Realization of the tellegen effect in resonant optical metasurfaces

Shadi Safaei Jazi; Ihar Faniayeu; Rafael Cichelero; Nikolai Kuznetsov; Sebastiaan van Dijken; Shanhui Fan; Alexandre Dmitriev; Viktar Asadchy

doi:10.1186/s43593-026-00123-2

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

Realization of the tellegen effect in resonant optical metasurfaces

eLight Vol. 6, (2026)

Research Article | Updated：2026-03-16

- Realization of the tellegen effect in resonant optical metasurfaces
- Affiliations：
- Author bio：
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1186/s43593-026-00123-2
  CLC：
- Received：12 August 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-01-19，
  
  Accepted：20 January 2026，
  
  Online First：02 March 2026，
  
  Published：2026-12
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Shadi Safaei Jazi, Ihar Faniayeu, Rafael Cichelero, et al. Realization of the tellegen effect in resonant optical metasurfaces[J]. eLight, 2026, 6.
DOI：

Shadi Safaei Jazi, Ihar Faniayeu, Rafael Cichelero, et al. Realization of the tellegen effect in resonant optical metasurfaces[J]. eLight, 2026, 6. DOI： 10.1186/s43593-026-00123-2.

摘要

Abstract

The nonreciprocal magnetoelectric effect in Tellegen materials enables exotic phenomena such as axion-modified electrodynamics and fosters the development of magnet-free nonreciprocal media. As the nonreciprocal counterpart to the well-known chiral electromagnetic response

it offers a parallel framework in which many concepts developed for chiral materials can be translated to Tellegen media

potentially unlocking new avenues for fundamental studies and applications. Although predicted over 75 years ago and observed in only a handful of natural materials with very low strength

the strong optical Tellegen effect has remained experimentally elusive. Here

we report the first experimental demonstration of a resonant optical diagonal Tellegen effect in a metasurface

showcasing a response that is 100 times greater than that of any known natural material. This optical metasurface

consisting of randomly distributed cobalt-silicon nanoscatterers with strong shape anisotropy

utilizes spontaneous magnetization to achieve a robust Tellegen effect without the need for an external magnetic field. In addition to the Tellegen response

the metasurface exhibits both gyroelectric and gyromagnetic effects

contributing to nonreciprocal cross-polarized light reflection. We introduce a technique to independently extract the amplitudes of these three effects using conventional magneto-optical single-side-illumination measurements. The observation of the resonant Tellegen effects in the optical frequency range may lead to the experimental observation of axionic electrodynamics and compact bias-free nonreciprocal optical devices.

关键词

Keywords

references

A. Serdyukov, I. Semchenko, S. Tretyakov, A. Sihvola, Electromagnetics of Bi-Anisotropic Materials - Theory and Application , Vol. 11 (Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 2001)

V.S. Asadchy , A. Díaz-Rubio , S.A. Tretyakov , Bianisotropic metasurfaces: physics and applications . Nanophotonics 7 , 1069 ( 2018 ). http://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2017-0132 http://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2017-0132

C. Caloz , A. Sihvola , Electromagnetic chirality, part 1: the microscopic perspective [electromagnetic perspectives] . IEEE Antennas Propag. Mag. 62 , 58 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1109/MAP.2019.2955698 http://doi.org/10.1109/MAP.2019.2955698

M.L. Solomon , J. Hu , M. Lawrence , A. García-Etxarri , J.A. Dionne , Enantiospecific optical enhancement of chiral sensing and separation with dielectric metasurfaces . ACS Photonics 6 , 43 ( 2019 ). http://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.8b01365 http://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.8b01365

Y. Chen , H. Deng , X. Sha , W. Chen , R. Wang , Y.-H. Chen , D. Wu , J. Chu , Y.S. Kivshar , S. Xiao , C.-W. Qiu , Observation of intrinsic chiral bound states in the continuum . Nature 613 , 474 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.8b01365 http://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.8b01365

X. Zhang , Y. Liu , J. Han , Y. Kivshar , Q. Song , Chiral emission from resonant metasurfaces . Science 377 , 1215 ( 2022 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq7870 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq7870

B.D.H. Tellegen , The gyrator, a new electric network element . Philips Techn. Rev. 18 , 120 ( 1948 ).

