Propagation properties of a wave in a disordered multilayered system containing hyperbolic metamaterials

Electromagnetic wave propagation in one-dimensional disordered structures composed of hyperbolic metamaterials is theoretically investigated. We find that the disordered system can suppress Anderson localization of light at long-wavelength limit under a finite range of incident angle. For isolated frequencies and for specific angles of incidence, it only occurs at areas of Brewster anomaly. Within the zero-(n) over bar gap, structural disorder has little impact on the localization length. In contrast, the localization length increases with the increase of the degree of disorder in the Bragg gap, giving rise to enhanced transmission of light. At the vicinities of Bragg gap edge, the localization is suppressed (enhanced) evidently outside (inside) the gap. We also find that the increase of disorder or incidence angle can result in an increase of strength and range of resonances. The role of absorption in our disordered system is also discussed. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America