Gyrotropic response in the absence of a bias field

Electromagnetic materials lacking local time-reversal symmetry, such as gyrotropic materials, are of keen interest and importance both scientifically and technologically. Scientifically, topologically nontrivial phenomena, such as photonic chiral edge states, allow for reflection-free transport even in the presence of large disorder. Technologically, nonreciprocal photonic devices, such as optical isolators and circulators, play critical roles in optical communication and computing technologies because of their ability to eliminate cross-talk and feedback. Nevertheless, most known natural materials that lack local time-reversal symmetry require strong external fields and function only in a limited range of the electromagnetic spectrum. By taking advantage of metamaterials capable of translating the property of unidirectional active electronic circuits into effective dielectric response, we introduce a microwave gyrotropic metamaterial that does not require an external magnetic bias. Strong bulk Faraday-like effects, observed in both simulations and experiments, confirm nonreciprocity of the effective medium. This approach is scalable to many other wavelengths, and it also illustrates an opportunity to synthesize exotic electromagnetic materials.