Nathan Ingle Landy

Bio: Nathan Ingle Landy is an academic researcher from Duke University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Metamaterial & Antenna (radio). The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 54 publications receiving 8260 citations. Previous affiliations of Nathan Ingle Landy include Boston College.

Perfect metamaterial absorber.

Abstract: We present the design for an absorbing metamaterial (MM) with near unity absorbance A(omega). Our structure consists of two MM resonators that couple separately to electric and magnetic fields so as to absorb all incident radiation within a single unit cell layer. We fabricate, characterize, and analyze a MM absorber with a slightly lower predicted A(omega) of 96%. Unlike conventional absorbers, our MM consists solely of metallic elements. The substrate can therefore be optimized for other parameters of interest. We experimentally demonstrate a peak A(omega) greater than 88% at 11.5 GHz.

A metamaterial absorber for the terahertz regime: Design, fabrication and characterization

Abstract: We present a metamaterial that acts as a strongly resonant absorber at terahertz frequencies. Our design consists of a bilayer unit cell which allows for maximization of the absorption through independent tuning of the electrical permittivity and magnetic permeability. An experimental absorptivity of 70% at 1.3 terahertz is demonstrated. We utilize only a single unit cell in the propagation direction, thus achieving an absorption coefficient α=2000 cm-1. These metamaterials are promising candidates as absorbing elements for thermally based THz imaging, due to their relatively low volume, low density, and narrow band response.

Highly flexible wide angle of incidence terahertz metamaterial absorber: Design, fabrication, and characterization

Abstract: We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a metamaterial absorber which is resonant at terahertz frequencies. We experimentally demonstrate an absorptivity of 0.97 at 1.6 THz. Importantly, our absorber is only $16\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\text{m}$ thick, resulting in a highly flexible material that, further, operates over a wide range of angles of incidence for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic radiation.

Design, theory, and measurement of a polarization-insensitive absorber for terahertz imaging

Abstract: We present the theory, design, and realization of a polarization-insensitive metamaterial absorber for terahertz frequencies. Effective-medium theory is used to describe the absorptive properties of the metamaterial in terms of optical constants---a description that has been thus far lacking. From our theoretical approach, we construct a device that yields over 95% absorption in simulation. Our fabricated design consists of a planar single unit-cell layer of metamaterial and reaches an absorptivity of 77% at 1.145 THz.

A full-parameter unidirectional metamaterial cloak for microwaves

Abstract: Invisibility is a notion that has long captivated the popular imagination. However, in 2006, invisibility became a practical matter for the scientific community as well, with the suggestion that artificially structured metamaterials could enable a new electromagnetic design paradigm, now termed transformation optics. Since the advent of transformation optics and subsequent initial demonstration of the microwave cloak, the field has grown rapidly. However, the complexity of the transformation optics material prescription has continually forced researchers to make simplifying approximations to achieve even a subset of the desired functionality. These approximations place profound limitations on the performance of transformation optics devices in general, and cloaks especially. Here, we design and experimentally characterize a two-dimensional, unidirectional cloak that makes no approximations to the underlying transformation optics formulation, yet is capable of reducing the scattering of an object ten wavelengths in size. We demonstrate that this approximation-free design regains the performance characteristics promised by transformation optics.

Infrared Perfect Absorber and Its Application As Plasmonic Sensor

Abstract: We experimentally demonstrate a perfect plasmonic absorber at λ = 1.6 μm. Its polarization-independent absorbance is 99% at normal incidence and remains very high over a wide angular range of incidence around ±80°. We introduce a novel concept to utilize this perfect absorber as plasmonic sensor for refractive index sensing. This sensing strategy offers great potential to maintain the performance of localized surface plasmon sensors even in nonlaboratory environments due to its simple and robust measurement scheme.

