Mie resonance based left-handed metamaterial in the visible frequency range

We propose an approach for left-handed metamaterial synthesis in the visible frequency range, based on Mie resonance in dielectric/plasmonic rods. On the basis of a qualitative analytical description, the mechanism of plasmonic-particles-based Mie resonance tailoring of the hybrid rod-type resonator under s-polarization is confirmed in the effective medium approximation. The key result is a red shift of the second Mie resonance mode, favorable to long-wavelength operating conditions. As a consequence, the dispersion of effective material parameters with simultaneously negative effective permeability mu(eff) and permittivity epsilon(eff) are retrieved around 550 nm wavelength from the frequency dependences of scattering parameters. A maximum figure of merit corresponding to Re(n(eff)) = -2.5 as large as 14.5 at 568 nm wavelength for a GaP/Ag configuration is demonstrated. In addition, negative refraction for a wedge-type device composed of a hybrid rod array was verified by the mapping of Poynting vector, which confirms the validity of the effective parameter analysis.