N.A. Hill , Why are there so few magnetic ferroelectrics? . J. Phys. Chem. B 104 , 6694 ( 2000 ). http://doi.org/10.1021/jp000114x http://doi.org/10.1021/jp000114x

V.S. Asadchy , M.S. Mirmoosa , A. Díaz-Rubio , S. Fan , S.A. Tretyakov , Tutorial on electromagnetic nonreciprocity and its origins . Proc. IEEE 108 , 1684 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2020.3012381 http://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2020.3012381

M. Fiebig , Revival of the magnetoelectric effect . J. Phys. D Appl. Phys. 38 , R123 ( 2005 ). http://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/38/8/R01 http://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/38/8/R01

G.L.J.A. Rikken , E. Raupach , Observation of magneto-chiral dichroism . Nature 390 , 493 ( 1997 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/37323 http://doi.org/10.1038/37323

C. Train , R. Gheorghe , V. Krstic , L.-M. Chamoreau , N.S. Ovanesyan , G.L.J.A. Rikken , M. Gruselle , M. Verdaguer , Strong magneto-chiral dichroism in enantiopure chiral ferromagnets . Nat. Mater. 7 , 729 ( 2008 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2256 http://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2256

P. Sikivie , Experimental tests of the invisible axion . Phys. Rev. Lett. 51 , 1415 ( 1983 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.51.1415 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.51.1415

F. Wilczek , Two applications of axion electrodynamics . Phys. Rev. Lett. 58 , 1799 ( 1987 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.58.1799 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.58.1799

R.D. Peccei , H.R. Quinn , CP conservation in the presence of pseudoparticles . Phys. Rev. Lett. 38 , 1440 ( 1977 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.38.1440 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.38.1440

L.F. Abbott , P. Sikivie , A cosmological bound on the invisible axion . Phys. Lett. B 120 , 133 ( 1983 ). http://doi.org/10.1016/0370-2693(83)90638-X http://doi.org/10.1016/0370-2693(83)90638-X

R. Li , J. Wang , X.L. Qi , S.C. Zhang , Dynamical axion field in topological magnetic insulators . Nat. Phys. 6 , 284 ( 2010 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1534 http://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1534

H. Terças , J.D. Rodrigues , J.T. Mendonça , Axion-plasmon polaritons in strongly magnetized plasmas . Phys. Rev. Lett. 120 ,( 2018 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.181803 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.181803

E. Barredo-Alamilla , D.A. Bobylev , M.A. Gorlach , Axion electrodynamics without witten effect in metamaterials . Phys. Rev. B 109 ,( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.109.195136 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.109.195136

D.J.E. Marsh , K.C. Fong , E.W. Lentz , L. Šmejkal , M.N. Ali , Proposal to detect dark matter using axionic topological antiferromagnets . Phys. Rev. Lett. 123 ,( 2019 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.121601 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.121601

D.M. Nenno , C.A.C. Garcia , J. Gooth , C. Felser , Y. Sun , Axion physics in condensed-matter systems . Nature Rev. Phys. 2 , 682 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-020-0240-2 http://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-020-0240-2

A.M. Essin , J.E. Moore , D. Vanderbilt , Magnetoelectric polarizability and axion electrodynamics in crystalline insulators . Phys. Rev. Lett. 102 ,( 2009 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.146805 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.146805

I. Lindell, A. Sihvola, S. Tretyakov, A. Viitanen, Electromagnetic Waves in Chiral and Bi-Isotropic Media (Artech House, Boston, 1994)

S. Safaei Jazi , I. Faniayeu , R. Cichelero , D. Tzarouchis , M. Asgari , A. Dmitriev , S. Fan , V. Asadchy , Optical tellegen metamaterial with spontaneous magnetization . Nature Commun. 15 , 1293 ( 2024 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45225-y http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45225-y

F.R. Prudêncio , M.G. Silveirinha , Optical isolation of circularly polarized light with a spontaneous magnetoelectric effect . Phys. Rev. A 93 ,( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.93.043846 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.93.043846

