Tom G MacKay

The transfer-matrix method (TMM) in electromagnetics and optics is a powerful and convenient mathematical formalism for determining the planewave reflection and transmission characteristics of an infinitely extended slab of a linear material. While the TMM was introduced for a homogeneous uniaxial dielectric-magnetic material in the 1960s, and subsequently extended for multilayered slabs, it has more recently been developed for the most general linear materials, namely bianisotropic materials. By means of the rigorous coupled-wave approach, slabs that are periodically nonhomogeneous in the thickness direction can also be accommodated by the TMM. In this book an overview of the TMM is presented for the most general contexts as well as for some for illustrative simple cases. Key theoretical results are given; for derivations, the reader is referred to the references at the end of each chapter. Albums of numerical results are also provided, and the computer code used to generate these results are provided in an appendix.

The aim of this book is to extend and update the standard treatments of crystal optics found in classical textbooks. It provides a broad overview of electromagnetic anisotropy, bianisotropy, and chirality. The topics covered are constitutive relations (Chapter 1); examples of anisotropy, bianisotropy, and chirality (Chapter 2); spacetime symmetries (Chapter 3); planewave propagation (Chapter 4); dyadic Green functions including depolarization dyadics (Chapter 5); homogenization formalisms (Chapter 6); nonlinear aspects (Chapter 7); surface waves (Chapter 8) and topological insulators (Chapter 9). New additions in this second edition are: Chapters 8 and 9, expanded treatments of active mediums in Chapter 4, and the Huygens principle and the Ewald-Oseen extinction theorem in Chapter 5. This book is perfect for postbaccalaureate students and researchers seeking an introductory survey of the electromagnetic theory of complex mediums.

Electromagnetic homogenization is the process of estimating the effective electromagnetic properties of composite materials in the long-wavelength regime, wherein the length scales of nonhomogeneities are much smaller than the wavelengths involved. This is a bird's-eye view of currently available homogenization formalisms for particulate composite materials. It presents analytical methods only, with focus on the general settings of anisotropy and bianisotropy. The authors largely concentrate on 'effective' materials as opposed to 'equivalent' materials, and emphasize the fundamental (but sometimes overlooked) differences between these two categories of homogenized composite materials. The properties of an 'effective' material represents those of its composite material, regardless of the geometry and dimensions of the bulk materials and regardless of the orientations and polarization states of the illuminating electromagnetic fields. In contrast, the properties of 'equivalent' materials only represent those of their corresponding composite materials under certain restrictive circumstances.

Electromagnetic homogenization is the process of estimating the effective electromagnetic properties of composite materials in the long-wavelength regime, wherein the length scales of nonhomogeneities are much smaller than the wavelengths involved. This is a bird’s-eye view of currently available homogenization formalisms for particulate composite materials. It presents analytical methods only, with focus on the general settings of anisotropy and bianisotropy. The authors largely concentrate on ‘effective’ materials as opposed to ‘equivalent’ materials, and emphasize the fundamental (but sometimes overlooked) differences between these two categories of homogenized composite materials. The properties of an ‘effective’ material represents those of its composite material, regardless of the geometry and dimensions of the bulk materials and regardless of the orientations and polarization states of the illuminating electromagnetic fields. In contrast, the properties of ‘equivalent’ materials only represent those of their corresponding composite materials under certain restrictive circumstances.

The topics of anisotropy and bianisotropy are fundamental to electromagnetics from both theoretical and experimental perspectives. These properties underpin a host of complex and exotic electromagnetic phenomenons in naturally occurring materials and in relativistic scenarios, as well as in artificially produced metamaterials. As a unique guide to this rapidly developing field, the book provides a unified presentation of key classic and recent results on the studies of constitutive relations, spacetime symmetries, planewave propagation, dyadic Green functions, and homogenization of composite materials. This book also offers an up-to-date extension to standard treatments of crystal optics with coverage on both linear and weakly nonlinear regimes.