Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Hyperbolic metamaterials were originally introduced to overcome the diffraction limit of optical imaging. Soon thereafter it was realized that hyperbolic metamaterials demonstrate a number of novel phenomena resulting from the broadband singular behavior of their density of photonic states. These novel phenomena and applications include super-resolution imaging, new stealth technologies, enhanced quantum-electrodynamic effects, thermal hyperconductivity, superconductivity, and interesting gravitation theory analogs. This book reviews the typical material systems that exhibit hyperbolic behavior and outline important new applications of hyperbolic metamaterials, such as imaging experiments with plasmonic hyperbolic metamaterials and novel VCSEL geometries. It also looks at the potential applications of self-assembled photonic hypercrystals. This system bypasses 3D nanofabrication issues, which typically limit hyperbolic metamaterial applications. Photonic hypercrystals combine the most interesting features of hyperbolic metamaterials and photonic crystals.