Magnetic field concentrator for probing optical magnetic metamaterials

Development of all dielectric and plasmonic metamaterials with a tunable optical frequency magnetic response creates a need for new inspection techniques. We propose a method of measuring magnetic responses of such metamaterials within a wide range of optical frequencies with a single probe. A tapered fiber probe with a radially corrugated metal coating concentrates azimuthally polarized light in the near-field into a subwavelength spot the longitudinal magnetic field component which is much stronger than the perpendicular electric one. The active probe may be used in a future scanning near-field magnetic microscope for studies of magnetic responses of subwavelength elementary cells of metamaterials.