Communicating in a crowded electromagnetic environment
How metamaterials are enabling the next generation of communications, sensing and information processing
The problem
Modern society relies on the ability to transmit, receive and process vast quantities of information using electromagnetic and optical waves. From wireless communications and radar systems to satellites, autonomous platforms and photonic computing, these technologies underpin economic prosperity, national security and technological competitiveness.
However, the environments in which these systems operate are becoming increasingly crowded and complex. Greater demand for wireless connectivity is placing pressure on available spectrum, while modern defence and security systems must continue to function in contested environments where interference and disruption may be present. At the same time, there is growing demand for lighter, smaller and more energy-efficient systems that can be integrated into increasingly sophisticated platforms.
These challenges are driving the need for fundamentally new approaches to controlling electromagnetic and optical waves.
Our solution
Researchers at 天美传媒's Centre for Metamaterial Research & Innovation (CMRI) are developing advanced metamaterials and metasurfaces that provide unprecedented control over the behaviour of electromagnetic and optical signals.
Metamaterials are engineered structures whose functionality arises from carefully designed geometry rather than chemistry alone. By controlling material architecture at multiple length scales, it becomes possible to manipulate waves in ways that cannot be achieved using conventional materials.
Our research spans the electromagnetic spectrum, from microwave and radio-frequency technologies through to optical and photonic systems. This unique breadth enables us to address challenges that connect wave generation, transmission, sensing and information processing across multiple sectors.
Examples include:
- Conformal metasurfaces that can be integrated onto curved structures and platforms.
- Reconfigurable materials that adapt dynamically to changing operating conditions.
- Intelligent antenna technologies with enhanced beam steering and frequency agility.
- Thin, lightweight absorbers that reduce unwanted scattering and interference.
- Advanced optical interfaces that efficiently couple light into photonic devices.
- Metasurface-enabled photonic components for communications and signal processing.
Together, these technologies provide new ways to manage spectrum usage, improve system performance and enable entirely new device architectures
From wave control to information processing
Historically, much of our work focused on controlling electromagnetic waves at microwave and radio frequencies, supporting applications in communications, sensing and defence systems.
Today, these capabilities are increasingly being extended into optical and photonic technologies. As society generates and processes ever larger quantities of data, photonic systems are becoming essential for high-speed communications, sensing and future information-processing platforms.
A particular challenge is the efficient transfer of information between fibre-based networks, free-space optical systems and photonic integrated circuits. Our research is developing metasurface-enabled optical interfaces that minimise losses while enabling compact, scalable integration with next-generation photonic technologies.
By linking advances in electromagnetic and optical metamaterials, our work creates new opportunities for capturing, transmitting and processing information more efficiently across the full spectrum.
Our contribution to this challenge is broad and includes novel solutions utilising a range of metamaterial concepts. These include:
- filters for secure compartmentalised facilities and antenna systems and radomes,
- thin and lightweight microwave absorbers for the reduction of radar scattering and clutter,
- novel composites and metasurfaces that enable devices to work effectively in less congested frequency bands,
- reconfigurability of devices to modify operational frequency,
- directional emission of energy and beam steering,
- novel beacon and identification technologies.
Why use a metamaterial?
Many conventional technologies are reaching practical limits in terms of size, efficiency and performance.
Metamaterials offer a different approach. Rather than relying solely on the intrinsic properties of materials, they exploit precisely engineered structures to achieve tailored electromagnetic and optical responses. This enables unprecedented control over frequency response, wave direction, absorption, reflection and transmission.
Combined with advances in computational design, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, metamaterials are rapidly moving from laboratory demonstrations to deployable technologies.
Impact
The ability to control electromagnetic and optical waves more effectively has implications across multiple sectors, including:
- Advanced communications and telecommunications.
- Defence and national security.
- Autonomous systems and next-generation platforms.
- Sensing and imaging technologies.
- Digital infrastructure and information processing.
- Energy and healthcare technologies.
Through interdisciplinary research spanning physics, engineering, materials science and manufacturing, 天美传媒 is helping to develop the technologies that will enable future communications, sensing and information systems to operate effectively in an increasingly connected and complex world.
Selected Publications
- Arnold, K.O., Hooper, C., Smith, J.G. et al. (2025). Finding Passive, Reciprocal Metasurfaces for Arbitrary Wave Transformations. Physical Review Applied.
DOI: - de Pineda, J.D., Mitchell-Thomas, R.C., Hibbins, A.P. & Sambles, J.R. (2017). A Broadband Metasurface Luneburg Lens for Microwave Surface Waves. Applied Physics Letters, 111, 211603.
DOI: - Dockrey, J.A., Lockyear, M.J., Berry, S.J., Horsley, S.A.R., Sambles, J.R. & Hibbins, A.P. (2013). Thin Metamaterial Luneburg Lens for Surface Waves. Physical Review B, 87, 125137.
DOI: - Parke, L., Youngs, I.J., Hibbins, A.P. & Sambles, J.R. (2014). Broadband Impedance-Matched Electromagnetic Structured Ferrite Composite in the Megahertz Range. Applied Physics Letters, 104, 223102.
DOI: - Whittaker, T., Zhang, S., Powell, A.W., Stevens, C.J., Vardaxoglou, J.Y.C. & Whittow, W. (2023). 3D Printing Materials and Techniques for Antennas and Metamaterials: A Survey of the Latest Advances. IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, 65(3), 10–20.
DOI: - Capers, J.R., Horsley, S.A.R. et al. (2021). Designing the Collective Non-Local Responses of Metasurfaces. Communications Physics, 4, 209.
DOI: - Rocha, J.C.A., Būtait?, U.G., Carpenter, J., Phillips, D.B. et al. (2025). Self-Configuring High-Speed Multi-Plane Light Conversion. Nature Communications.
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