C. He , X.-C. Sun , X.-P. Liu , M.-H. Lu , Y. Chen , L. Feng , Y.-F. Chen , Photonic topological insulator with broken time-reversal symmetry . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 113 , 4924 ( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1525502113 http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1525502113

K.Y. Bliokh , Y.S. Kivshar , F. Nori , Magnetoelectric effects in local light-matter interactions . Phys. Rev. Lett. 113 ,( 2014 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.033601 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.033601

C. Khandekar , F. Khosravi , Z. Li , Z. Jacob , New spin-resolved thermal radiation laws for nonreciprocal bianisotropic media . New J. Phys. 22 ,( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/abc988 http://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/abc988

W. Eerenstein , N.D. Mathur , J.F. Scott , Multiferroic and magnetoelectric materials . Nature 442 , 759 ( 2006 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nature05023 http://doi.org/10.1038/nature05023

A.P. Pyatakov , A.K. Zvezdin , Magnetoelectric and multiferroic media . Phys. Usp. 55 , 557 ( 2012 ). http://doi.org/10.3367/UFNe.0182.201206b.0593 http://doi.org/10.3367/UFNe.0182.201206b.0593

T. Kurumaji , Y. Takahashi , J. Fujioka , R. Masuda , H. Shishikura , S. Ishiwata , Y. Tokura , Optical magnetoelectric resonance in a polar magnet <math id="IEq136_Math"><mrow><msub><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">Fe</mi><mo>,</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">Zn</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">Mo</mi><mn>3</mn></msub><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">O</mi><mn>8</mn></msub></mrow></math> $$$({\rm Fe}, {\rm Zn})_2{\rm Mo}_3{\rm O}_8$$$ with axion-type coupling . Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 ,( 2017 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.077206 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.077206

J.P. Rivera , Hereto <math id="IEq138_Math"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">Cr</mi><mo>-</mo><mi mathvariant="normal">Cl</mi></mrow></math> $$$\rm Cr-Cl$$$ boracite . Ferroelectrics 161 , 165 ( 1994 ). http://doi.org/10.1080/00150199408213365 http://doi.org/10.1080/00150199408213365

B.B. Krichevtsov , V.V. Pavlov , R.V. Pisarev , V.N. Gridnev , Magnetoelectric spectroscopy of electronic transitions in antiferromagnetic Cr <math id="IEq140_Math"><mmultiscripts><mrow/><mn>2</mn><mrow/></mmultiscripts></math> $$$_2$$$ O <math id="IEq141_Math"><mmultiscripts><mrow/><mn>3</mn><mrow/></mmultiscripts></math> $$$_3$$$ . Phys. Rev. Lett. 76 , 4628 ( 1996 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.4628 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.4628

E.O. Kamenetskii, I. Awai, A.K. Saha, Experimental evidence for magnet oelectric coupling in a ferromagnetic resonator with a surface metallization. Microw. Opt. Technol. Lett. 24 , 56 (2000). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2760(20000105)24:1 <math id="IEq144_Math"><mo><</mo></math> $$$<$$$ 56::AID-MOP16 <math id="IEq145_Math"><mo>></mo></math> $$$>$$$ 3.0.CO;2-8

S.A. Tretyakov , S.I. Maslovski , I.S. Nefedov , A.J. Viitanen , P.A. Belov , A. Sanmartin , Artificial Tellegen particle . Electromagnetics 23 , 665 ( 2003 ). http://doi.org/10.1080/02726340390244789 http://doi.org/10.1080/02726340390244789

M. Mirmoosa , Y. Ra’di , V. Asadchy , C. Simovski , S. Tretyakov , Polarizabilities of nonreciprocal bianisotropic particles . Phys. Rev. Appl. 1 ,( 2014 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.1.034005 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.1.034005

E.O. Kamenetskii, On the technology of making chiral and bianisotropic waveguides for microwave propagation. Microw. Opt. Technol. Lett. 11 , 103 (1996). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2760(19960205)11:2 <math id="IEq146_Math"><mo><</mo></math> $$$<$$$ 103::AID-MOP17 <math id="IEq147_Math"><mo>></mo></math> $$$>$$$ 3.0.CO;2-F

