Optical Metamaterials and their Index of Refraction

Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support light waves that propagate with infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero, and materials where waves stop propagating, yielding extreme localization of light. In this lecture we will (interactively!) explore some of these unusual phenomena.