---
title: "History of metamaterials"
chunk: 5/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_metamaterials"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:39:47.132262+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== The super lens ===
The super lens or superlens is a practical structure based on John Pendry's work describing a perfect lens that can go beyond the diffraction limit by focusing all four fourier components. Pendry's paper described a theoretical novel lens that could capture images below the diffraction limit by employing the negative refractive index behavior. The super lens is a practical realization of this theory. It is a working lens that can capture images below the diffraction limit even though limitations occur due to the inefficiencies of conventional  materials. This means that although there are losses, enough of an image is returned to show this work was a successful demonstration.

=== Invisibility cloak ===
Ulf Leonhardt was born in East Germany,  and presently occupies the theoretical physics chair at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and is considered one the leaders in the science of creating an invisibility cloak. Around 1999, Leonhardt began work on how to build a cloaking device with a few other colleagues. Leonhardt stated that at the time invisibility was not considered fashionable. He then wrote a theoretical study entitled "Optical Conformal Mapping". The first sentence sums up the objective: "An invisibility device should guide light around an object as if nothing were there."
In 2005, he sent the paper to three notable scientific journals, Nature, Nature Physics, and Science. Each journal, in turn, rejected the paper. In 2006, Physical Review Letters rejected the paper for publication, as well. However, according to the PRL assessment, one of the anonymous reviewers noted that (he or she ) had been to two meetings in the previous months with John Pendry's group, who were also working on a cloaking device. From the meetings, the reviewer also became aware of a patent that Pendry and his colleagues were supposed to file. Leonhardt was at the time unaware of the Pendry group's work. Because of the Pendry meetings, Leonhardt's work was not really considered new physics by the reviewer and, therefore, did not merit publication in Physical Review Letters.
Later in 2006,  Science (the journal) reversed its decision and contacted Leonhardt to publish his paper because it had just received a theoretical study  from Pendry's team entitled "Controlling Electromagnetic Fields". Science considered both papers strikingly similar and published them both in the same issue of Science Express on May 25, 2006. The published papers touched off research efforts by a dozen groups to build cloaking devices at locations around the globe, which would test out the mathematics of both papers.
Only months after the submission of notable invisibility cloak theories, a practical device was built and demonstrated by  David Schurig and David Smith, engineering researchers of Duke University (October 2006). It was limited to the microwave range so the object was not invisible to the human eye. However, it demonstrated proof of principle.

== Transformation optics ==
The original theoretical papers on cloaking opened a new science discipline called transformation optics.

== See also ==
Mechanical Metamaterials
Metamaterial cloaking – Shielding an object from view using materials made to redirect light
Acoustic metamaterials – Material designed to manipulate sound wavesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Quantum metamaterials – Type of materialPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Photonic metamaterials – Type of electromagnetic metamaterialPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Nonlinear metamaterials
Seismic metamaterials
Metamaterial absorber
Plasmonic metamaterials – Metamaterial that uses surface plasmons to achieve optical properties not seen in naturePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Terahertz metamaterials
Tunable metamaterials
Split-ring resonator – Structure in some metamaterials
Theories of cloaking

== Notes ==

== References ==

== Further reading and general references ==
Rotman, W.; Turner, R. (1963). "Wide-angle microwave lens for line source applications" (PDF). IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 11 (6): 623. Bibcode:1963ITAP...11..623R. doi:10.1109/TAP.1963.1138114. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2012.
Shamonina, E.; Solymar, L. (February 8, 2007). "Metamaterials: How the subject started" (PDF). Metamaterials. 01 (1): 12–18. Bibcode:2007MetaM...1...12S. doi:10.1016/j.metmat.2007.02.001. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-18.
Sihvola, Ari (February 12, 2007). "Metamaterials in electromagnetics" (PDF). Metamaterials. 01 (1): 2–11. Bibcode:2007MetaM...1....2S. doi:10.1016/j.metmat.2007.02.003. Retrieved 2010-07-18.
Ziolkowski, Richard W. (September 2006). "Metamaterial-Based Antennas: Research and Developments" (PDF). IEICE Transactions on Electronics. E89-C (9): 1267–1275. doi:10.1093/ietele/e89-c.9.1267. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
Boltasseva, Alexandra; Vladimir M. Shalaev (March 18, 2008). "Fabrication of optical negative-index metamaterials" (PDF). Metamaterials. 2 (1): 1–17. Bibcode:2008MetaM...2....1B. doi:10.1016/j.metmat.2008.03.004. Retrieved 2010-07-18.
Zahn, Markus (instructor). "An artificial dielectric". Course title: MIT 6.013 Electromagnetics and Applications, Fall 20. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
Wade, Paul. "Metal Plate Lens Antennas" (PDF). Chapter 3. Retrieved February 28, 2011. Description of building a mobile metal plate antenna.
Invited paper: Engheta, N. (2003). "Metamaterials with negative permittivity and permeability: background, salient features, and new trends" (PDF). Microwave Symposium Digest, 2003 IEEE MTT-S International. Vol. 1. Vol. 1. p. 187. doi:10.1109/MWSYM.2003.1210912. ISBN 0-7803-7695-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 21, 2011.
Johri, Manoj; Harihar Paudyal (May 2010). "Left Handed Materials: a new Pardigm in Structured Electromagnetics" (PDF). Trieste, Italy.: produced by ICTP, UNESCO, and the IAEA. pp. 1–12. IC/2010/015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2011-05-03. – Technical review of metamterials research.
Kaku, Michio (April 2008). "Invisibility …". Natural History Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
Slyusar V.I. Metamaterials on antenna solutions.// 7th International Conference on Antenna Theory and Techniques ICATT'09, Lviv, Ukraine, October 6–9, 2009. - pp. 19 – 24 [3]

== External links ==
"Microwave cloaking". New York Times. June 12, 2007.