Next Generation Engineered Electromagnetic Surfaces and Materials

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In this program we will develop the next generation of engineered electromagnetic materials (metamaterials) and surfaces (metasurfaces) for the ultimate control of electromagnetic fields. In this effort, fundamental science and theory will be generated, new phenomena will be explored and/or discovered, and innovative structures to enable new applications will be pioneered. The science and technology to be produced is intended for applications from microwave to optical frequencies in four main disciplines: wireless communications, super-resolution imaging and medical therapy, and aerospace and defense. ******Metamaterials are engineered structures that can be homogenized at the scale of the corresponding wavelength where they operate and can thus be characterized by macroscopic material parameters such as a permittivity, a permeability and a refractive index. Such engineered materials should have properties that transcend those found in natural materials (hence the prefix 'meta'). For example, nowadays we can synthesize metamaterials characterized by a negative index of refraction. Likewise, metasurfaces are engineered surfaces with properties that can be homogenized (e.g. by a corresponding spatially varying impedance distribution) and have also exotic properties; For example they can bend light negatively and without suffering any reflections. Metasurfaces can be thought of as 2D metamaterials thus providing a unified theme for this proposed research program. ******Particular emphasis will be placed on metasurfaces, which is an emergent research front in which my group has been one of the leading groups internationally. Primarily, a paradigm shift approach will be developed for controlling electromagnetic waves (radio waves and light) using Huygens' metasurfaces. These are engineered surfaces composed of collocated electric and magnetic dipoles, thus enabling the full control of electromagnetic waves through "the equivalence principle" (generalization of the Huygens' principle). The developed theory of these Huygens' metasurfaces will greatly advance the science of engineered materials/metasurfaces and electromagnetism, whereas the corresponding technology developed will enable applications in imaging beyond the limits of diffraction for industrial, medical and biological applications, advanced multiband/broadband/multifunctional antennas for the next generation of terrestrial and satellite communications, futuristic "invisibility cloaks" for defence and related public security problems (e.g. to avoid collisions of commercial drones with civil-aviation aircrafts), wireless power transfer devices and networks to charge laptops, TVs and future electric cars, ultrathin optical lenses to enable the next generation of smartphones, highly-efficient solar cells enabled by light-trapping metasurfaces, and small radar sensors for autonomous vehicles.**