No Arabic abstract
The model of ideal fluid flow around a cylindrical obstacle exhibits a long-established physical picture where originally straight streamlines will be deflected over the whole space by the obstacle. As inspired by transformation optics and metamaterials, recent theories have proposed the concept of fluid cloaking able to recover the straight streamlines as if the obstacle does not exist. However, such a cloak, similar to all previous transformation-optics-based devices, relies on complex metamaterials, being difficult to implement. Here we deploy the theory of scattering cancellation and report on the experimental realization of a fluid-flow cloak without metamaterials. This cloak is realized by engineering the geometry of the fluid channel, which effectively cancels the dipole-like scattering of the obstacle. The cloaking effect is demonstrated via direct observation of the recovered straight streamlines in the fluid flow with injected dyes. Our work sheds new light on conventional fluid control and may find applications in microfluidic devices.
Mechanical cloaks are materials engineered to manipulate the elastic response around objects to make them indistinguishable from their homogeneous surroundings. Typically, methods based on material-parameter transformations are used to design optical, thermal and electric cloaks. However, they are not applicable in designing mechanical cloaks, since continuum-mechanics equations are not form-invariant under general coordinate transformations. As a result, existing design methods for mechanical cloaks have so far been limited to a narrow selection of voids with simple shapes. To address this challenge, we present a systematic, data-driven design approach to create mechanical cloaks composed of aperiodic metamaterials using a large pre-computed unit cell database. Our method is flexible to allow the design of cloaks with various boundary conditions, different shapes and numbers of voids, and different homogeneous surroundings. It enables a concurrent optimization of both topology and properties distribution of the cloak. Compared to conventional fixed-shape solutions, this results in an overall better cloaking performance, and offers unparalleled versatility. Experimental measurements on 3D-printed structures further confirm the validity of the proposed approach. Our research illustrates the benefits of data-driven approaches in quickly responding to new design scenarios and resolving the computational challenge associated with multiscale designs of aperiodic metamaterials.
Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) focal plane array (FPA) with optical readout offers exciting opportunities for real-time terahertz (THz) imaging. However, conventional FPA suffers from a low THz absorption ratio, which further decreases the performance of THz imaging. Here, we present a simple and scalable approach for the realization of THz focal plane metamaterial array with a relatively high absorption ratio. The key idea is to combine the advantages of substrate-free structures with metamaterial. A 100 x100 THz FPA with a 150 x 150 {mu}m pixel is designed, fabricated, and characterized. The dependence of the THz absorption ratio on the thickness of SiNx dielectric substrate film is investigated. The fabricated FPA exhibits a 90.6% resonant absorption at 1.36 THz, agreeing considerably with the theoretical simulation results. Our results imply that such a substrate-free THz focal plane metamaterial array enables the realization of THz imaging.
Antenna technology is at the basis of ubiquitous wireless communication systems and sensors. Radiation is typically sustained by conduction currents flowing around resonant metallic objects that are optimized to enhance efficiency and bandwidth. However, resonant conductors are prone to large scattering of impinging waves, leading to challenges in crowded antenna environments due to blockage and distortion. Metasurface cloaks have been explored in the quest of addressing this challenge by reducing antenna scattering, but with limited performance in terms of bandwidth, footprint and overall scattering reduction. Here we introduce a different route towards radio-transparent antennas, in which the cloak itself acts as the radiating element, drastically reducing the overall footprint while enhancing scattering suppression and bandwidth, without sacrificing other relevant radiation metrics compared to conventional antennas. This technique offers a new application of cloaking technology, with promising features for crowded wireless communication platforms and noninvasive sensing.
An inhomogeneity into a conductive matrix deforms the flow pattern of an applied electric current. A usual current cloak can be defined as a permanent modification of the matrix properties around the inhomogeneity guaranteeing that the current flow pattern is similar before and after passing by the modified zone, so it implies the electrical invisibility of the inhomogeneous region. Here we introduce the concept of a current cloak that can be tuned --switched on and off, for example-- by means on an external field. We demonstrate analytically and using Finite Elements Simulations that a current cloak can be constructed and manipulated by an external magnetic field for a concrete system consisting in a magneto-resistive matrix with a stainless steel inclusion.
Thanks to the pioneering studies conducted on the fields of transformation optics (TO) and metasurfaces, many unprecedented devices such as invisibility cloaks have been recently realized. However, each of these methods has some drawbacks limiting the applicability of the designed devices for real-life scenarios. For instance, TO studies lead to bulky coating layer with the thickness that is comparable to, or even larger than the dimension of the concealed object. In this paper, based on the coordinate transformation, an ultrathin carpet cloak is proposed to hide objects with arbitrary shape and size using a thin anisotropic material, called as infinitely anisotropic medium (IAM). It is shown that unlike the previous metasurface-based carpet cloaks, the proposed IAM hides objects from all viewing incident angles while it is extremely thin compared with the object dimensions. This material also circumvents the conventional transformation optics complexities and could be easily implemented in practical scenarios. To demonstrate the capability of the proposed carpet cloak, several full-wave simulations are carried out. Finally, as a proof of concept, the IAM is implemented based on the effective medium theory which exhibits good agreement with the results obtained from the theoretical investigations. The introduced material not only constitutes a significant step towards the invisibility cloak but also can greatly promote the practical application of the other TO-based devices.