Magnetic dipole based systems for probing optical magnetism

Recent advances in plasmonic-based metamaterials show that the magnetic component of an optical field can be strongly affected by the material's properties and geometry of metallic nanostructures, leading to such interesting effects as negative magnetic permeability and magnetic resonance in the optical range. To probe such effects experimentally, systems containing Eu3+ ions can be used as spectroscopic tools. The study of the magnetic dipole-related transition at similar to 590 nm in comparison with the electric dipole-related transition at similar to 615 nm can reveal information on the relative distribution of magnetic and electric fields as well as effective permeability and permittivity. We report the development of such systems, demonstrating very high emission efficiency, and the first experimental results. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.