3D Volumetric Reconfigurable Active Metamaterials (VRaMM)

塑造和引导电磁场的能力是工程和科学研究的一个重要领域。在成像中，它可用于增强和聚焦领域，例如在医学成像或国土安全中。在无线系统中，例如无线电力传输，它可以用于提高效率，保护人类和免受异物的干扰。在通信中，它可以用于调制、引导、限制和以其他方式操纵携带无线电信号的数据的传播。为了实现这一目标，科学家们通常依赖于具有所需电特性（介电常数）和磁特性（磁导率）的天然材料，以根据需要塑造场。不幸的是，这限制了现有材料的场成形的可用选项和应用。人工设计具有目标介电常数和磁导率的材料的能力为可以进行的影响和科学调查提供了一个重要的维度。这项研究将研究一类称为有源超材料的新型人工材料。有源超材料具有宏观尺度特性，例如介电常数和磁导率，可以通过设计微尺度电子电路和结构来工程化。从历史上看，这些都是被动的，包括损耗和不需要的操作模式。这项研究将研究设计和开发有源超材料的新概念，这些材料将能够消除或减轻损耗和不需要的操作模式。过去对有源超材料研究的尝试面临着稳定性、可调谐性和规模方面的重大问题。一个大规模和稳定的有源超材料的增益在微波域尚未得到证明。本研究将研究电路和结构，以提供增益补偿，稳定性和可扩展性，以实现100-1000的微尺度细胞，以实现一个宏观尺度，有源和可重构的人工材料。PI将通过教育研讨会继续向社会介绍微波工程，并在未来的研讨会上整合超材料和电磁学的想法。PI计划让本科生研究人员与研究生研究人员一起工作。PI的外展工作还包括为当地小学举办数学和机器人技术客座讲座，并与国家科学博物馆（富兰克林研究所、卡内基科学博物馆等）合作，在这项研究中，提出了基于主动超材料元件的3D体积可重构超材料的设计和开发，主动超材料元件使用主动协作来稳定、编程和重构新的电磁材料。这些材料将是完全可编程的，并能够实现各种不均匀和各向异性的性质所需的先进应用所设想的转换电磁学。这些新材料将通过新的研究来实现，以解决自耦合和电池间耦合、大规模系统稳定性以及通过主动消除来减轻不必要的寄生模式等重大挑战。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The ability to shape and direct electromagnetic fields provides an important area of investigation in engineering and science. In imaging, it can be used to enhance and focus fields, for example in medical imaging or homeland security. In wireless systems, such as wireless power transfer, it can be used to enhance efficiency, protect humans and interference from foreign objects. In communication it can be used to modulate, steer, confine and otherwise manipulate the propagation of data carrying radio signals. To achieve this, scientists have often relied on natural materials with the desired electrical properties (permittivity) and magnetic properties (permeability) needed to shape the fields as desired. Unfortunately, this limits the available options and applications for field shaping to existing materials. The ability to artificially engineer a material with targeted permittivity and permeability provides an important dimension to the impact and scientific investigations that can be undertaken.This research will investigate a new class of artificial materials called active metamaterials. Active metamaterials have macroscale properties, such as permittivity and permeability, that can be engineered through the design of microscale electronic circuits and structures. Historically these have been passive, which include loss and unwanted modes of operation. This research will investigate new concepts to design and develop active metamaterials, that will be able to remove or mitigate loss and unwanted modes of operation. Past attempts on active metamaterial research faced significant problems with stability, tunability and scale. A large scale and stable active metamaterial with gain in the microwave domain has not yet been demonstrated. This research will investigate circuits and structures for providing gain compensation, stability, and scalability to 100-1000 of microscale cells in order to realize a macroscale, active and reconfigurable artificial material.The PI will use educational workshops to continue to introduce microwave engineering to the community and integrate the ideas of metamaterials and electromagnetics in future workshops. The PI plans to involve undergraduate student researchers to work alongside with graduate student researchers on the proposed project. The PI’s outreach efforts also include guest lectures on mathematics and robotics to local elementary schools and engagement with national science museums (Franklin Institute, Carnegie Science Museum, etc.), demonstrating engineering and science concepts to students at all levels, from elementary to high school.In this research the design and development of 3D volumetric reconfigurable metamaterials are proposed which are based on active metamaterial elements which uses active collaboration to stabilize, program and reconfigure new electromagnetic materials. These materials will be fully programable and able to achieve diverse inhomogeneous and anisotropic properties needed for advanced applications envisioned by transformational electromagnetics. These new materials will be realized through new research in solving the major challenges of self- and inter-cell coupling, stability of large-scale systems and mitigation of unwanted parasitic modes through active cancellation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.