Generating mechanism of the energy-stream loops for the evanescent waves in a left-handed material slab

The generating mechanism of the energy-stream loops (ESLs) for the evanescent waves around the interfaces of a left-handed material (LHM) slab has been investigated with a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The simulations have shown that these ESLs originate from standing waves, attributed to the intervention of counter-propagating evanescent waves. Large numbers of ESLs can appear because of the numerous values of wave vectors k(y). The larger ESLs die out more quickly than the smaller ones in time after the source is switched off, the ESLs shrink continuously with increasing delay, and the oscillated distributions of the evanescent waves between the surfaces can also be validated. It is greatly helpful for the further comprehension on energy fluxes of evanescent waves in the LHM slab. (C) 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.