The development of metasurfaces for manipulating electromagnetic waves

Kenney, Mitchell Guy (2016). The development of metasurfaces for manipulating electromagnetic waves. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The work outlined in this thesis focuses on the development and fabrication of metasurfaces for manipulating electromagnetic waves, with the potential for applications in imaging and holography.
Metasurfaces are the Two-Dimensional counterpart of metamaterials, which are artificial materials used to invoke electromagnetic phenomena, not readily found in nature, through the use of periodic arrays of subwavelength ‘meta-atoms’. Although they are a new and developing field, they have already secured a foothold as a meaningful and worthwhile focus of research, due to their straight-forward means of investigating fundamental physics, both theoretically and experimentally - owing to the simplicity of fabrication - whilst also being of great benefit to the realisation of novel optical technologies for real-world purposes. The main objective for the complete manipulation of light is being able to control, preferably simultaneously, the polarisation state, the amplitude, and the phase of electromagnetic waves. The work carried out in this thesis aims to satisfy these criteria, with a primary focus on the use of Geometric phase, or Pancharatnam-Berry phase. The first-principles designs are then used to realise proof-of-concept devices, capable of Circular Conversion Dichroism; broadband simultaneous control of phase and amplitude; and a high-efficiency, broadband, high-resolution hologram in the visible-to-infrared.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):