Light transport in photonic crystals composed of magneto-optically active materials

Abstract

We analyze the properties of light propagation through ordered structures made of metallic wires (or disks) embedded in a dielectric medium in the presence of a magnetic field. The magnetic field not only modifies the polarization properties of the transmitted and reflected light, but it also induces absorption channels that give rise to well-defined structures in the transmission spectrum and in the Faraday rotation. Interaction and size effects are also analyzed. To perform the numerical simulations we extend an existing scattering matrix method to deal with the off-diagonal terms of the dielectric tensor required for the proper treatment of magneto-optical activity.