Emulation of complex optical phenomena with radio waves: Tailoring scattering characteristics with wire metamaterial

Abstract

Tailoring electrodynamical phenomena of radiation, emission, and scattering with auxiliary surrounding structuring is one of primary objectives of fundamental and applied investigations nowadays. Resent interests in optical frequency range are partially related to engineering of light-matter interaction dynamics with applications to invisibility cloaking, quantum information devices, optical interconnects and others. Many of frontier proposals, however, are still at the proof of concept stage and require reliable verifications. While performing and analyzing results of optical experiments are sometimes challenging due to their involved complexity related to nano-scale structuring, experimental platform and fabrication of radio waves devices is relatively straightforward. Being able to emulate a span of optical phenomena with GHz frequencies, we demonstrate the way of tailoring scattering characteristics of objects, embedded in wire metamaterial. Regimes of scattering suppression and super-scattering were investigated and the relations to optical effects were discussed. Furthermore, emulation experiments on other effects, among them the near-field interference, causing directional excitation of waves propagating in hyperbolic metamaterials and invisibility cloaking will be reviewed. The ability to detect both near and far fields at the GHz range opens vast opportunities for emulation experiments of different kinds.