Journal
JOURNAL OF OPTICS
Volume 15, Issue 10, Pages -Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1088/2040-8978/15/10/105101
Keywords
multilayer structure; hyperbolic material; effective medium theory; surface phonon polariton modes; super-Planckian radiation
Categories
Funding
- Stiftung der Metallindustrie im Nord-Westen
- DAAD
- Partenariat Hubert Curien Procope Program [55923991]
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Here, we address the question of the validity of an effective description for hyperbolic metamaterials in the near-field region. We show that the presence of localized modes such as surface waves drastically limits the validity of the effective description, and requires revisiting the concept of homogenization in the near-field. We demonstrate, from exact scattering matrix calculations for multilayer hyperbolic structures, that one can find surface modes in spectral regions where the effective approach predicts hyperbolic modes only. Hence, the presence of surface modes which are not accounted for in the effective description can lead to physical misinterpretations in the description of hyperbolic materials and their related properties. In particular, we discuss in detail how the choice of the topmost layer affects the validity of the effective medium approach for calculating the local density of states and the super-Planckian thermal radiation.
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