Emergence of seismic metamaterials: Current state and future perspectives

Following the advent of electromagnetic metamaterials, researchers working in wave physics have translated concepts of engineered media to acoustics, elastodynamics and diffusion processes. In elastodynamics, seismic metamaterials have emerged in the last decade for soft soils structured at the meter scale, and have been tested with full-scale experiments on holey soils. Born in the soil, seismic metamaterials have emerged from the field of tuned-resonators buried in the soil, around building's foundations or near the soil-structure interface as local seismic isolators. Forests of trees have been interpreted as above-surface resonators, and coined natural seismic metamaterials. We first review some advances made in seismic metamaterials and dress an inventory of which material parameters can be achieved and which cannot, from the effective medium theory perspective. We envision future developments of large scale auxetic metamaterials for building's foundations, above surface resonators for seismic protection and metamaterial-like transformed urbanism at the city scale.     

同时实现介电常数和磁导率为负的H型结构单元左手材料

基于用一种结构同时实现材料介电常数和磁导率为负的思想，提出了H型结构单元左手材料模型.采用矩形波导法测试表明，H型结构单元在微波频率范围出现左手透射峰，并且可以由参数t对左手特性区域进行调控.同时利用相位法、棱镜折射法和散射参量法从实验和理论证明了在左手透射峰区域材料的折射率为负值，介电常数和磁导率亦同时为负.相对由金属开口谐振环与金属线两种结构组合实现的左手材料，H型结构集磁谐振与电谐振于一体，结构简单、制备方便，对微波器件左手材料表现出更多的优越性.     

Lowering plasma frequency by enhancing the effective mass of electrons： A route to deep sub-wavelength metamaterials

Deep sub-wavelength metamaterials are the key to the further development of practical metamaterials with small volumes and broadband properties. We propose to reduce the electrical sizes of metamaterials down to more sub-wavelength scales by lowering the plasma frequencies of metallic wires. The theoretical model is firstly established by analyzing the plasma frequency of continuous thin wires. By introducing more inductance elements, the effective electron mass can be enhanced drastically, leading to significantly lowered plasma frequencies. Based on this theory, we demonstrate that both the electric and the magnetic plasma frequencies of metamaterials can be lowered significantly and thus the electrical sizes of metamaterials can be reduced to more sub-wavelength scales. This provides an efficient route to deep sub-wavelength metamaterials and will give rigorous impetus for the further development of practical metamaterials.     

太赫兹波段超材料的制作、设计及应用

本文从制作方法、结构设计和材料选择几方面综述了超材料在太赫兹波段的电磁响应特性和潜在应用。首先,介绍了获得不同维度、具有特异电磁响应以及结构可调超材料的各种微加工制作方法,进而分析和讨论了超材料的电磁响应特性。文中指出,结构设计可以控制超材料的电磁响应特性,如各向异性、双各向异性、偏振调制、多频响应、宽带响应、不对称透射、旋光性和超吸收等。超材料的电磁响应依赖于周围微环境的介电性质,因而可用于制作对环境敏感的传感器件。此外,电光、磁光、相变、温度敏感等功能材料的引入可以获得光场、电场、磁场、温度等主动控制的太赫兹功能器件。最后,简单介绍了超材料在太赫兹波段进一步发展所面临的机遇和挑战。     

Photonic crystals as metamaterials

The visionary work of Veselago had inspired intensive research efforts over the last decade, towards the realization of man-made structures with unprecedented electromagnetic (EM) properties. These structures, known as metamaterials, are typically periodic metallic-based resonant structures demonstrating effective constitutive parameters beyond the possibilities of natural material. For example they can exhibit optical magnetism or simultaneously negative effective permeability and permittivity which implies the existence of a negative refractive index. However, also periodic dielectric and polar material, known as photonic crystals, can exhibit EM capabilities beyond natural materials. This paper reviews the conditions and manifestations of metamaterial capabilities of photonic crystal systems.     

