ECE 7300

Advanced Electrodynamics of Complex Media

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2023-2024.

Graduate-level course on advanced topics in applied electrodynamics, metamaterials, and nanophotonics. The flow of electromagnetic waves can be controlled and molded with engineered (meta)materials and wave-guiding structures, for applications ranging from radio frequencies to visible light, and from large antenna/radar systems to nanoscale optics. Topics include the optical/electromagnetic properties of materials; conservation laws and theorems; causality and Kramers-Kronig relations; wave propagation in complex continuous media (anisotropic, dissipative, dispersive, chiral, nonlocal, nonreciprocal, hyperbolic, etc.) and periodic structures; coupled-mode theory in space and time; mode degeneracies and singularities; geometric phase and topology in wave physics. The course also introduces several topics at the forefront of applied research in this field, including nonreciprocal devices, super-resolution imaging, non-Hermitian physics, topological and time-varying photonics.

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: ECE 3030 or AEP 3560.

Comments Recommended prerequisite: ECE 4380 or AEP 4450.

• Demonstrate a fundamental understanding of the electromagnetic and optical properties of complex materials and metamaterials, as well as of the limitations and constraints stemming from causality, linearity, reciprocity, and passivity.
• Be able to model, calculate, and analyze the propagation properties of electromagnetic waves in complex media, such as anisotropic, hyperbolic, and chiral materials, magnetized plasmas and ferrites, and periodic structures.
• Be able to compare different approaches and choose the best design strategy to engineer the flow of electromagnetic waves, including for field confinement and enhancement, polarization rotation, energy transfer between coupled localized/guided modes, and unidirectional/nonreciprocal propagation.

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