Diodelike asymmetric transmission of linearly polarized waves using magnetoelectric coupling and electromagnetic wave tunneling.

An asymmetric, reciprocal, diffraction-free transmission of linearly polarized waves in a new diodelike, three-layer, ultrathin, chiral structure is studied theoretically and experimentally. The exploited physical mechanism is based on the maximization of the cross-polarized transmission in one direction due to the polarization selectivity dictated by the peculiar eigenstate combination, which is efficiently controlled by the electromagnetic tunneling through the metallic subwavelength mesh sandwiched between these layers. Simulation and microwave experiment results demonstrate a nearly total intensity transmission at normal incidence in one direction and a small intensity transmission in the opposite direction.