title: Low-loss negative-index metamaterial at telecommunication wavelengths.
abstract: We fabricate and characterize a low-loss silver-based negative-index metamaterial based on the design of a recent theoretical proposal. Comparing the measured transmittance and reflectance spectra with theory reveals good agreement. We retrieve a real part of the refractive index of Re(n)= -2 around 1.5 microm wavelength. The maximum of the ratio of the real to the imaginary part of the refractive index is about three at a spectral position where Re(n)= -1. To the best of our knowledge, this is the best figure of merit reported for any negative-index photonic metamaterial to date.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Karlsruhe, TH, Wolfgang-Gaede-Strass 1, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany. gunnar.dolling@physik.uni-karlsruhe.de
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dolling
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Enkrich
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wegener
authors.forename: Costas M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Soukoulis
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Linden