Researchers develop non-radiating electromagnetic source
Scientists from ITMO's School of Physics and Engineering in collaboration with research groups from China, Germany and Australia have developed a unique structure that generates electromagnetic fields without dissipating any energy into the surrounding environment. This discovery will pave the way for next-gen technologies, such as highly efficient wireless power transfer systems, wireless chargers, high-precision RF sensors, chips and tags, and medical technologies. The results of the study are published in Physical Review Letters.
During the research, the scientists introduced the term "meta-atoms" to describe the phenomenon of non-radiating dynamic electromagnetic sources. Meta-atoms are based on an anapole effect. This effect appears when waves emitted from electric currents of different configurations have the same amplitude but different phases and as a result, they suppress one another in the far field. The researchers aimed to obtain a configuration in the required spectral range for the emitting structure. Previously, this problem was studied only in the context of nanophotonics and light scattering.
"My colleagues and I assumed that the anapole effect can be used to produce a meta-atom that would not emit energy to the far field but concentrate all electromagnetic energy in its near field. Certain configurations of the source component make it possible to ensure that waves emitted by its different components compensate one another in the far field and thus suppress the total radiation," says Esmaeel Zanganeh, a co-author of the article and a PhD student at ITMO's School of Physics and Engineering.
The study focuses on two types of non-radiating sources based on the anapole effect. Both structures are believed to have different applications, depending on the preferred type of fields in the source (electric or magnetic). The developed compact non-radiating sources can be largely used to create highly efficient wireless power transfer systems, wireless chargers, high-precision RF sensors, chips and tags, and medical technologies.
More information:
Esmaeel Zanganeh et al, Anapole Meta-Atoms: Nonradiating Electric and Magnetic Sources, Physical Review Letters (2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.096804 , journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/ … ysRevLett.127.096804
Provided by ITMO University
