electric- and magnetic-dipole resonance) and incoherently-pumped population transfer (for high gain amplification) in a four-level atomic system is suggested. Dressed-state assisted simultaneous electric- and magnetic-dipole allowed transitions in such a four-level atomic system (of, e.g., neutral alkali-metal atoms such as lithium and potassium atoms) are utilized for achieving negative refractive index with impedance perfectly matched to vacuum. The attractive features of the present scenario include: i) three-dimensionally isotropic negative indices; ii) incoherent-gain wave amplification; iii) perfect impedance matching to vacuum. All these important properties of the double-negative medium would have potential applications in designing some optical and photonic devices, including particularly subwavelength focusing system and negative-index superlens for perfect imaging.

DOI
10.7566/jpsj.83.124401

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A new scenario for realizing a gain left-handed atomic vapor medium based on both dressed-state mixed-parity transitions (for simultaneous electric- and magnetic-dipole resonance) and incoherently-pumped population transfer (for high gain amplification) in a four-level atomic system is suggested. Dressed-state assisted simultaneous electric- and magnetic-dipole allowed transitions in such a four-level atomic system (of, e.g., neutral alkali-metal atoms such as lithium and potassium atoms) are utilized for achieving negative refractive index with impedance perfectly matched to vacuum. The attractive features of the present scenario include: i) three-dimensionally isotropic negative indices; ii) incoherent-gain wave amplification; iii) perfect impedance matching to vacuum. All these important properties of the double-negative medium would have potential applications in designing some optical and photonic devices, including particularly subwavelength focusing system and negative-index superlens for perfect imaging.
Abstract—A scheme of double-negative left-handed atomic vapor medium based on dressed-state assisted simultaneous electric and magnetic resonances is suggested. In this mechanism, simultaneous electric- and magnetic-dipole allowed transitions of atoms are driven by an optical wave by taking full advantage of both mixed-parity dressed-state assisted resonance and incoherent population pumping in a quantum-coherent atomic medium (e.g., alkali-metal atomic vapor). Since the simultaneously negative permittivity and permeability can be achieved in a same frequency band, such an atomic vapor will exhibit an incoherent-gain double-negative refractive index that is three-dimensionally isotropic and homogeneous. The imaginary part of the negative refractive index of the present atomic vapor would be drastically suppressed or would become negative because of loss compensation through incoherent population transfer. The quantum-coherent left-handed atomic vapor presented here will have four characteristics: i) three-dimensionally isotropic and homogeneous negative refractive index, ii) double-negative atomic medium at visible (and infrared) wavelengths, iii) tunable negative refractive index based on dressed-state quantum coherence, and iv) high gain due to incoherent pumping action.
Since previous negative-index atomic media based on quantum optical approaches are highly lossy, a proposal for realizing a three-dimensionally isotropic left-handed atomic vapor medium is suggested based on a mechanism of incoherent gain assisted atomic transitions. Two three-level atomic systems are utilized for producing simultaneously negative permittivity and negative permeability, respectively, in the same frequency band. We suggest that fine and hyperfine level transitions of atoms (e.g., a hyperfine level transition in a hydrogen atomic system and a fine level transition in an alkali-metal atomic system) would be applicable to realization of such a negatively refracting atomic vapor. The attractive features of the present scenario include: i) three-dimensionally isotropic negative indices; ii) incoherent gain wave amplification in the negative-index atomic vapor; iii) tunable negative indices depending upon external fields. Such a left-handed quantum optical medium can serve as a supporting substrate for lossy negative-index materials for loss compensation. It can also be used in designing new quantum optical and photonic devices (e.g., a subwavelength focusing system and a negative-index superlens for perfect imaging) because of its attractive properties of three-dimensional isotropy and high-gain wave amplification.
A new scheme for overcoming losses with incoherent optical gain in a quantum-coherent left-handed atomic vapor is suggested. In order to obtain low-loss, lossless or active left-handed media (LHM), a pump fleld, which aims at realizing population inversion of atomic levels, is introduced into a four-level atomic system. Both analytical and numerical results are given to illustrate that such an atomic vapor can exhibit intriguing electric and magnetic responses required for achieving simultaneously negative permittivity and permeability (and hence a gain-assisted quantum-coherent negative refractive index would emerge). The quantum-coherent left-handed atomic vapor presented here could have four fascinating characteristics: i) three-dimensionally isotropic negative refractive index, ii) double- negative atomic medium at visible and infrared wavelengths, iii) high-gain optical ampliflcation, and iv) tunable negative refractive index based on quantum coherent control. Such a three-dimensionally isotropic gain medium with negative refractive index at visible and infrared frequencies would have a potential application in design of new quantum optical and photonic devices, including superlenses for perfect imaging and subwavelength focusing.
A scenario for realizing simultaneously negative permittivity and permeability of a two-photon quantum-coherent atomic vapor is suggested in order to achieve a left-handed atomic medium with a negative refractive index. One of the remarkable features of the present scheme is that it can lead to a controllable manipulation of the negative refractive index of the atomic vapor. Since the electric- and magnetic-dipole allowed transitions of atoms can be excited by visible and infrared lightwaves, the refractive index of the atomic vapor can exhibit its negative refractive index at optical and near-optical frequency bands. This may be a new scheme to fabricate a negatively refracting material based on the quantum optical approach. Such a three-dimensionally isotropic negative refractive index at visible and infrared wavelengths induced by the two-photon-resonant quantum coherence would find a potential application in fabrication of superlenses for perfect imaging and subwavelength focusing.
A three-dimensionally isotropic negative permeability of a neutral alkali-metal atomic medium, in which a fine-structure magnetic dipole-allowed transition in terahertz band is pumped for population transfer (and hence incoherent gain for negative permeability can be realized), is suggested based on quantum optical approach. The effects relevant to photonic resonance and quantum coherence are involved in the present quantum optical scheme of pumped magnetic-dipole allowed transition. The incoherent-gain assisted atomic medium (with fine-structure transition involved) may have some attractive features, e.g., three-dimensionally isotropic and homogeneous negative permeability for high-gain wave amplification at terahertz frequencies. Such a gain-assisted negative-permeability medium can be a candidate of magnetically resonant materials for artificial composite metamaterials, e.g., it may serve as a substrate of lossy negative-index materials for loss compensation or as a supporting medium for high-gain amplification of a TE-mode surface plasmon-like wave.
A new quantum optical mechanism to realize simultaneously negative electric permittivity and magnetic permeability is suggested. In order to obtain a negative permeability, we choose a proper atomic configuration that can dramatically enhance the contribution of the magnetic-dipole allowed transition via the atomic phase coherence. It is shown that the atomic system chosen with proper optical parameters can give rise to striking electromagnetic responses (leading to a negative refractive index) and that the atomic vapour becomes a left-handed medium in an optical frequency band. Differing from the previous schemes of artificial composite metamaterials (based on classical electromagnetic theory) to achieve the left-handed materials, which consist of anisotropic millimetre-scale composite structure units, the left-handed atomic vapour presented here is isotropic and homogeneous at the atomic-scale level. Such an advantage may be valuable in realizing the superlens (and hence perfect image) with left-handed atomic vapour.