New Light on Optical Activity: Interaction of Electromagnetic Waves with Chiral Photonic Metamaterials

Chiral metamaterials allow for obtaining very large chiral optical effects which result specifically from the interplay of electric/magnetic dipoles of the ''artificial atoms'' and the magnetic/electric component of the incident light field. We investigate double-layered chiral metamaterial designs with respect to their circular dichroism and optical rotatory power that is orders of magnitude larger than in, e.g., a solution of chiral sugar molecules.