Polarization Selectivity of a Double DNA-Like Helix as an Element of Metamaterials and Metasurfaces

The polarization selectivity of a double DNA-like helix with respect to waves with left and right circular polarization at a resonance characteristic of the periodic structure is confirmed by modeling. As an example, helices of various lengths consisting of two and a half and twenty and a half turns are considered while the wavelength of the incident field is approximately equal to the length of the helix turn. The effect consists of a fundamentally different ability of a double DNA-like helix to reflect waves with right or left circular polarization at the resonance under consideration. The strongest reflected wave has that circular polarization direction for which the electric vector is twisted in space in the opposite direction relative to the double helix. An electromagnetic wave polarizer based on a double DNA-like helix that converts an incident linearly polarized wave into a reflected wave with circular polarization can be created. The electromagnetic interaction forces between the helix strands for incident waves with three states of polarization are calculated. The results confirm the polarization selectivity of a double DNA-like helix as an element of metamaterials and as an object with great potential for use in optics.