Metamaterials

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Hybrid and Composite Crystalline Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 50119

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Microelectronics and Optoelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Warszawa, Poland

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Artificially engineered structures, known as metamaterials, offer distinctive electromagnetic properties and over the last few decades have been intensively investigated. Practical realization of these metamaterials has been enabled by rapidly developing material science and nanofabrication technologies. As such, they have been recognized as a milestone towards shaping electromagnetic response at will.

Over the last decade, the various types of metamaterials have created a vibrant research field centered on their high feasibility and applicability. The increasing amount of research related to metamaterials in recent years indicates a still growing and not fully explored potential. Possible tunability of metamaterial structures provides another degree of freedom for shaping performance characteristics of metamaterial-based devices, during both their design and operation.

The latest developments in the area of metamaterials encourage us to rethink our prior assumptions and question the paradigm that prevailed until now. In this vein, this Special Issue aims broadly to cover up-to-date aspects of theory, design, technology, and characterization related to hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) and other types of metamaterials as well as their current and future applications. We thus invite you to submit your work in those areas to the issue. We are especially interested in the following topics:

  • Effects of nonlocality
  • Waveguides and waveguiding systems
  • Spectral and spatial filtering
  • Beam and polarization steering
  • Super-Planckian thermal emission
  • Lasing, light amplification and absorption
  • Nonlinear effects
  • Sensing
  • Technology and characterization
  • Materials, design, and technology for tunable HMMs
Prof. Paweł Szczepański

