Imbert–Fedorov shifts of a Gaussian beam reflected from uniaxially anisotropic chiral media

• We discuss the IF shifts of a beam reflected from a uniaxially anisotropic chiral medium interface.
• The shifts can abruptly change near the critical angle of incidence.
• The cross-polarized reflection coefficient has a greater effect on the spatial shift than on the angular shift.
• The sign of the angular shift depends only on that of the difference between the co-polarized reflectivity.
• The crossovers of the shifts can be realized between positive and negative.

We study the Imbert–Fedorov (IF) shifts of a reflected Gaussian beam from uniaxially anisotropic chiral media (UACM), where the chirality appears only in one direction and the host medium is a uniaxial crystal or an electric plasma. The numerical results are presented for three kinds of UACM, respectively. It is found that the IF shifts are closely related to the propagation properties of the two eigenwaves in the UACM. In general, when either of the eigenwaves is totally reflected, the IF shifts can change abruptly near the critical angle. The cross-polarized reflection coefficient has a greater effect on the spatial IF (SIF) shift than on the angular IF (AIF) shift, and the sign of the AIF shift depends mainly on that of the difference between the co-polarized reflectivity. By designing artificially the electromagnetic parameters of the UACM, we can control the IF shifts and acquire their more abundant properties.