Towards Functional Metamaterials and Metadevices

Metamaterials are a unique set of artificial materials which exhibit non-naturally occurring properties, whereby the precise tailoring of these materials enables versatile control over the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Recent trends in metamaterials research have advanced towards the realization of functional and modular metamaterials that enable real-time control over their optical properties, which has led to innovations in the field of active and tunable metamaterials via external stimuli such as electrical regulation, magnetic fields, thermal gradients, and optical pulses. The application of microsystems-based technologies has become a featured method to enrich the functionality and tunability of metamaterials and the corresponding metadevices. Here, we report our recent progress on dynamic, functional metamaterials with the help of microsystem technologies and discuss the outlook and challenges for the future of functional metamaterials and metadevices.