Y. Ra’di , A. Grbic , Magnet-free nonreciprocal bianisotropic metasurfaces . Phys. Rev. B 94 ,( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.195432 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.195432

Q. Yang , X. Wen , Z. Li , S. Zhang , J. Wang , H. Liu , Gigantic tellegen responses in metamaterials . Nat. Commun. 16 , 151 ( 2025 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55159-0 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55159-0

F.R. Prudêncio , M.G. Silveirinha , Synthetic axion response with space-time crystals . Phys. Rev. Appl. 19 ,( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.19.024031 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.19.024031

L. Shaposhnikov, E. Barredo-Alamilla, F. Wilczek, M. A. Gorlach, Probing ultrafast magnetization dynamics via synthetic axion fields, arXiv (2024). https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2405.19160 10.48550/arXiv.2405.19160

L. Shaposhnikov , M. Mazanov , D.A. Bobylev , F. Wilczek , M.A. Gorlach , Emergent axion response in multilayered metamaterials . Phys. Rev. B 108 ,( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.108.115101 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.108.115101

T. Z. Seidov, E. Barredo-Alamilla, D. A. Bobylev, L. Shaposhnikov, M. Mazanov, M. A. Gorlach, Dual origin of effective axion response, arXiv (2024). https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2407.20767 10.48550/arXiv.2407.20767

W. Yang , Q. Liu , H. Wang et al. , Observation of optical gyromagnetic properties in a magneto-plasmonic metamaterial . Nat. Commun. 13 , 1719 ( 2022 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29452-9 http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29452-9

B.B. Krichevtsov , V.V. Pavlov , R.V. Pisarev , V.N. Gridnev , Spontaneous non-reciprocal reflection of light from antiferromagnetic Cr <math id="IEq148_Math"><mmultiscripts><mrow/><mn>2</mn><mrow/></mmultiscripts></math> $$$_2$$$ O <math id="IEq149_Math"><mmultiscripts><mrow/><mn>3</mn><mrow/></mmultiscripts></math> $$$_3$$$ . J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 5 , 8233 ( 1993 ). http://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/5/44/014 http://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/5/44/014

P.G. van Engen , K.H.J. Buschow , M. Erman , Magnetic properties and magneto-optical spectroscopy of Heusler alloys based on transition metals and Sn . J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 30 , 374 ( 1983 ). http://doi.org/10.1016/0304-8853(83)90079-3 http://doi.org/10.1016/0304-8853(83)90079-3

J.M.D. Coey, Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (Cambridge University Press, 2010)

M. Yazdi , M. Albooyeh , Analysis of metasurfaces at oblique incidence . IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag. 65 , 2397 ( 2017 ). http://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2017.2677951 http://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2017.2677951

T. Niemi, Polarization transformations in bianisotropic arrays , Ph.D. thesis, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland (2012). https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/3b52864c-c813-4e97-8b31-d9292de5114d/content https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/3b52864c-c813-4e97-8b31-d9292de5114d/content

Y. Ra’di , V.S. Asadchy , S.A. Tretyakov , One-way transparent sheets . Phys. Rev. B 89 ,( 2014 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.89.075109 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.89.075109

S. Xia , D.O. Ignatyeva , Q. Liu , H. Wang , W. Yang , J. Qin , Y. Chen , H. Duan , Y. Luo , O. Novák , M. Veis , L. Deng , V.I. Belotelov , L. Bi , Circular displacement current induced anomalous magneto-optical effects in high index mie resonators . Laser Photon. Rev. 16 , 2200067 ( 2022 ). http://doi.org/10.1002/lpor.202200067 http://doi.org/10.1002/lpor.202200067

A.E. Miroshnichenko , A.B. Evlyukhin , Y.S. Kivshar , B.N. Chichkov , Substrate-induced resonant magnetoelectric effects for dielectric nanoparticles . ACS Photon. 2 , 1423 ( 2015 ). http://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.5b00117 http://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.5b00117

