Effective Non-Localities of Nano-Layered Meta-Materials

Multi-layered nano-composites have been suggested for negative index of refraction systems, photonic funnels, super- and hyper-lenses, as well as other nanophotonic structures. We analyze the electromagnetic modes in such systems and show that they are not described by conventional effective-medium theories. We demonstrate the response of a majority of realistic layered structures is strongly affected by effective non-localities. We develop the analytical description of the relevant phenomena and confirm our results with rigorous numerical solutions of the Maxwell equations. Finally, we demonstrate that multi-layered plasmonic nanostructures support high-index volume modes confined to deep subwavelength areas by using the formalism we have developed.