Inverse Design of a Layered Medium for Maximal Surface Localization

Electromagnetic wave manipulation plays a crucial role in advancing technology across various domains, including photonic device design. This study presents an inverse design approach for a periodic medium that optimizes electromagnetic wave localization at the interface between a layered half-space and a homogeneous half-space. The approach finds a maximally localized mode at a specified frequency and wave number. The mode propagates in the direction of the interface. The design parameters are the permittivity of the layered medium, their relative thicknesses, and the permittivity of the homogeneous half-space. We analyze the problem using the transfer matrix method and apply the particle swarm optimization to find a rapidly decaying mode that satisfies the design constraints. The design process is demonstrated in a numerical example, which serves to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed method.