4D Optically Reconfigurable Volumetric Metamaterials

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel 4D reconfigurable volumetric metamaterial that uses light to dynamically control electromagnetic properties, enabling advanced applications in wireless communication and radar technology.

Contribution

It demonstrates the first volumetric metamaterial scatterer with light-controlled, dynamic electromagnetic properties, expanding capabilities in 4D space-time manipulation.

Findings

Light-controlled tuning of macroscopic permeability.

Hybridized resonances enable artificial high-frequency magnetism.

Dynamic control over electromagnetic scattering in space and time.

Abstract

Metamaterials are artificially created media, which allow introducing additional degrees of freedom into electromagnetic design by controlling constitutive material parameters. Reconfigurable time-dependent metamaterials can further enlarge those capabilities by introducing a temporal variable as an additional controllable parameter. Here we demonstrate a first-of-its-kind reconfigurable volumetric metamaterial-based scatterer, wherein the electromagnetic properties are controlled dynamically with light. In particular, hybridized resonances in arrays of split ring resonators give rise to a collective mode that presents properties of artificial high-frequency magnetism for centimeter waves. Resonant behavior of each individual ring is controlled with a photocurrent, which allows the fast tuning of macroscopic effective permeability. Thus, the artificial gigahertz magnon resonant excitation within a subwavelength spherical scatterer is governed by light intensity. Four-dimensional control over electromagnetic scattering in both space and time opens new venues for modern applications, including wireless communications and automotive radars to name just a few.