Design of an acoustic bending waveguide with acoustic metamaterials via transformation acoustics

Transformation acoustics is employed to design an acoustic bending waveguide. A two-dimensional square area with anisotropic and homogeneous material properties is transformed into a fan-shaped area with anisotropic and inhomogeneous material properties to rotate the direction of beam propagation. An alternating layered structure is considered to approximate a medium with anisotropic material properties. From the calculation results, the transformation medium can be realized by an alternating layered structure consisting of water and fluid with negative mass density. We propose that an acoustic metamaterial composed of three layers in water background can be designed to replace negative mass density fluid. The effective mass density and bulk modulus of the system that is composed of the acoustic metamaterial and water are dependent on the incident frequency and the geometric size of the acoustic metamaterial. We tune the geometric size of the acoustic metamaterial to approach the corresponding mass density distribution of the negative mass density fluid at a specific frequency. Thereby, the acoustic bending waveguide designed by using transformation acoustics can be achieved by the acoustic metamaterials.     

基于双十字架型宽带低耗小单元左手材料的设计与实验验证

提出了一种利用电谐振器与磁谐振器集成于一体的单面左手介质结构设计方案, 该方案采用两个十字架型金属结构镜像并列放置在介质基板的同一侧形成一个左手单元, 并将其排列成周期结构. 软件仿真和优化提取了一系列有效电磁参数, 结果表明, 该结构在9.4–16 GHz的频率范围内等效介电常数和等效磁导率同时为负, 其相对带宽达到了52%, 并且单元电长度和损耗都小于同类型的结构. 对该结构进行了加工、制作并通过波导法测试再次证明了其优良左手特性的存在性. 为左手材料的广泛应用打下了基础.     

Reconfigurable subwavelength waveguide based on magnetic metamaterial

The design and characterization is described of a reconfigurable subwavelength waveguide based on magnetic metamaterial. The waveguide is capable of reconfiguring its propagating mode from right-handed to left-handed, which can be applied in the design of novel microwave and RF devices such as leaky wave antennas with broadened scanning range. The waveguide consists of a rectangular metallic waveguide loaded by two pieces of different magnetic metamaterials, which are structured by the same cells—modified split ring resonators (MSRRs)—with different arrangements. Positions of the two pieces of metamaterials in the waveguide can be reconfigured separately by the control mechanism. The simulated transmission data show that the waveguide has a passband below the cutoff frequency of the hollow waveguide either in the left-handed case or in the right-handed case. The extracted constitutive parameters have demonstrated that the effective permittivity and permeability of the waveguide are simultaneously negative in the left-handed case and positive in the right-handed case. The magnetic field and surface current distributions in the waveguide confirm that the waveguide operates as can be expected. The influence of the control mechanism on the performance of the waveguide is studied. It is shown that the influence is so minor that it can be neglected.     

异向介质研究进展

介绍了异向介质的研究进展,其中包括基本理论的深化研究,介质新电磁特性的研究,一些新型结构的设计、仿真、实验、制作方法及其各自的优缺点,以及在波导、天线、微波器件等各个领域的应用.     

A retrieval method for nonlinear metamaterials

Metamaterials are engineered periodic structures for which it is possible to assign effective homogenized constitutive properties. In recent years, metamaterials in which the constituent elements are integrated with inherently nonlinear materials or electronic components have been considered for their potential impact on nonlinear wave propagation. As is the case with their linear counterparts, nonlinear metamaterials can also be assigned homogenized effective properties. The effective constitutive parameters of a metamaterial can be determined by a retrieval method applied to full-wave numerical simulations of a single layer of the structure. In this work, we present a transfer matrix approach that extends the retrieval of metamaterial properties to include the effective nonlinear susceptibilities. Comparisons with time-domain finite element simulations of continuous nonlinear slabs confirm the validity of this approach. The proposed approach is also applied to determine the nonlinear susceptibility of a simple nonlinear metamaterial.     

