Features and energy characteristics of special inhomogeneous electromagnetic waves in hyperbolic metamaterials

Abstract

In this paper, it is shown that under the conditions of total internal reflection of plane homogeneous electromagnetic waves at the interface of a hyperbolic metamaterial and an ordinary isotropic medium, special inhomogeneous electromagnetic waves are excited in certain circumstances near the surface of the metamaterial and their amplitude changes with distance according to the non-exponential law. The existence conditions for such waves are established for the case when the optical axis is located within the interface plane and forms an angle with the plane of incidence. The energy flux and the energy density of special inhomogeneous waves in a hyperbolic metamaterial are determined.