%0 Journal Article
%T Diffractive Interface Theory: Nonlocal polarizability approach to the optics of metasurfaces
%A Christopher M. Roberts
%A Sandeep Inampudi
%A Viktor A. Podolskiy
%J Physics
%D 2014
%I arXiv
%X We present a formalism for understanding the elecromagnetism of metasurfaces, optically thin composite films with engineered diffraction. The technique, diffractive interface theory (DIT), takes explicit advantage of the small optical thickness of a metasurface, eliminating the need for solving for light propagation inside the film and providing a direct link between the spatial profile of a metasurface and its diffractive properties. Predictions of DIT are compared with full-wave numerical solutions of Maxwell's equations, demonstrating DIT's validity and computational advantages for optically thin structures. Applications of the DIT range from understanding of fundamentals of light-matter interaction in metasurfaces to efficient analysis of generalized refraction to metasurface optimization.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1408.3155v1