Ultrashort elliptically polarized laser pulse interaction with helical photonic metamaterial

Using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method we have numerically investigated the transmission and reflection of both long and ultrashort elliptically polarized light pulses in periodic metamaterial made of polymer. In the first time we have analyzed the polarization evolution in the hodograph of the transmitted long pulses, and we demonstrated the behavior of the electric field in transmitted ultrashort pulses. The mechanisms of light-matter interaction in terms of the electromagnetic energy oscillation in polymeric metamaterial are shown. We studied the influence of all the parameters of metamaterial unit cell (a helix) on the transmission and reflection. Particularly, the increase of the amount of the helix cycles broadens the polarization-selective frequency range for the transmitted light.