Asymmetric transmission (AT) of light is of great importance for various applications. It is shown that metamaterials lacking symmetry along the direction of propagation of light provide AT by transmission through higher diffraction orders. Here, we demonstrate AT and control the diffraction efficiency of transmitted diffraction orders in a three-layer grating-insulator-grating GIG metamaterial using both dielectric and plasmonic material platforms. Furthermore, we show that integrating phase change material in GIG metamaterials provides AT and reconfigurable control of the amplitude of diffraction orders.

The optical generation of statice magnetic field through the inverse Faraday effect is discussed in two-dimensional Dirac materials, specifically graphene and high-temperature superconductors. I illustrate how the reduced dimensionality and topological band structure enhance field-matter interaction and optomagenetic gyration coefficient. I specifically discuss the inverse Faraday rotation in graphene through quantum modeling of the renormalized band structure in the optical regime. We extend the optomagnetic effect in the microwave regime for high-temperature superconductors through field-induced gyrotropy.