Trapping of electromagnetic wave in single-negative metamaterial waveguides

We study the trapping properties of transverse magnetic (TM) waves in single-negative metamaterial waveguides including epsilon-negative (ENG) metamaterial and mu-negative (MNG) metamaterial. The relationship between effective refractive index and reduced core width is analyzed when the permittivities of ENG and MNG metamaterials are different, and the inflection on this curve can be regarded as the trapping point. Simulation results show that the properties in an ENG–MNG–ENG metamaterial waveguide are contrary to that in a MNG–ENG–MNG metamaterial waveguide. The sensitivity of trapping point to the change of permittivity makes the single-negative metamaterial waveguides to be an effective method to detect the permittivity variation and can be used as a new kind of waveguide sensor.     

超常介质中部分相干光束传输的调制不稳定性研究

超常介质与常规光学介质的一个最重要的区别是前者具有色散磁导率,其折射率呈现出可正可负,这样调制不稳定性出现新特点。借助于Wigner变换,从一般的非线性薛定谔方程出发,得到了部分相干光满足Wigner-Moyal的方程,获得了色散关系和增益谱,揭示了部分相干度不仅可抑制调制不稳定性,而且还可以缩小发生不稳定性的频率范围。     

Tunable dual-band infrared chiral metamaterials based on double-layered asymmetric U-shape split ring resonators

We have numerically demonstrated chiral metamaterials based on double-layered asymmetric U-shape split ring resonators. Dual-band circular dichroism is found in the whole frequency regime from 50 to 250 THz by studying the transmission properties. Huge optical activity and the induced negative refractive index are obtained at resonance by calculating the optical activity and ellipticity of the transmitted E-fields. Chirality parameter and effective refractive index are retrieved to illustrate the tunable optical properties of the metamaterials. The underlying mechanisms for the observed circular dichroism are analyzed. These metamaterials would offer flexible electromagnetic applications in the infrared regime.     

磁电耦合超材料本构矩阵获取方法的研究

单负(仅介电常数或仅磁导率小于零)超材料以及由导线-开口谐振环组成的双负超材料本构参数的提取通常采用传统的S参数方法. 由于磁电耦合超材料存在交叉极化现象, 仅用介电常数和磁导率两个本构参数无法准确描述其电磁特性. 传统的S参数提取方法一开始就假定超材料仅具有介电常数和磁导率两个本构参数, 所以采用该方法提取磁电耦合超材料本构参数存在明显局限性. 将磁电耦合超材料中的电元件和磁元件分别等效为面电流和面磁流, 通过推导平均电通密度和磁通密度与外加电磁场的相互关系, 从理论上获取了磁电耦合超材料2×2 的本构参数矩阵, 确定了磁电耦合超材料这四个本构参数与磁元件的磁导率、电元件的介电常数、空间色散项和耦合系数之间的关系解析公式, 进而获得了折射率理论计算公式. 利用该折射率公式对折射率提取值进行了非线性拟合, 发现提取值和理论值之间的误差很小, 这个结果很好地验证了所给出的本构矩阵解析式和折射率公式的正确性. 根据拟合结果, 获得了磁电耦合超材料本构矩阵中四个电磁参数的频率响应曲线. 所提出的磁电耦合超材料本构矩阵参数获取方法将为研究磁电超材料中电元件和磁元件的耦合现象提供重要的理论参考.     

基于双环开口谐振环对的平面周期结构左手超材料

通过理论分析和实验仿真,研究了用双环开口谐振环对（double split-ring resonator pairs,DSRRP）实现平面左手超材料的原理,用等效电路理论解释并描述了其负介电常数和负磁导率的产生机理,并对DSRRP在3维左手超材料设计的应用进行了探索性研究.结果表明,DSRRP可以实现小尺寸的平面左手超材料,此外,DSRRP还可以作为用以实现3维左手超材料负磁导率的3维各向异性磁超材料. 关键词： 双环开口谐振环对 平面左手超材料 3维磁超材料     

Waveguide devices with homogeneous complementary media

We report the design of microwave waveguide devices based on complementary media. Various kinds of waveguide devices that possess nearly 100% transmission efficiency are proposed, such as waveguide bends, splitters, connectors, and shifters. Compared with previous work on waveguide devices of low reflection and minimized distortion based on transformation optics, our transform media are homogeneous metamaterials. Electromagnetic simulations by a finite-element method on detailed examples have been performed to validate the designs and these functionalities can be close to the practical.     

