Diagram of the meta-atoms in a metal nanosphere with a trench. The D represents electric and the B represents magnetic properties. and how they interact with light. Via A*STAR Data Storage Institute
A three-dimensional metamaterial has been developed by researchers at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute in Singapore that can influence both the electrical and magnetic parts of visible light. The system used can be applied to optical cloaks that conceal its wearer. This breakthrough technology can also be included in the production of hyper lenses that generate uber-resolution for users.
Groups of subwavelength metallic structures called meta-atoms that have been crafted into mirror atoms and their behavior around light are defined as metamaterials. These substances allow light to be controlled, even on the nanoscale. This technology will be used in the future to develop products that require complex optical elements that operate in precise ways.
Optical metamaterial developers generally formulate meta-atoms from rings of metal that contain small breaks. These split-ring resonators are required to be a couple of hundred nanometers or less in order to work well with a visible light source. If there are any physical flaws to the object, then there is room for error and the performance level will suffer.
The development of the split-ring resonator has been challenging for the team at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute. This is because the magnetic quality at frequencies that are visible cannot work with the split-ring resonators that are normally used.
Another version has been created; this one is a split-ball resonator that could be used flawlessly with its magnetic and versatile response. This device was created with nanofabrication techniques, first creating an array of gold and silver disks on a substrate. A high-power laser was then fired at each disk to melt into a liquid drop that spherically solidified. A beam of helium ions was imprinted into the channels, then into the nanospheres.
Through careful experimentation and analysis, the scientists discovered that the split-ball resonators exhibited magnetic resonance inclusive of the visible spectrum. They concluded that this development had a strong resistant ability to ‘tune’ the optical responses of the materials.
The researchers hope to further their research to implement the use of more intricate three-dimensional features on the meta-atoms. This would create more opportunities for the manipulation of light to occur. All these developments can be used by invisibility cloak manufacturers to increase their functionality in all different types of light.
Story via Phys.org
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