Transmission-Line Metamaterials and Near-Field Antenna Arrays for Subwavelength Focusing and Imaging

Loïc Markley

Eleftheriades Group, Electromagnetics

Abstract:

Over the last decade, metamaterials have received a lot of interest from both electrical engineers and physicists for their ability to exhibit electromagnetic properties not found in nature. Their arrival has introduced counter-intuitive concepts like negative refraction and perfect focusing, stimulating a re-examination of electromagnetic fundamentals. Metamaterials have been used to implement new devices like super-resolution lenses and electromagnetic cloaking structures, and have inspired applications in a range of topics including microwave circuit devices and antenna design.

The second part of the seminar will discuss my current research in near-field focusing and near-field imaging. This work was inspired by metamaterial lenses as a way to achieve super-resolution directly using near-field antenna array structures. I will present a variety of slot and dipole arrays that perform subwavelength focusing and imaging outside the extreme near-field, including experimental results showing the subwavelength resolution of buried objects at a distance of a quarter-wavelength. These structures are all designed to manipulate the evanescent field through a near-field antenna array theory called shifted beam theory. Finally, I will conclude with an outline of some future research directions into topics like wireless power transfer and biomedical imaging.

Biography:

Loïc Markley graduated in 2004 from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering. He then moved to Toronto to join the Electromagnetics Group under Professor Eleftheriades and began research on a planar negative-refractive-index metamaterial structure. Completing his Master’s degree in 2007, he continued on with his studies to pursue a PhD in near-field subwavelength imaging using antenna-array probes. He hopes to graduate within the next three months.