Electric levitation using ϵ-near-zero metamaterials.
The ability to manufacture metamaterials with exotic electromagnetic properties has potential for surprising new applications. Here we report how a specific type of metamaterial--one whose permittivity is near zero--exerts a repulsive force on an electric dipole source, resulting in levitation of the dipole. The phenomenon relies on the expulsion of the time-varying electric field from the metamaterial interior, resembling the perfect diamagnetic expulsion of magnetostatic fields. Leveraging this concept, we study some realistic requirements for the levitation or repulsion of a polarized particle radiating at any frequency, from microwave to optics.
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA and Nanophotonics Technology Center, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
Francisco J
FJ
Rodríguez-Fortuño
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Ashkan
A
Vakil
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Nader
N
Engheta