Effective Medium Model of Periodic Nanolayered Transparent Shields

An innovative effective medium model based on the transfer matrix method is proposed for the simulation of 1D-periodic subwavelength metal-dielectric laminated structures excited by TM- or TE-polarized plane wave with oblique incidence angles. The homogeneous medium of each period is characterized by TM or TE complex effective permeability and conductivity. The resulting effective single layer (ESL), having the same total thickness of the multilayer laminate, is represented by a transfer matrix given by the product of the transmission matrices of the periods composing the structure. Notice that this model allows the homogenization of n-layer periods, while the effective medium approximation method is formulated for only two-layer periods. The ESL is used to compute the transmission and reflection coefficients and the shielding effectiveness of 1D-periodic nanolayered transparent coatings made by alternating layers of silver, zinc oxide, or titanium dioxide films, in the frequency range from 100 MHz up to 10 THz. The propagating wave performances of the ESL are compared with the ones given by the rigorous multilayer model. Finally, two different screens made of transparent coatings over glass are proposed and analyzed.