The history of metamaterials begins with artificial dielectrics in microwave engineering as it developed just after World War II. Yet, there are seminal explorations of artificial materials for manipulating electromagnetic waves at the end of the 19th century. Hence, the history of metamaterials is essentially a history of developing certain types of manufactured materials, which interact at radio frequency, microwave, and later optical frequencies.
As the science of materials has advanced, photonic materials have been developed which use the photon of light as the fundamental carrier of information. This has led to photonic crystals, and at the beginning of the new millennium, the proof of principle for functioning metamaterials with a negative index of refraction in the microwave- (at 10.5 Gigahertz) and optical V.M. Shalaev, W. Cai, U.K. Chettiar, H.-K. Yuan, A.K. Sarychev, V.P. Drachev, and A.V. Kildishev, Negative Index of Refraction in Optical Metamaterials, Optics Letters, v. 30, pp. 3356–3358 (2005); arxiv.org/abs/physics/0504091 (April 13, 2005) range. This was followed by the first proof of principle for metamaterial cloaking (shielding an object from view), also in the microwave range, about six years later. However, a cloak that can conceal objects across the entire electromagnetic spectrum is still decades away. Many physics and engineering problems need to be solved.
Nevertheless, negative refractive materials have led to the development of metamaterial antennas and metamaterial microwave lenses for miniature wireless system antennas which are more efficient than their conventional counterparts. Also, metamaterial antennas are now commercially available. Meanwhile, subwavelength focusing with the superlens is also a part of present-day metamaterials research.
Early wave studies
Classical waves transfer energy without transporting matter through the medium (material). For example, waves in a pond do not carry the water molecules from place to place; rather the wave's energy travels through the water, leaving the water molecules in place. Additionally, charged particles, such as electrons and protons create electromagnetic fields when they move, and these fields transport the type of energy known as electromagnetic radiation, or light. A changing magnetic field will induce a changing electric field and vice versa—the two are linked. These changing fields form electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves differ from mechanical waves in that they do not require a medium to propagate. This means that electromagnetic waves can travel not only through air and solid materials, but also through the vacuum of space.
The "history of metamaterials" can have a variety starting points depending on the properties of interest. Related early wave studies started in 1904 and progressed through more than half of the first part of the twentieth century. This early research included the relationship of the phase velocity to group velocity and the relationship of the wave vector and Poynting vector.
In 1904 the possibility of negative phase velocity accompanied by an anti-parallel group velocity were noted by Horace Lamb (book: Hydrodynamics) and Arthur Schuster (Book: Intro to Optics).Slyusar V.I. Metamaterials on antenna solutions.// 7th International Conference on Antenna Theory and Techniques ICATT'09, Lviv, Ukraine, October 6–9, 2009. pp. 19–24 However both thought practical achievement of these phenomena were not possible. In 1945 Leonid Mandelstam (also "Mandel'shtam") studied the anti-parallel phase and group advance in more detail. He is also noted for examining the electromagnetic characteristics of materials demonstrating negative refraction, as well as the first left-handed material concept. These studies included negative group velocity. He reported that such phenomena occurs in a crystal lattice. This may be considered significant because the metamaterial is a man made crystal lattice (structure).(PDF is self-published version.)Early wave studies
H. Lamb, "On group-velocity," Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., vol. 1, pp. 473–79, 1904. A. Schuster, An Introduction to the Theory of Optics. pp. 313–18; London: Edward Arnold, 1904. Archived in public domain and the online full text is linked to the Internet Archive. The Public domain full Text 1909 edition is here L.I. Mandel'shtam, "Group velocity in a crystal lattice" , Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz., Vol. 15 (1945), pp. 475–78 L.I. Mandelstam, The 4th Lecture of L.I. Mandelstam given at Moscow State University (05/05/1944), Collection of Scientific Works, Vol. 2 (1994) Nauka, Moscow (in Russian). V.E. Pafomov, Sov. Phys. JETP 36 1321 (1959). "Transition radiation and Cerenkenov radiation" V.G. Veselago, "The electrodynamics of substances with simultaneously negative values of ε and μ," Soviet Physics Uspekhi, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 509–14, January–February 1968 In 1905 H.C. Pocklington also studied certain effects related to negative group velocity.H.C. Pocklington, "Growth of a Wave-group when the Group-velocity is Negative " Nature 71, 607–08 (27 April 1905) doi=10.1038/071607b0
V.E. Pafomov (1959), and several years later, the research team V.M. Agranovich and V.L. Ginzburg (1966) reported the repercussions of negative permittivity, negative permeability, and negative group velocity in their study of crystals and excitons.
