Subwavelength metal grating metamaterial for polarization-selective optical antireflection coating

A metamaterial structure consisting of a one-dimensional metal/air-gap subwavelength grating is investigated for optical antireflection coating on germanium substrate in the infrared regime. For incident light polarized perpendicularly to the grating lines, the metamaterial exhibits effective dielectric property and Fabry-Perot like plasmon-coupled optical resonance results in complete elimination of reflection and enhancement of transmission. It is found that the subwavelength grating metamaterial antireflection structure does not require a deep subwavelength grating period, which is advantageous for device fabrication. Maximal transmittance of 93.4% with complete elimination of reflection is seen in the mid-wave infrared range.