Reconfigurable Electromagnetics Through Metamaterials—A Review

The introduction of electromagnetic (EM) media with unique field manipulation properties, collectively labelled as metamaterials, has boosted the interest toward the design, the fabrication, and the testing of artificial materials whose features can be engineered according to the applicative requirements and user objectives. In this framework, the long-term promise of reconfigurable metamaterial theory (i.e., the possibility to change the EM response of a 2-D/3-D material arbitrarily and in real time) has given the designers an extremely wide number of new degrees of freedom for the synthesis of innovative adaptive systems. Moreover, successful experimental validations of reconfigurable metamaterials in the entire EM spectrum from microwaves to optical frequencies have further stimulated academic and industrial interests in developing devices with enhanced performances, efficiency, and robustness. Nevertheless, the exploitation of reconfigurable metamaterials in commercial devices is still an open problem with several challenges from both the theoretical and technological viewpoints. This paper is then aimed at reviewing the latest advances on reconfigurable metamaterial engineering from the methodological perspective also providing a comprehensive and balanced survey on latest concepts, current trends, and envisaged future developments on this active field of research.