University of Exeter's inspection methods to accelerate metamaterial commercialisation
Work at the University of Exeter has examined how flaws in a metasurface can be imaged to determine manufacturing errors and damage. Via near-real-time imaging, frequency shifts in the performance of a radio-frequency metasurface can be detected, highlighting features such as contamination, thickness and/or material variations and imperfect geometries of individual elements.
The intent is to develop this and other approaches in order to assist manufacturers run quality control tests of their metamaterial offerings.
- Manufacturing
- Quality Control
- Characterisation
- Process Control
Impact
As with any other technology, quality control in manufacture plays a vital role in determining whether metamaterials and metasurfaces can be adopted into the marketplace. These materials rely upon the accurate alignment of periodic arrays of often complex-shaped elements, to a demanding resolution in the case of (for example) optical and infra-red metasurfaces.
The reliable control of manufacturing processes is an important area of development and new techniques may be needed for some of the highly complex materials being proposed in the literature.
Applications
The measurement and monitoring of highly ordered, fine–scale structures is relevant to many (meta)material–based products, particularly those that control sub-millimetre wavelengths such as ultraviolet, visible and infra-red radiation (for example, light filters for windows and novel sensors).
