Task-Oriented Design of MetamaterIals: Principles and Methodologies

Engineered artificial metamaterials (MTM) have been traditionally designed to achieve desired physical properties not readily available in nature, such as a negative refraction index, negative phase velocities, or a tailored permittivity/permeability profile. Consequently, their property-oriented modeling and synthesis has been at the core of the early achievements in MTM science and engineering. A different class of approaches has recently emerged in this framework, thanks to the availability of advanced modeling, analysis, design, and validation processes. Indeed, the research focus has moved towards the synthesis of MTM-based devices, which are capable of delivering an overall system-level performance indicator/quality factor, rather than a local EM property. In this chapter, a review of the principles and methodologies, current trends, and envisaged developments of the arising “Task-Oriented MTM Synthesis” concept is provided.