Refraction of light at a boundary between an isotropic dielectric and an optically anisotropic material – liquid crystalline or metamaterial – is elaborated, especially the dependence on the angle between the anisotropic material birefringence optical axis and the material surface. Different regimes of negative and positive refraction are shown, caused by the liquid-crystalline optical response or potential negative-positive anisotropic metamaterial, identifying distinct regimes of refraction and reflection. The theoretical analysis is verified with finite-difference time-domain simulations and presented in the context of selected related literature. More broadly, this work is a contribution towards developing and understanding anisotropic liquid crystal-type soft metamaterials to achieve novel photonic phenomena based on optical anisotropy.

阐述了各向同性电介质和光学各向异性材料（液晶或超材料）之间的边界处的光折射，尤其是对各向异性材料双折射光轴与材料表面之间角度的依赖性。示出了由液晶光学响应或潜在的负-正各向异性超材料引起的负折射和正折射的不同方案，其识别出不同的折射和反射方案。理论分析已通过时域有限差分仿真进行了验证，并在所选相关文献的背景下进行了介绍。更广泛地讲，这项工作对开发和理解各向异性液晶型软超材料以实现基于光学各向异性的新型光子现象做出了贡献。