Scattering theory from artificial piezoelectric-like meta-atoms and molecules

TL;DR

This paper introduces hybrid electromechanical meta-atoms and molecules inspired by piezoelectric effects, providing an analytical scattering model that enables novel functionalities beyond current metamaterials, with potential applications in RF and acoustics.

Contribution

The paper presents a new analytical model for hybrid-wave electromechanical scattering in meta-atoms, enabling functionalities beyond traditional metamaterials.

Findings

Demonstrated an electrically deep sub-wavelength meta-atom dimer with high sensitivity to wave direction

Established a linearized scattering model for coupled electromechanical oscillators

Proposed potential for new metamaterial phenomena in radio-frequencies and acoustics

Abstract

Inspired by the natural piezoelectric effect, we introduce hybrid-wave electromechanical meta-atoms and meta-molecules that consist of coupled electrical and mechanical oscillators with similar resonance frequencies. We propose an analytical model for the linearized electromechanical scattering process, and explore its properties based on first principles. We demonstrate that by exploiting the linearized hybrid-wave interaction, one may enable functionalities that are forbidden otherwise, going beyond the limits of today's metamaterials. As an example we show an electrically deep sub-wavelength dimer of meta-atoms with extremely sensitive response to the direction-of-arrival of an impinging electromagnetic wave. This scheme of meta-atoms and molecules may open ways for metamaterials with a plethora of exciting dynamics and phenomena that have not been studied before with potential technological implications in radio-frequencies and acoustics.