An Overview of the Theory and Applications of Metasurfaces: The Two-Dimensional Equivalents of Metamaterials

Abstract: Metamaterials are typically engineered by arranging a set of small scatterers or apertures in a regular array throughout a region of space, thus obtaining some desirable bulk electromagnetic behavior. The desired property is often one that is not normally found naturally (negative refractive index, near-zero index, etc.). Over the past ten years, metamaterials have moved from being simply a theoretical concept to a field with developed and marketed applications. Three-dimensional metamaterials can be extended by arranging electrically small scatterers or holes into a two-dimensional pattern at a surface or interface. This surface version of a metamaterial has been given the name metasurface (the term metafilm has also been employed for certain structures). For many applications, metasurfaces can be used in place of metamaterials. Metasurfaces have the advantage of taking up less physical space than do full three-dimensional metamaterial structures; consequently, metasurfaces offer the possibility of less-lossy structures. In this overview paper, we discuss the theoretical basis by which metasurfaces should be characterized, and discuss their various applications. We will see how metasurfaces are distinguished from conventional frequency-selective surfaces. Metasurfaces have a wide range of potential applications in electromagnetics (ranging from low microwave to optical frequencies), including: (1) controllable “smart” surfaces, (2) miniaturized cavity resonators, (3) novel wave-guiding structures, (4) angular-independent surfaces, (5) absorbers, (6) biomedical devices, (7) terahertz switches, and (8) fluid-tunable frequency-agile materials, to name only a few. In this review, we will see that the development in recent years of such materials and/or surfaces is bringing us closer to realizing the exciting speculations made over one hundred years ago by the work of Lamb, Schuster, and Pocklington, and later by Mandel'shtam and Veselago.

Coding metamaterials, digital metamaterials and programmable metamaterials

Abstract: Smart materials offering great freedom in manipulating electromagnetic radiation have been developed. This exciting new concept was realized by Tie Jun Cui and co-workers at the Southeast University, China, who developed digital metamaterials consisting of two kinds of unit cells whose different phase responses allow them to act as ‘0’ and ‘1’ bits. These cells can be judiciously arranged in sequences to enable controlled manipulation of electromagnetic waves. This is one-bit coding; higher-bit coding is possible by employing more kinds of unit cells. The researchers developed a metamaterial cell whose binary response can be controlled by a biased diode. By using a field-programmable gate array, they demonstrated that this digital metamaterial can be programmed. Such metamaterials are attractive for controlling radiation beams in antennas and for realizing other ‘smart’ metamaterials.

Past achievements and future challenges in the development of three-dimensional photonic metamaterials

Abstract: Photonic metamaterials are man-made structures composed of tailored micro- or nanostructured metallodielectric subwavelength building blocks. This deceptively simple yet powerful concept allows the realization of many new and unusual optical properties, such as magnetism at optical frequencies, negative refractive index, large positive refractive index, zero reflection through impedance matching, perfect absorption, giant circular dichroism and enhanced nonlinear optical properties. Possible applications of metamaterials include ultrahigh-resolution imaging systems, compact polarization optics and cloaking devices. This Review describes recent progress in the fabrication of three-dimensional metamaterial structures and discusses some of the remaining challenges.

Broadband polarization-independent resonant light absorption using ultrathin plasmonic super absorbers

Abstract: Resonant plasmonic and metamaterial structures allow for control of fundamental optical processes such as absorption, emission and refraction at the nanoscale. Considerable recent research has focused on energy absorption processes, and plasmonic nanostructures have been shown to enhance the performance of photovoltaic and thermophotovoltaic cells. Although reducing metallic losses is a widely sought goal in nanophotonics, the design of nanostructured 'black' super absorbers from materials comprising only lossless dielectric materials and highly reflective noble metals represents a new research direction. Here we demonstrate an ultrathin (260 nm) plasmonic super absorber consisting of a metal–insulator–metal stack with a nanostructured top silver film composed of crossed trapezoidal arrays. Our super absorber yields broadband and polarization-independent resonant light absorption over the entire visible spectrum (400–700 nm) with an average measured absorption of 0.71 and simulated absorption of 0.85. Proposed nanostructured absorbers open a path to realize ultrathin black metamaterials based on resonant absorption.