Guest Editor

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 799 KiB  
Article
Effective Electrodynamics Theory for the Hyperbolic Metamaterial Consisting of Metal–Dielectric Layers
by Pi-Gang Luan
Crystals 2020, 10(10), 863; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10100863 - 24 Sep 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2706
Abstract
In this work, we study the dynamical behaviors of the electromagnetic fields and material responses in the hyperbolic metamaterial consisting of periodically arranged metallic and dielectric layers. The thickness of each unit cell is assumed to be much smaller than the wavelength of [...] Read more.
In this work, we study the dynamical behaviors of the electromagnetic fields and material responses in the hyperbolic metamaterial consisting of periodically arranged metallic and dielectric layers. The thickness of each unit cell is assumed to be much smaller than the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves, so the effective medium concept can be applied. When electromagnetic (EM) fields are present, the responses of the medium in the directions parallel to and perpendicular to the layers are similar to those of Drude and Lorentz media, respectively. We derive the time-dependent energy density of the EM fields and the power loss in the effective medium based on Poynting theorem and the dynamical equations of the polarization field. The time-averaged energy density for harmonic fields was obtained by averaging the energy density in one period, and it reduces to the standard result for the lossless dispersive medium when we turn off the loss. A numerical example is given to reveal the general characteristics of the direction-dependent energy storage capacity of the medium. We also show that the Lagrangian density of the system can be constructed. The Euler–Lagrange equations yield the correct dynamical equations of the electromagnetic fields and the polarization field in the medium. The canonical momentum conjugates to every dynamical field can be derived from the Lagrangian density via differentiation or variation with respect to that field. We apply Legendre transformation to this system and find that the resultant Hamiltonian density is identical to the energy density up to an irrelevant divergence term. This coincidence implies the correctness of the energy density formula we obtained before. We also give a brief discussion about the Hamiltonian dynamics description of the system. The Lagrangian description and Hamiltonian formulation presented in this paper can be further developed for studying the elementary excitations or quasiparticles in other hyperbolic metamaterials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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24 pages, 26212 KiB  
Article
Implications of Metamaterial on Ultra-Wide Band Microstrip Antenna Performance
by Elham A. Serria and Mousa I. Hussein
Crystals 2020, 10(8), 677; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10080677 - 6 Aug 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3597
Abstract
This study is addressing the slotted ring resonator effect on the performance of the ultra-wide band (UWB) microstrip antenna. Two types of metamaterial with double slotted ring resonators (SRR), circular (C-SRR) and square (S-SRR), are studied and implemented on back of the antenna. [...] Read more.
This study is addressing the slotted ring resonator effect on the performance of the ultra-wide band (UWB) microstrip antenna. Two types of metamaterial with double slotted ring resonators (SRR), circular (C-SRR) and square (S-SRR), are studied and implemented on back of the antenna. The design examines the effect of the number of the SRR and its position with respect to the antenna’s ground plane and the rotation of the inner and outer C-SRR rings on different antenna characteristics. The dimensions of the antenna are 45 mm × 31 mm × 1.27 mm. The implementation of the SRR increased the antenna bandwidth to cover the range from 2.2 GHz to 9.8 GHz with rejected bands and frequencies. Antenna simulated characteristics like return loss, maximum gain and radiation pattern are obtained utilizing HFSS. The return loss measurement and the VSWR of the antenna with all SRR configuration studied are in good agreement with simulated results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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8 pages, 1111 KiB  
Communication
Modelling Propagating Bloch Waves in Magnetoelectroelastic Phononic Structures with Kagomé Lattice Using the Improved Plane Wave Expansion
by Edson Jansen Pedrosa de Miranda, Jr., Samuel Filgueiras Rodrigues, Clodualdo Aranas, Jr., Hélio Vitor Cantanhêde da Silva, Eden Santos Silva, Gedeon Silva Reis, Antônio Ernandes Macedo Paiva and José Maria Campos Dos Santos
Crystals 2020, 10(7), 586; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10070586 - 7 Jul 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2337
Abstract
We studied the dispersion diagram of a 2D magnetoelectroelastic phononic crystal (MPnC) with Kagomé lattice. The MPnC is composed of BaTiO3–CoFe2O4 circular scatterers embedded in a polymeric matrix. The improved plane wave expansion (IPWE) approach was used to calculate the dispersion diagram (only [...] Read more.
We studied the dispersion diagram of a 2D magnetoelectroelastic phononic crystal (MPnC) with Kagomé lattice. The MPnC is composed of BaTiO3–CoFe2O4 circular scatterers embedded in a polymeric matrix. The improved plane wave expansion (IPWE) approach was used to calculate the dispersion diagram (only propagating modes) of the MPnC considering the classical elasticity theory, solid with transverse isotropy and wave propagation in the xy plane. Complete Bragg-type forbidden bands were observed for XY and Z modes. The piezoelectric and the piezomagnetic effects significantly influenced the forbidden band widths and localizations. This investigation can be valuable for elastic wave manipulation using smart phononic crystals with piezoelectric and piezomagnetic effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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14 pages, 4638 KiB  