I. Sinev , I. Iorsh , A. Bogdanov , D. Permyakov , F. Komissarenko , I. Mukhin , A. Samusev , V. Valuckas , A.I. Kuznetsov , B.S. Luk’yanchuk et al. , Polarization control over electric and magnetic dipole resonances of dielectric nanoparticles on metallic films . Laser Photon. Rev. 10 , 799 ( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1002/lpor.201600055 http://doi.org/10.1002/lpor.201600055

M. Albooyeh , R. Alaee , C. Rockstuhl , C. Simovski , Revisiting substrate-induced bianisotropy in metasurfaces . Phys. Rev. B 91 ,( 2015 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.195304 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.195304

A. Assadillayev , I. Faniayeu , A. Dmitriev , S. Raza , Nanoscale engineering of optical strong coupling inside metals . Adv. Opt. Mater. 11 , 2201971 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202201971 http://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202201971

L.D. Barron, Molecular Light Scattering and Optical Activity (Cambridge University Press, 2009)

A. Tschöpe , K. Birster , B. Trapp , P. Bender , R. Birringer , Nanoscale rheometry of viscoelastic soft matter by oscillating field magneto-optical transmission using ferromagnetic nanorod colloidal probes . J. Appl. Phys. 116 ,( 2014 ). http://doi.org/10.1063/1.4901575 http://doi.org/10.1063/1.4901575

D.M. Nenno , C.A.C. Garcia , J. Gooth , C. Felser , P. Narang , Axion physics in condensed-matter systems . Nature Rev. Phys. 2 , 682 ( 2020 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-020-0240-2 http://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-020-0240-2

C. Guo , V.S. Asadchy , B. Zhao , S. Fan , Light control with Weyl semimetals . eLight 3 , 2 ( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1186/s43593-022-00036-w http://doi.org/10.1186/s43593-022-00036-w

X.-L. Qi , R. Li , J. Zang , S.-C. Zhang , Inducing a magnetic monopole with topological surface states . Science 323 , 1184 ( 2009 ). http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1167747 http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1167747

R. Li , J. Wang , X.-L. Qi , S.-C. Zhang , Dynamical axion field in topological magnetic insulators . Nat. Phys. 6 , 284 ( 2010 ). http://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1534 http://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1534

T.Z. Seidov , M.A. Gorlach , Hybridization of electric and magnetic responses in the effective axion background . Phys. Rev. A 108 ,( 2023 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.108.053515 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.108.053515

S.V. Zhukovsky , A. Andryieuski , O. Takayama , E. Shkondin , R. Malureanu , F. Jensen , A.V. Lavrinenko , Experimental demonstration of effective medium approximation breakdown in deeply subwavelength all-dielectric multilayers . Phys. Rev. Lett. 115 ,( 2015 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.177402 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.177402

S.S. Mirshafieyan , T.S. Luk , J. Guo , Zeroth order fabry-perot resonance enabled ultra-thin perfect light absorber using percolation aluminum and silicon nanofilms . Opt. Mater. Express 6 , 1032 ( 2016 ). http://doi.org/10.1364/OME.6.001032 http://doi.org/10.1364/OME.6.001032

P.B. Johnson , R.W. Christy , Optical constants of transition metals: Ti, v, cr, mn, fe, co, ni, and pd . Phys. Rev. B 9 , 5056 ( 1974 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.9.5056 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.9.5056

P. van Engen , K. Buschow , M. Erman , Magnetic properties and magneto-optical spectroscopy of heusler alloys based on transition metals and sn . J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 30 , 374 ( 1983 ). http://doi.org/10.1016/0304-8853(83)90079-3 http://doi.org/10.1016/0304-8853(83)90079-3

D.T. Pierce , W.E. Spicer , Electronic structure of amorphous si from photoemission and optical studies . Phys. Rev. B 5 , 3017 ( 1972 ). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.5.3017 http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.5.3017

H. Fredriksson , Y. Alaverdyan , A. Dmitriev , C. Langhammer , D.S. Sutherland , M. Zäch , B. Kasemo , Hole–mask colloidal lithography . Adv. Mater. 19 , 4297 ( 2007 ). http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200700680 http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200700680

Views

Downloads

CSCD

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

Publicity Resources

No data

Related Author

No data

Related Institution

No data

⁰