Jan 25, 2021 08:00:00

Introducing a new metamaterial that can change the magnetic properties

Metamaterials are artificial materials that are structured so that they act against light and electromagnetic waves in a way that is not found in nature, and are created to achieve the properties and shapes that researchers desire. Although little research has been done on this metamaterial, the fleX Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne has announced that it has developed a new metamaterial that can reconstruct its magnetic properties .

New metamaterial offers reprogrammable properties --EPFL
https://actu.epfl.ch/news/new-metamaterial-offers-reprogrammable-properties/

New metamaterial merges magnetic memory and physical changes | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/01/new-metamaterial-merges-magnetic-memory-and-physical-changes/

Metamaterials have individual properties for each substance, and it was necessary to recreate them in order to change their physical properties such as rigidity and strength. However, Tian Chen, a postdoctoral fellow at fleXLabo, claims that 'new metamaterials can change their magnetic properties.'

The metamaterial developed by Mr. Chen and others is shaped like a box supported by four legs, and is made of silicon with magnetic particles embedded in it. It can be deformed by applying a magnetic force from the outside, and can take a different shape for each magnetic device placed above and below it. It is said that it can also act like an HDD by applying a magnetic field to each cell.

As a result of reading the magnetic state of this metamaterial, Mr. Chen and others revealed that changing the shape shows up to 5 times different magnetic properties. 'We hope that metamaterials, which until now could only achieve limited properties, will be able to reproduce all physical properties with a single material,' said Chen.