A-Meta: A UK-US Collaboration for Active Metamaterials Research

超材料是一种人造材料，其特性超出了自然界中的特性，能够按需控制能量、波和信息，以实现改变游戏规则的产品性能、能源效率和功能。它们的设计具有原子到波长尺度的结构和夹杂物，支持一系列市场的令人兴奋的新兴趋势，例如电信、航空航天、医疗、传感器、汽车雷达、成像、防伪、伪装、振动抑制等。许多市场研究预测了显著的增长，例如，到2030年，超材料设备市场的价值预计将达到100亿美元以上[例如，Lux Research 2019]。传统的超材料具有在制造时固定的反应或功能。此外，超材料通常只在相对较窄的频带上具有功能，而当今的许多应用需要多功能和可重构性，同时减少尺寸、重量、功率和成本。这项提议的主题是可调、可重构和可编程的超材料和有源器件，提供了动态功能的潜力，以便响应外部刺激，或实时改变功能以满足特定的应用要求。在我们的“A-Meta”合作中，我们利用了英国埃克塞特大学超材料研究与创新中心(CMRI)和美国国家科学基金会超材料产学合作研究中心(CFM)的专业知识和设施之间的协同效应。总之，我们重点介绍了三种实现超材料可调谐的新方法：光学区域中的相变超表面；半导体对微波和太赫兹的光激发；以及用于声子和弹性波的聚合物负载的局部共振超原子。我们的一长串项目合作伙伴(空中客车、BAE系统公司、鲍尔航空航天公司、Bodkin Design公司、英国电信公司、DSTL公司、超材料技术公司、M.Ventures(默克公司)、NASA、牛津仪器公司、菲伯斯光电公司、QinetiQ公司、泰利斯公司、Transense Technologies公司和Wave Optics公司)证明了有源超材料及其相关器件的及时和战略重要性。他们的支持函详细说明了与无线通信、传感、过滤、成像、消费电子、自动驾驶车辆、射频设备、高效和快速计算、高性能机械结构、制造工艺和水下声音控制等应用程序的密切相关性。

Metamaterials are artificial materials with characteristics beyond those found in nature and that enable on-demand control of energy, waves and information to realise game-changing product performance, energy efficiency and functionality. Designed with structure and inclusions on the atom-to-wavelength scale, they underpin exciting emerging trends across a range of markets, e.g., telecommunications, aerospace, medical, sensors, automotive radar, imaging, anti-counterfeiting, camouflage, vibration suppression and more. Numerous market research studies predict significant growth, for example, by 2030 the metamaterial device market is expected to reach a value of over $10bn [e.g., Lux Research 2019].Conventional metamaterials have a response or functionality that is fixed at the time of manufacture. Furthermore, metamaterials often suffer from functionality only over a relatively narrow band of frequencies, whereas many of today's applications require multifunctionality and reconfigurability, while reducing size, weight power and cost. The topic of this proposal, tunable, reconfigurable and programmable metamaterials and active devices, offers the potential of dynamic functionality in order to respond to external stimuli, or change functionality in real-time to meet specific application requirements. In our "A-Meta" collaboration we exploit synergies between the expertise and facilities of the University of Exeter's Centre for Metamaterial Research and Innovation (CMRI) in the UK, and the National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Metamaterials (CfM) in the USA. Together, we focus on three novel methods for enabling metamaterial tunability: phase-change-metasurfaces in the optical regime; photoexcitation of semiconductors for the microwave and THz; and polymer-loaded locally resonant meta-atoms for phononics and elastic waves. Our long list of project partners (Airbus, BAE Systems, Ball Aerospace, Bodkin Design, British Telecommunications, Dstl, Metamaterial Technologies, M.Ventures (Merck), NASA, Oxford Instruments, Phoebus Optoelectronics, QinetiQ, Thales, Transense Technologies, and Wave Optics) demonstrates the timely and strategic importance of active metamaterials and associated devices. Their letters of support detail strong relevance to applications such as wireless communication, sensing, filtering, imaging, consumer electronics, autonomous vehicles, RF devices, efficient and fast computing, high performance mechanical structures, manufacturing processes, and underwater sound control.