3D Volumetric Reconfigurable Active Metamaterials (VRaMM)

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.