Metamaterials

Metamaterials represent a revolution in materials science, offering nanoscale systems that defy conventional boundaries to transform macroscale devices. These cutting-edge materials possess extraordinary capabilities to manipulate electromagnetic radiation and other forms of energy, paving the way for unprecedented control and precision in various applications. Our project funded by the Metamaterials KTN aims to showcase the immense potential of metamaterials and their key benefits, with the ultimate goal of encouraging industries to embrace this transformative technology.

Acoustic Metamaterials - Shaping the Fabric of Sound

Acoustic metamaterials control sound waves in gases, liquids, and crystal lattices by manipulating parameters like bulk modulus, density, and chirality. They transmit sound with precision, revolutionizing acoustic engineering, and serve as resonators to amplify sound at specific frequencies, enabling immersive soundscapes. An innovative application is a window blocking unwanted noise while allowing soothing sounds like bird songs to create a peaceful personal oasis.

Seismic metamaterials, counteract the destructive impact of seismic waves on structures near the earth's surface. Utilizing boreholes, trees, or underground resonators, these materials exhibit intriguing phenomena such as reflections and bandgap attenuation when exposed to artificial seismic waves. Successful experiments demonstrate their feasibility for frequencies below 100 Hz, critical for countering harmful Rayleigh waves' damage. Envisioned by designers, metamaterial-based foundations hold the promise of safeguarding buildings and occupants from seismic havoc.

Conventional Lens

Metamaterial Lens

Optical metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to exhibit unique and often unprecedented optical properties that are not found in naturally occurring materials. These materials are designed at the nanoscale level, and their structure is carefully crafted to manipulate the behavior of light in specific ways. Optical metamaterials can control light in ways that traditional materials cannot, enabling functionalities such as negative refraction, superlensing, and cloaking.

The design of optical metamaterials involves arranging subwavelength structures, such as nanostructures or metamolecules, in a precise manner. These structures interact with light waves, influencing the material's optical characteristics. Optical metamaterials have applications in various fields, including optics, telecommunications, imaging, and sensing, offering innovative solutions for controlling and manipulating light at the nanoscale.

Thermal metamaterials are engineered materials designed to manipulate the flow of heat in ways not achievable with naturally occurring materials. Like other metamaterials, they are created by arranging structures at a scale smaller than the wavelengths of thermal radiation. These structures are carefully designed to control the transmission, reflection, and absorption of heat in specific ways.

The goal of thermal metamaterials is to provide novel and efficient means of controlling heat transfer, typically at the nanoscale. These materials can exhibit unique thermal properties, such as thermal cloaking or thermal diodes, where heat can be directed or controlled asymmetrically. The design of thermal metamaterials often involves carefully engineering the thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, and other thermal properties to achieve desired effects.

Potential applications of thermal metamaterials include improved thermal insulation, enhanced heat dissipation in electronic devices, and the development of efficient thermoelectric devices for energy conversion. These materials hold promise for advancing thermal management technologies across various industries.