Anomalous Retroreflector

Abstract

Diffraction gratings have been a staple of research in optics for centuries at this point. In their most basic form they are periodic structures which, by means of their physical geometry, diffract incident light in certain angles, given by a master equation. In the present work, we will study diffraction gratings whose diffraction is not a product of their surface geometry, but rather of their electromagnetic properties. This will be done through the paradigm of metamaterials. Namely, by designing periodic materials whose small-scale structure elicits large-scale (collective) effects.