Photonic-crystal-based polaritonic metamaterials functional at terahertz

Bulk hyperbolic metamaterial properties in the THz regime in deep-subwavelength photonic crystals comprised of polar materials are discussed. The metamaterial behaviour of these systems is put under stringent tests revealing clear effective medium fingerprints. Electromagnetic (EM) in-coupling in such structures exhibits an exotic polarization sensitive profile that is controlled by the angle of the impinging wave and is characteristic of the existence of the hyperbolic type of dispersion. Also, these structures show a high figure of merit (FOM) for the extraordinary hyperbolic mode, which suggests that they are well-suited material for beam manipulation and steering. As a result, these polaritonic PC paradigms suggest a strong applications potential as optical set-up components at THz frequencies.