Article
Influence of Nonlocality on Transmittance and Reflectance of Hyperbolic Metamaterials
by Bartosz Janaszek, Marcin Kieliszczyk, Anna Tyszka-Zawadzka and Paweł Szczepański
Crystals 2020, 10(7), 577; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10070577 - 4 Jul 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3063
Abstract
In this paper we investigate transmittance and reflectance spectra of multilayer hyperbolic metamaterials in the presence of strong spatial dispersion. Our analysis revealed a number of intriguing optical phenomena, which cannot be predicted with the local response approximation, such as total reflectance for [...] Read more.
In this paper we investigate transmittance and reflectance spectra of multilayer hyperbolic metamaterials in the presence of strong spatial dispersion. Our analysis revealed a number of intriguing optical phenomena, which cannot be predicted with the local response approximation, such as total reflectance for small angles of incidence or multiple transmittance peaks of resonant character (instead of the respective local counterparts, where almost complete transparency is predicted for small angles of incidence and the broad-angle transparency can be observed within a range of larger angles of incidence). We believe that the observed effects may serve as a working principle in a number of new potential applications, such as spatial filtering, biosensing, or beam steering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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9 pages, 2827 KiB  
Article
Narrow/Broad-Band Absorption Based on Water-Hybrid Metamaterial
by Bui Xuan Khuyen, Vu Thi Hong Hanh, Bui Son Tung, Vu Dinh Lam, Young Ju Kim, YoungPak Lee, Hua-Tian Tu and Liang Yao Chen
Crystals 2020, 10(5), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10050415 - 22 May 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3280
Abstract
In this work, the possibility of a switchable metamaterial absorber is proposed to control absorption bandwidth in the WiMAX/LTE (worldwide interoperability for microwave access/long term evolution) band, by taking advantage of the low cost and myriad structural configurations afforded by water-based metamaterials. By [...] Read more.
In this work, the possibility of a switchable metamaterial absorber is proposed to control absorption bandwidth in the WiMAX/LTE (worldwide interoperability for microwave access/long term evolution) band, by taking advantage of the low cost and myriad structural configurations afforded by water-based metamaterials. By exploiting truncated cone-type resonators, the fractional bandwidth of 27.6% of absorption spectrum can be adjusted flexibly to be 7.4% of the narrow-band absorption depending on the volume of injected water, in both simulation and experiment at room temperature. In particular, this control method can be applied stably for different temperature of injected water. We describe a dynamic mechanism for broadband MA, as well as a principle for controlling the absorption characteristics utilizing a combination of magnetic resonance and perfect impedance matching. These results are a stepping-stone towards the realization of smart electronics integrated with multi-functional metamaterials in military, biomedical, communication and other fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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12 pages, 2518 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Ultra-Thin Pulsed-DC Magnetron Sputtered Aluminum Films for the Technology of Hyperbolic Metamaterials
by Robert Mroczyński, Daniel Iwanicki, Bartosz Fetliński, Monika Ożga, Michał Świniarski, Arkadiusz Gertych, Mariusz Zdrojek and Marek Godlewski
Crystals 2020, 10(5), 384; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10050384 - 8 May 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3407
Abstract
The future applications of hyperbolic metamaterials demand stacks of materials with alternative ultra-thin conductive/dielectric films with good homogeneity of the thickness and reduced roughness level. In this work, the technology of pulsed-DC magnetron sputtering of aluminum was optimized using the Taguchi method in [...] Read more.
The future applications of hyperbolic metamaterials demand stacks of materials with alternative ultra-thin conductive/dielectric films with good homogeneity of the thickness and reduced roughness level. In this work, the technology of pulsed-DC magnetron sputtering of aluminum was optimized using the Taguchi method in order to fabricate Al films with improved roughness level. The performed structural characterization proved the smaller Al domains and better homogeneity of the surface. The optimized process was used to fabricate a multilayer structure of Al/HfOx as the metamaterial media. The fabricated structures were optically characterized in the UV/VIS range. The presented findings demonstrated the tunability effect of the effective reflectance of the examined stacks. The presented results are promising for the future application of multilayer structures in novel photonic devices based on hyperbolic metamaterials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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9 pages, 3404 KiB  
Article
Reconfigurable Polarizer Based on Bulk Dirac Semimetal Metasurface
by Yannan Jiang, Jing Zhao and Jiao Wang
Crystals 2020, 10(3), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10030228 - 21 Mar 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3286
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a reflective polarizer in terahertz regime, which utilizes the Bulk-Dirac-Semimetal (BDS) metasurface can be dynamically tuned in broadband. The proposed polarizer is capable of converting the linear polarized wave into the circular polarized or the cross polarized waves [...] Read more.
