Large negative and positive lateral shift on reflection from a left-handed prism coated with a weakly absorbing dielectric film

A large negative or positive lateral shift of the beam reflected from a left-handed prism coated with a weakly absorbing dielectric film is investigated theoretically. It is shown that the large lateral shift can be negative as well as positive due to the formation of the unusual guided modes in the weakly absorbing film near the resonant condition, which acts the same effect as the surface wave. This unusual guided wave can travel a longer distance than the surface wave. These giant negative and positive lateral shifts are almost fifty times larger than that from the lossless structure [Wang in Appl. Phys. Lett. 87:221102, 2005]. The sign of this large lateral shift could be controlled easily by adjusting the parameters of the present structure.