Antireflection coating using metamaterials and identification of its mechanism

We present a novel approach of antireflection coating using metamaterials. It dramatically reduces the reflection and greatly enhances the transmission near a specifically designed frequency over a wide range of incidence angles for both transverse magnetic and transverse electric polarizations. A classical interference mechanism is identified through analytical derivations and numerical simulations. It elucidates that the tailored magnitude and phase of waves reflected and transmitted at boundaries of metamaterial coating are responsible for the antireflection.