In this paper, we propose a reflective polarizer in terahertz regime, which utilizes the Bulk-Dirac-Semimetal (BDS) metasurface can be dynamically tuned in broadband. The proposed polarizer is capable of converting the linear polarized wave into the circular polarized or the cross polarized waves by adjusting the Fermi energy (EF) of the BDS. In the frequency range of 0.51 THz and 1.06 THz, the incident linear polarized wave is converted into a circular polarized wave with an axial ratio (AR) less than 3 dB when EF = 30 meV. When EF = 45 meV, the cross-polarization conversion is achieved with the polarization conversion ratio (PCR) greater than 90% in the band of 0.57−1.12 THz. Meanwhile, the conversion efficiencies for both polarization conversions are in excess of 90%. Finally, the physical mechanism is revealed by the decomposition of two orthogonal components and the verification is presented by the interference theory. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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12 pages, 6995 KiB  
Article
Transmission Characteristics of Ultrasonic Longitudinal Wave Signals in Negative Refractive Index Materials
by Yixue Geng, Yunqiang Sun, Peng Yang, Xin Liu and Jianning Han
Crystals 2020, 10(3), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10030227 - 21 Mar 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5644
Abstract
Longitudinal waves have important applications in modern scientific research and production; as a special acoustic wave, longitudinal waves have a sound transmission performance in negative refractive index materials. This paper has designed a new structure for negative refractive index materials by virtue of [...] Read more.
Longitudinal waves have important applications in modern scientific research and production; as a special acoustic wave, longitudinal waves have a sound transmission performance in negative refractive index materials. This paper has designed a new structure for negative refractive index materials by virtue of COMSOL software and conducted related simulation analysis. Experimental results illustrated that the structure designed had good acoustic longitudinal wave transmission performance. Besides, the effect of sound wave focusing could be achieved by a combination of existing test methods. The design proposed could break the limitation of previous structures on acoustic longitudinal wave transmission. This study is expected to have important implications for the development of solid metamaterial structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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13 pages, 4479 KiB  
Article
Guided Optical Modes in Metal-Cladded Tunable Hyperbolic Metamaterial Slab Waveguides
by Marcin Kieliszczyk, Bartosz Janaszek, Anna Tyszka-Zawadzka and Paweł Szczepański
Crystals 2020, 10(3), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10030176 - 6 Mar 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3371
Abstract
We have theoretically investigated metal-cladded waveguides of tunable hyperbolic metamaterial (THMM) cores, employing graphene sheets as a tunable layer, in terms of guided waves propagation over near- to mid-infrared range, following the effective medium approximation. We have proven that these subwavelength guiding structures [...] Read more.
We have theoretically investigated metal-cladded waveguides of tunable hyperbolic metamaterial (THMM) cores, employing graphene sheets as a tunable layer, in terms of guided waves propagation over near- to mid-infrared range, following the effective medium approximation. We have proven that these subwavelength guiding structures offer a number of effects usually not found in other types of waveguides, including controllable propagation gap and number of modes, inversion of power flow direction with respect to phase velocity, TM mode propagation, and absence of the fundamental mode, which occur as a result of controlled change of the guiding layer dispersion regime. This is the first time that the above-mentioned effects are obtained with a single, voltage-controlled waveguiding structure comprising graphene sheets and a dielectric, although the presented methodology allows us to incorporate other tunable materials beyond graphene equally well. We believe that such or similar structures, feasible by means of current planar deposition techniques, will ultimately find their practical applications in optical signal processing, controlled phase matching, controlled coupling, signal modulation, or the enhancement of nonlinear effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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Review

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26 pages, 12671 KiB  
Review
A Review of Acoustic Metamaterials and Phononic Crystals
by Junyi Liu, Hanbei Guo and Ting Wang
Crystals 2020, 10(4), 305; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst10040305 - 15 Apr 2020
Cited by 183 | Viewed by 17790
Abstract
As a new kind of artificial material developed in recent decades, metamaterials exhibit novel performance and the promising application potentials in the field of practical engineering compared with the natural materials. Acoustic metamaterials and phononic crystals have some extraordinary physical properties, effective negative [...] Read more.
As a new kind of artificial material developed in recent decades, metamaterials exhibit novel performance and the promising application potentials in the field of practical engineering compared with the natural materials. Acoustic metamaterials and phononic crystals have some extraordinary physical properties, effective negative parameters, band gaps, negative refraction, etc., extending the acoustic properties of existing materials. The special physical properties have attracted the attention of researchers, and great progress has been made in engineering applications. This article summarizes the research on acoustic metamaterials and phononic crystals in recent decades, briefly introduces some representative studies, including equivalent acoustic parameters and extraordinary characteristics of metamaterials, explains acoustic metamaterial design methods, and summarizes the technical bottlenecks and application prospects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metamaterials)
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