Obtaining optical properties on demand

Reconfigurable metamaterials provide a flexible platform for nanophotonic technology With the developments in nanotechnology that enable atoms, singly or in clumps, to be moved and arranged at will, we now have the capability of creating metamaterials that can display properties not found in naturally occurring media. Today lenses are being developed that image more sharply than glass lenses, and materials can be designed that make objects invisible or bend light beams into any chosen trajectory. We look here at the impact that metamaterials are having on photonics (see the figure).