Stable Electrostatic Levitation using Conformal Metasurfaces with Negative Polarizability

A conceptual and exploratory theoretical study on the feasibility of electrostatic levitation using a finite, conformal metasurface with negative static polarizability () is presented. Previous work has shown that stable electrostatic levitation in 3D media with negative susceptibility is theoretically possible but appears practically unattainable due to extreme experimental constraints. As a viable alternative, here, a simplified 2D system composed of anisotropic, dipolarizable entities arranged over a doubly curved surface and polarized perpendicular to the local tangent plane is modeled, drawing inspiration from recent advances in active metamaterials and aiming to lay the foundation for future realizable devices demonstrating stable electrostatic levitation. Using a self‐consistent dipole–dipole interaction framework and numerical simulations, the existence of equilibrium points satisfying both force cancellation and stability conditions is theoretically demonstrated. The results show that stable levitation of a test charge can be achieved at heights up to ten times the lattice spacing, with full 3D restoring forces enabled by double curvature. These findings suggest that finite 2D metasurfaces may offer a physically realizable route toward electrostatic levitation, potentially enabling novel charged‐particle trapping schemes for future quantum technologies.

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Publication Details

Journal
Small Structures
Published
2025-09-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202500335
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.43

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article

Stable Electrostatic Levitation using Conformal Metasurfaces with Negative Polarizability

Rahul Dutta, Yang Hao
1 citations
Small Structures
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
0.43
article

Stable Electrostatic Levitation using Conformal Metasurfaces with Negative Polarizability

Rahul Dutta, Yang Hao
article en
1 citations

Abstract

A conceptual and exploratory theoretical study on the feasibility of electrostatic levitation using a finite, conformal metasurface with negative static polarizability () is presented. Previous work has shown that stable electrostatic levitation in 3D media with negative susceptibility is theoretically possible but appears practically unattainable due to extreme experimental constraints. As a viable alternative, here, a simplified 2D system composed of anisotropic, dipolarizable entities arranged over a doubly curved surface and polarized perpendicular to the local tangent plane is modeled, drawing inspiration from recent advances in active metamaterials and aiming to lay the foundation for future realizable devices demonstrating stable electrostatic levitation. Using a self‐consistent dipole–dipole interaction framework and numerical simulations, the existence of equilibrium points satisfying both force cancellation and stability conditions is theoretically demonstrated. The results show that stable levitation of a test charge can be achieved at heights up to ten times the lattice spacing, with full 3D restoring forces enabled by double curvature. These findings suggest that finite 2D metasurfaces may offer a physically realizable route toward electrostatic levitation, potentially enabling novel charged‐particle trapping schemes for future quantum technologies.

Small StructuresVol. 6(12)
Queen Mary University of London (GB)
Queen Mary University of London, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 36%
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
0.43
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