Acknowledgement
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Lipsa
Nanda for their invaluable guidance and support throughout this project. I am
also thankful to Dept. Of physics, Panchayat College Bargarh for providing
resources and facilities. My appreciation extends to my colleagues, juniors,
seniors, other research team members and individuals who contributed to data
collection and feedback.
I am grateful for the understanding and encouragement from my family
and friends. Lastly, I acknowledge the authors, researchers, and institutions
whose work laid the foundation for this project. Thank you all for your
contributions, which were essential to the successful completion of this
endeavor.
Thank you
Name : Sanat Kumar Seth
Roll No. : S04521PHY003
Sign
ABSTRACT
CONTROL POLARIZATION OF E.M. WAVES USING META-MATERIAL
Sanat Kumar Seth
SAMBALPUR UNIVERSITY, PANCHAYAT DEGREE COLLEGE BARGARH
The manipulation of electromagnetic (E.M.) wave polarization is a burgeoning
research area, and Meta-materials have emerged as a key solution for this
purpose. These engineered Nanostructures, with their tailored electromagnetic
properties, can influence the phase, amplitude, and polarization of incident
waves across various frequencies and wavelengths. They have garnered
significant attention due to their potential in telecommunications, medical
imaging, and other technological applications. Meta-materials enable precise
control over wave polarization, enhancing functionality and performance in
fields like Nano photonics, sensing, communication, and optical signal
processing.
Recent advancements in Meta-materials offer innovative ways to manipulate
E.M. wave polarization at the Nano scale, through ultrathin, miniaturized, and
easily integrable designs. This capability opens avenues for applications such
as polarization manipulation, wavefront control, and optical communication.
Overall, Meta-materials represent a promising area of research for controlling
E.M. wave polarization, with the potential to drive technological advancements
and foster innovation across various domains.
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report titled “CONTROL
POLARIZATION
OF
E.M.
WAVES
USING
META-MATERIALS”
Submitted by Sanat Kumar Seth to the Physics Department in the partial
fulfilment of Physics project work DSE Paper-IV Examination Conducted
by Sambalpur University 2023-2024.
The Project Work was done by me under the supervision of Dr. Lipsa
Nanda, Professor in physics.
PROJECT MARK
VIVA MARK
TOTAL MARK
SIGNATURE OF INTERNAL
SIGNATURE OF THE STUDENT
SIGNATURE OF EXTERNAL
DATE: ____________
CONTENT
1. INTRODUCTION
 The world of polarization optics explores the behaviour of light waves as
they interact with materials that affect their polarization. It encompasses
phenomena like polarizers, birefringence, and optical devices that
manipulate polarization for applications in diverse fields such as
telecommunications, microscopy, and display technologies (imaging).
# What is a Polarization State?
“The polarization state of an electromagnetic (EM) wave refers to the
orientation of its electric field vector as it propagates through space. This
orientation can be linear, circular, or elliptical. The polarization state
affects how EM waves interact with materials and antennas, influencing
their transmission and reception properties”.
 The Meta-materials engineered Nanostructures manipulate the phase,
amplitude, and polarization of incident E.M. waves, enabling precise control
over wave polarization. This technology has diverse applications in
imaging, sensing, communication, and optical signal processing, and holds
the potential to revolutionize various technological domains.
# What is a Meta-materials?
“Meta-materials
(MTMs)
are
artificial
electromagnetic(EM)
materials comprising a functional sub wavelength microstructure
(usually called “meta-atoms”) arranged in some specific macroscopic
order, which can in principle exhibit arbitrary values and even
distributions of effective permittivity and effective permeability”
Some examples of Meta- particles used in polarization of EM waves are
elliptical Nano holes, L-shaped Nanoparticles, crossed Nano dipoles, Nano
slits, and Nano rods, as shown in Figure 1:
Figure-1:
(a) Strong polarization controlling in the optical transmission through
elliptical Nano holes. (b) Bier fringences in two-dimensional L-shaped silver
Nanoparticles. (c) Giant optical rotation in near infrared wavelength by Lshaped Nano holes array in silver film. (d) Chromatic plasmonic polarizers
by optical Nano rods. e) Broadband optical meta-wave plates by crossed
Nano dipoles (f) reflecting wave plates constructed with Nano dipoles.
1.1 CLASSIFICATION OF POLARIZATION STATE
The polarization of E.M. waves can be manipulated using various techniques,
such as polarization filters, polarizers, and wave plates. There are several ways
to describe electromagnetic wave polarization, but here are five common types:
1) Unpolarized light: The electric field vector of the E.M. wave oscillates
randomly, with no preferential direction. This type of light is often referred to
as "unpolarized" or "natural light".
2) Partially polarized light: A mixture of polarized and unpolarized light, with
the electric field vector of the polarized component having a preferential
direction but not a fixed orientation.
3) Linear polarization: The electric field of the E.M. wave oscillates in a
straight line, with the wave propagation and electric field vector in the same
plane.
4) Circular polarization: The electric field of the E.M. wave rotates in a
circular path as the wave propagates, with the electric field vector always
perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
5) Elliptical polarization: The electric field of the E.M. wave rotates in an
elliptical path, with the wave propagation and electric field vector defining the
plane of the ellipse.
1.2 PROPERTIES OF META-MATERIALS
FIG. 1. Overview of lattice Meta-materials: (a) structures, (b) properties, and
(c) applications.
1.3 ROLE OF META-MATERIALS IN EM POLARIZATION

Meta-materials, such as split-ring resonators (SRRs), plasmonic
Nanoparticles, L-shaped Nanoparticles, and crossed Nano dipoles, play a
crucial role in manipulating electromagnetic (EM) wave polarization
within Meta-materials. These structures are designed at sub wavelength
scales to exhibit unique optical properties that cannot be achieved with
conventional materials.

