A review of metasurfaces: physics and applications

Abstract

Abstract. Metamaterials are composed of periodic subwavelength metal/dielectric structures that resonantly couple to the electric and/or magnetic components of the incident electromagnetic fields, exhibiting properties that not found in nature. This class of micro-and nano-structured artificial media have attracted great interest during the past 15 years and yielded ground-breaking electromagnetic and photonic phenomena. However, the high losses and strong dispersion associated with the resonant responses and the use of metallic structures, as well as the difficulty in fabricating the micro-and nanoscale 3D structures, have hindered practical applications of metamaterials. Planar metamaterials with subwavelength thickness, or metasurfaces, consisting of single-layer or few-layer stacks of planar structures can be readily fabricated using lithography and nanoprinting methods, and the ultrathin thickness in the wave propagation direction can greatly suppress the undesirable losses. Metasurfaces enable a spatially varying optical response (e.g., scattering amplitude, phase, and polarization), mold optical wavefronts into shapes that can be designed at will, and facilitate the integration of functional materials to accomplish active control and greatly enhanced nonlinear response. This paper reviews recent progress in the physics of metasurfaces operating at wavelengths ranging from microwave to visible. We provide an overview of key metasurface concepts such as anomalous reflection and refraction, and introduce metasurfaces based on the PancharatnamBerry phase and Huygens' metasurfaces, as well as their use in wavefront shaping and beam forming applications, followed by a discussion of polarization conversion in fewlayer metasurfaces and their related properties. An overview of dielectric metasurfaces reveals their ability to realize unique functionalities coupled with Mie resonances and their low ohmic losses. We also describe metasurfaces for wave guidance and radiation control, as well as active and nonlinear metasurfaces. Finally, we conclude by providing our opinions of future developments in this rapidly developing research field.

Metamaterials for Microwave Radomes and the Concept of a Metaradome: Review of the Literature

“…According to the Huygens principle, each point on a wave front may behave International Journal of Antennas and Propagation as a secondary source of spherical waves, and the sum of all secondary waves regulates the travel and the form of the wave [49,50].…”

Propagation of Spin Waves in Ferrite Films with Metasurface

“…Metasurface (MS) can be described as a twodimensional counterpart of metamaterial that consists of structural elements having subwavelength size as compared with the wavelength λ of the incident wave [1,2]. Such structures are widely studied for possible application in controlling the propagation of electromagnetic and acoustic waves [1,2].…”

“…Such structures are widely studied for possible application in controlling the propagation of electromagnetic and acoustic waves [1,2]. Meanwhile, for the periodic magnetic structures, called also magnonic crystals (MC), the main interest, so far, was concentrated on investigation of propagation of spin waves with λ comparable with the structure period Λ because main attention was focused on the Bragg resonances appearing when Λ nλ{2 (n 1, 2, 3, .…”

Circularly-polarized, large-angle reflective deflectors based on periodically patterned cholesteric liquid crystals

“…Metasurfaces are composed of ne metal or dielectric structures that are typically much smaller than the wavelength of light, and show various transmission, re ection, and phase responses depending on the design [1][2][3]. While metasurfaces are viewed as a platform that can eventually replace conventional, bulky optics, re ective metasurface elements are often *Corresponding Author: Hiroyuki Yoshida: Division of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan and PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 4-1-8 Honcho Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan, E-mail: yoshida@eei.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp Junji Kobashi, Yoshinori Mohri: Division of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan Masanori Ozaki: Division of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan, E-mail: ozaki@eei.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp opaque, limiting their usability [4,5].…”