人工表面等离激元超材料

以微带为代表的传统微波传输线无法精细操控电磁模式,因此传统电子信息系统在空间耦合、动态响应和性能鲁棒性等方面存在瓶颈。人工表面等离激元(SSPP)超材料可打破上述瓶颈,是光学与信息领域的研究热点之一。人工表面等离激元超材料是一类模拟光频段表面等离激元特性的新型超材料,可在微波和太赫兹频段精细操控表面波,具有与平面电路相似的构型特性,可用于制备下一代集成电路的基础传输线。人工表面等离激元分为传输型和局域型两类。传输型人工表面等离激元超材料始于三维立体结构,后发展成超薄梳状金属条带构型。学者们构建了以其为基础的微波电路新体系,研制了人工表面等离激元滤波器、天线、放大器和倍频器等典型的无源和有源器件,并将其集成为可实现亚波长间距多通道信号非视距传输的无线通信系统。人工局域表面等离激元(SLSP)超材料也经历了从三维立体构型到超薄构型的发展历程,并通过螺旋构型、链式构型、高阶模式和杂化模式等为电磁波的亚波长尺度调控提供了更多自由度。系统讨论了人工表面等离激元超材料在微波电路中的相关理论和应用,包括人工表面等离激元超材料的基本概念、构型发展、无源/有源器件以及无线通信系统。     

微波频段表面等离子激元波导滤波器的实验研究

基于理论分析, 实验研究了二维磁单负材料/双正材料/磁单负材料表面等离子波导的滤波效应. 研究表明, 该波导结构具有低通滤波性质, 引入分支缺陷之后, 由于谐振效应该波导具有带阻滤波效应. 分支缺陷相当于亚波长谐振腔, 谐振腔的长度决定带阻滤波器的中心频率, 而中心频率几乎不受缺陷位置的影响; 滤波器透射率下降的幅度由耦合距离决定. 通过引入谐振腔及改变谐振腔的长度、数量以及耦合间距等参数, 可以实现可调节的表面等离子波导滤波器. 实验结果与理论分析符合得很好, 该性质将在可调的单通道或多通道带阻滤波器件中具有潜在的应用价值. 关键词： 表面等离子激元 特异材料波导 谐振腔 滤波器     

Compressibility-near-zero acoustic metamaterial

This letter theoretically analyzes and experimentally demonstrates a novel class of compressibility-near-zero (CNZ) acoustic metamaterials, achieved by using resonant-type metamaterials, namely the Helmholtz resonator. We first present a closed analytical formula for the effective compressibility of the proposed unit cell and then show that two frequencies exist which may support CNZ propagation. We demonstrate how the choice of the actual operating CNZ frequency depends on the properties of the host and finally experimentally verify CNZ propagation of acoustic waves.     

加载异向介质非辐射介质波导中的慢波传输及应用

将开口谐振环作为加载单元,分析了含有开口谐振环结构非辐射介质波导的新型传输特性.由于异向介质的双各向异性效应,纵剖面磁波型和纵剖面电波型在此新型非辐射介质波导中的传输速度能够减慢,甚至达到零速度.对于波导中的能量关系也进行了分析,研究表明,在一定情况下,慢波传输将引起功率流动的增强.这些特性使得此新型非辐射介质波导更能满足小型化的设计要求. 关键词： 开口谐振环 异向介质 非辐射介质波导 慢波传输