Optical metamaterials with quasicrystalline symmetry: symmetry-induced optical isotropy

Abstract

We compare, both experimentally and theoretically, metamaterials with three different symmetries: square lattice, hexagonal lattice, and quasicrystalline Penrose tiling. By relying on an advanced Jones calculus, we link the symmetry properties to the farfield optical response, such as ellipticity and circular dichroism, as the incident angle is varied. We show that hexagonal lattice metamaterials, when compared to the square ones, exhibit less circular dichroism and ellipticity due to their higher symmetry. Furthermore, we show that in contrast to periodic metamaterials, quasicrystalline metamaterials inhibit ellipticity and circular dichroism and open a new route to isotropy in metamaterials at oblique incidence.