Subwavelength wave manipulation in a thin surface-wave bandgap crystal

Abstract

It has been recently reported that the unit cell of wire media metamaterials can be tailored locally to shape the flow of electromagnetic waves at subwavelength scales [Lemoult et al., Nature Physics 9, 55-60 (2013)]. However, such bulk structures have a thickness of at least the order of wavelength, thus hindering their applications in the on-chip compact plasmonic integrated circuits. Here, based upon a Sievenpiper “mushroom” array [Sievenpiper et al., IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech. 47, 2059 (1999)] which is compatible with the standard printed circuit board technology, we propose and experimentally demonstrate the subwavelength manipulation of surface waves on a thin surface-wave band-gap crystal with a thickness much smaller than the wavelength (1/30th of the operating wavelength). Functional devices including T-shaped splitter and sharp bend are constructed with good performance.