Asymmetric transmission for linearly polarized electromagnetic radiation

Metamaterials have shown to support the intriguing phenomenon of asymmetric electromagnetic transmission in the opposite propagation directions, for both circular and linear polarizations. In the present article, we propose a criterion on the relationship among the elements of transmission matrix, which allows asymmetrical transmission for linearly polarized electromagnetic radiation only while the reciprocal transmission for circularly one. Asymmetric hybridized metamaterials are shown to satisfy this criterion. The influence from the rotation of the sample around the radiation propagation direction is discussed. A special structure design is proposed, and its characteristics are analyzed by using numerical simulation. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America