Brewster angle and optical tunneling in one-dimensional photonic crystals composed of left- and right-handed materials

The band structure of periodic multilayers that include left- and right-handed materials is studied under the formalism of equivalent layers. Although the band structure of these systems looks quite complicated, it is shown that bandgaps and bulk bands follow a simple behavior that can be explained in terms of the phase thickness of one period and the Brewster condition that can be satisfied in both polarizations. The optical tunneling is explained in terms of optical holes that are points where the gaps narrow and close owing to the zero optical thickness of the period under given conditions. It is shown that optical tunneling can be present also under nonnormal incidence. © 2006 Optical Society of America.