Metamaterials and their Applications

Artificial materials such as metamaterials are gaining interest in research area in recent years owing to their extraordinary properties as implied by the word Meta meaning beyond in Greek. These metamaterials constitute periodic or nonperiodic subwavelength macro cells which exhibit properties based on the design of the macro units resulting in special materials that do not exist in nature. Though the metamaterials have achieved significant breakthroughs in theory, application of these materials requires considerable progress. Some recent advances in terms of their application comprise of revolutionary electronics, filtering of sound and light, biosensors, absorbers of electromagnetic radiation, antennas with improved performance, invisible submarines etc. These metamaterials are classified into electromagnetic (EM), chiral, tetrahertz, photonic metamaterials, tunable metamaterials with the ability to modify the frequency of refractive index, frequency selective surfaces and nonlinear metamaterials. EMs are chiefly used for optical and microwave applications such as band-pass filters, lenses, microwave couplers, antenna radomes, etc. Some of the salient characteristics of these materials are their ability to control the direction of electromagnetic radiation, achieve enhanced bandwidth and radiated power and reduce the beam-width and return loss in contrast to the conventional antennas. As the field of metamaterials is interesting and has potential for next generation applications, in this book, a compilation of research articles and reviews showcasing the synthesis, properties, numerical models and the application of these metamaterials in various fields has been illustrated. Chapters 1-6 are compilation of research and invited articles manifesting the various synthesis routes of metamaterials with chapters 4-6 focusing on the theoretical models used for the fabrication of these materials while chapters 7-9 highlight the properties of the metamaterials. The final chapters 10-17 acquaint the reader with the numerous applications of the metamaterials such as lens, absorber materials, sensors, antennas, etc. Chapter 11 is a review on the theory and application of tunable metamaterials. As this book comprises of research articles ranging from synthesis to numerical modeling of metamaterials, it will appeal to audience with strong inclination towards physics, computer simulations, material science and electronics. Also as these metamaterials are important in many defense applications, the reader will find this book compelling to research extensively and adopt these materials into advanced technologies for the safety and progress of ones nation.