The quest for novel materials with peculiar characteristics for innovative and increasingly high-performance devices is constantly evolving. Many promising complex nano-engineered materials (e.g., with nanoscale inclusions or layers) have been proposed. Among these innovative materials, we draw attention to the Tightly Interlaced Matched Ambidextrous Bilayer (TIMAB), which is a non-homogeneous nano-structured material consisting of a cascade of bilayer cells made up of two chiral sculptured thin films that are identical except for their structural handedness. We present the distinguishing characteristics of two optical phenomenons involving TIMABs: (i) surface-plasmon-polariton wave propagation guided by a planar metal/TIMAB interface and (ii) polarization-universal bandgap on axial excitation.