Metamaterial transparency induced by cooperative electromagnetic interactions

Abstract

We propose a cooperative asymmetry-induced transparency, CAIT, formed by collective excitations in metamaterial arrays of discrete resonators. CAIT can display a sharp transmission resonance even when the constituent resonators individually exhibit broad resonances. We further show how dynamically reconfiguring the metamaterial allows one to actively control the transparency. While reminiscent of electromagnetically induced transparency, which can be described by independent emitters, CAIT relies on a cooperative response resulting from strong radiative couplings between the resonators.