SRRs, for instance, are commonly used in Meta-materials to achieve
negative refractive index behavior and can influence the polarization
state of EM waves by altering the phase and amplitude of the electric
field component. Plasmonic Nanoparticles, on the other hand, interact
strongly with light due to their surface Plasmon resonances, allowing
precise control over polarization conversion and modulation.

L-shaped Nanoparticles and crossed Nano dipoles are also utilized
to tailor the polarization response of Meta-materials, enabling
functionalities like polarization rotators, beam steering, and polarizationselective filtering.
(b)
Fig-(a) L-Shaped Nanoparticles meta-materials; (b) plasmonic meta-material; (c)
SRR (split ring resonance)
2.HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF META-MATERIALS
 Artificial dielectrics, which were first developed in microwave
engineering shortly after World War II, are where the history of Metamaterials starts. However, by the end of the 19th century, there are
ground breaking investigations into artificial materials for
electromagnetic wave manipulation.
 V.G. Veselago of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
investigated the theoretical model of a medium recognized today as a
meta-materials in 1967.He is credited with coining the phrase "left
handed material" to describe today's meta-materials due to the antiparallel behavior of the wave vector and other electromagnetic fields.
Furthermore, he remarked that the material he was examining was a
double negative material, as certain Meta-materials are called
nowadays, because of the potential to concurrently produce negative
values for two crucial properties, e.g. permittivity and permeability.
 John Pendry invented thin wire structures that repeat sequentially, similar to
crystal formations, in the 1990s. These increased the spectrum of material
permittivity. Pendry et al. produced a more revolutionary structure that
could adjust the magnetic interactions (permeability) of emitted light, albeit
only at microwave frequencies. This successively recurring, split ring
arrangement pushed material magnetic properties to the negative. This
lattice or periodic "magnetic" structure was made using non-magnetic
materials.
 In 2000, a team of UCSD researchers created and proved Meta-materials
with unique physical features never previously seen in nature. These
materials follow the principles of physics yet act differently than other
materials. In essence, these negative index Meta-materials were seen to be
capable of reversing many of the physical parameters that regulate the
behavior of typical optical materials. One of these unique characteristics is
the capacity to reverse Snell's law of refraction for the first time.
Figure 1.2: Some applications of Meta-materials. (a) Super lens (after [28]), (b)
magnifying hyper lens (after [30]), (c) cloaking device
3. LITERATURE SURVEY
Some earlier works and journal articles on manipulating polarization EM
wave using Meta-materials are:
I.
Switchable meta-materials reflector/absorber for different polarized
electromagnetic waves Bo Zhu, Yijun Feng, Juming Zhao, Ci Huang, Tian
Jiang Department of Electronic Engineering ; Article in Applied Physics
Letters October 2010
They present the use of meta-materials utilizing electromagnetic
resonant structures combined with diodes to create a controllable
electromagnetic wave reflector/absorber for various polarizations.
This may flip the structure between virtually total reflection and total
absorption of a specifically polarized incident wave by biasing at different
voltages to turn ON and OFF the diodes. The meta-materials may
selectively bias the matching diodes in response to various polarized
waves by arranging orthogonally orientated resonant cells. The
performance has been confirmed by microwave tests and computational
calculations.
II.
Polarization modulation by tunable electromagnetic meta-materials
reflector/absorber Bo Zhu, Yijun Feng Junming Zhao, Ci Huang,
Zhengbin Wang, Tian Jiang Department of Electronic Engineering.
Article in Optics Express October 2010
The proposal introduces a polarization modulation method using a
tunable meta-materials reflector/absorber with diode-connected resonant
unit cells. By adjusting bias voltages, it independently controls reflections
of orthogonally polarized electromagnetic waves, enabling elliptical
polarization off-resonance and linear polarization at resonance with a
programmable azimuth angle (0° to 90°). Numerical and experimental
validation at microwave frequencies confirms this capability. This scheme
holds promise for diverse applications, including communication systems,
radar, imaging, and antenna design, offering adaptable and optimized
electromagnetic wave polarization control.
III.
Asymmetric Transmission Of Linearly Polarized Electromagnetic Wave
Through Chiral Meta-materials Structure C. Huang a , J. Zhao a , T.
Jiang a & Y.Feng, China Version of record first published: 25 Jul 2012
This study introduces a chiral meta-materials structure for
asymmetric transmission of linearly polarized electromagnetic waves.
The structure comprises twisted metallic split-ring resonators on a
dielectric substrate. Through full-wave EM simulations and free-space
observations in the microwave range, strong asymmetric transmission has
been demonstrated. It allows minimal transmission in the opposite
direction but permits propagation in one direction. Notably, optical
activity is observed, indicating the meta-material’s ability to rotate
incident linear polarization to its orthogonal form. This thin slab, onefifteenth of the wavelength, offers promising applications in wave
polarization manipulation.
IV.
Independent Controls of Differently-Polarized Reflected Waves by
Anisotropic Metasurfaces by Hui Feng Ma, Gui Zhen Wang, Gu Sheng
Kong & Tie Jun Cui State Key Laboratory of Millimetre Waves, School of
Information Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing ,
June 2012
The study proposes an anisotropic planar metasurface capable
of independent control over orthogonally polarized electromagnetic
waves in reflection. Consisting of a metal-grounded plane and
orthogonally arranged I-shaped structures separated by a dielectric
isolator, the metasurface is approximately 1/15 wavelength thick. While
the metal plane reflects incident linearly polarized waves entirely, the Ishaped structures independently adjust the reflected phases of x- and ypolarized waves. This design enables the creation of functional devices
like polarization beam splitters, beam deflectors, and linear-to-circular
polarization converters. Simulation and measurement results affirm the
metasurface’s efficiency.