In 1967, V.G. Veselago from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology considered the theoretical model of medium that is now known as a metamaterial. However, physical experimentation did not occur until 33 years after the paper's publication due to lack of available materials and lack of sufficient computing power. It was not until the 1990s that materials and computing power became available to artificially produce the necessary structures. Veselago also predicted a number of electromagnetic phenomena that would be reversed including the refractive index. In addition, he is credited with coining the term "left handed material" for the present day metamaterial because of the anti-parallel behavior of the wave vector and other electromagnetic fields. Moreover, he noted that the material he was studying was a double negative material, as certain metamaterials are named today, because of the ability to simultaneously produce negative values for two important parameters, e.g. permittivity and permeability. In 1968, his paper was translated and published in English.He is often credited with inventing the modern day electromagnetic metamaterials as a result of his seminal 1967/68 report. He was nominated later for a Nobel prize.
Later still, developments in nanofabrication and subwavelength imaging techniques are now taking this work into optical wavelengths.Shalaev, V.M. "Optical negative-index metamaterials," Nature Photonics Vol. 1, 41–48 (2007) Novel materials and engineered structures
Early electromagnetic media
In the 19th century Maxwell's equations united all previous observations, experiments, and established propositions pertaining to electricity and magnetism into a consistent theory, which is also fundamental to optics. Maxwell's work demonstrated that electricity, magnetism and even light are all manifestations of the same phenomenon, namely the electromagnetic field.
Likewise, the concept of using certain constructed materials as a method for manipulating electromagnetic waves dates back to the 19th century. Microwave theory had developed significantly during the latter part of the 19th century with the cylindrical parabolic reflector, dielectric lens, microwave absorbers, the cavity radiator, the radiating iris, and the pyramidal electromagnetic horn. The science involving microwaves also included round, square, and rectangular waveguides precluding Sir Rayleigh's published work on waveguide operation in 1896. Microwave optics, involving the focusing of microwaves, introduced quasi-optical components, and a treatment of microwave optics was published in 1897 (by Righi). A facility of the NSF provides added material to the original paper – The work of Jagadish Chandra Bose: 100 years of millimeter wave research.
Jagadish Chandra Bose Jagadish Chandra Bose was a scientist involved in original microwave research during the 1890s. As officiating professor of physics at Presidency College he involved himself with laboratory experiments and studies involving refraction, diffraction and polarization, as well as transmitters, receivers and various microwave components.Bose's horn operated in the millimetre wave range . IN Compliance. Magazine article. November 2010.
He connected receivers to a sensitive galvanometer, and developed crystals to be used as a receiver. The crystals operated in the shortwave radio range. Crystals were also developed to detect both white and ultraviolet light. These crystals were patented in 1904 for their capability to detect electromagnetic radiation. Furthermore, it appears that his work also anticipated the existence of p-type and n-type semiconductors by 60 years.
For the general public in 1895, Bose was able to remotely ring a bell and explode gunpowder with the use of electromagnetic waves. In 1896, it was reported that Bose had transmitted electromagnetic signals over almost a mile. Microwave Symposium Digest. 1997. IEEE MTT-S International. Issue Date: 8–13 June 1997. pp. 553–556 . This paper appears in In 1897, Bose reported on his microwave research (experiments) at the Royal Institution in London. There he demonstrated his apparatus at wavelengths that ranged from 2.5 centimeters to 5 millimeters.
Early chiral media In 1898, Jagadish Chandra Bose conducted the first microwave experiment on twisted structures. These twisted structures match the geometries that are known as artificial chiral media in today's terminology. By this time, he had also researched double refraction (birefringence) in crystals. Other research included polarization of electric field "waves" that crystals produce. He discovered this type of polarization in other materials including a class of dielectrics.
In addition, chirality as optical activity in a given material is a phenomenon that has been studied since the 19th century. By 1811, a study of quartz crystals revealed that such crystalline solids rotate the polarization of polarized light denoting optical activity. By 1815, materials other than crystals, such as oil of turpentine were known to exhibit chirality. However, the basic cause was not known. Louis Pasteur solved the problem (chirality of the molecules) originating a new discipline known as stereochemistry. At the macroscopic scale, Lindman applied microwaves to the problem with wire spirals (wire helices) in 1920 and 1922.(see abstract)
Karl F. Lindman, from 1914 and into the 1920s, studied artificial chiral media formed by a collection of randomly oriented small spirals. He was written about by present-day metamaterials scientists: Ismo V. Lindell, Ari H. Sihvola, and Juhani Kurkijarvi.
20th century artificial dielectrics
Much of the historic research related to metamaterials is weighted from the view of antenna beam shaping within microwave engineering just after World War II. Furthermore, metamaterials appear to be historically linked to the body of research pertaining to artificial dielectrics throughout the late 1940s, the 1950s and the 1960s. The most common use for artificial dielectrics throughout prior decades has been in the microwave regime for antenna beam shaping. The artificial dielectrics had been proposed as a low cost and lightweight "tool". Research on artificial dielectrics, other than metamaterials, is still ongoing for pertinent parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.