The 2026 roadmap on wireless and microwave metasurfaces
Abstract Commonly, the electromagnetic properties of a microwave metamaterial are defined by its structure rather than by its chemical composition. Due to the nature of microwaves – electromagnetic radiation at frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz – metamaterials are usually composed of a combination of conductive and dielectric materials, with subwavelength patterns defining how a wave interacts with it. A metamaterial which is very thin with respect to the operating wavelength is usually referred to as a metasurface. While the term “metamaterial” was first coined around the turn of the last millennium [1], antennas engineers have been designing engineered structures which would now be called metamaterials since at least the work of Ben Munk in the 1970s [2], and with the broadest definitions since artificial dielectric lenses were developed by Winston E. Kock at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1940s [3]. This historic link to telecommunications means similar techniques are used at lower frequencies, so this roadmap also includes metamaterials for other wireless applications.
Authors
- Mustafa K. Taher Al‐Nuaimi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7876-616X)
- Fraser Burton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3559-6134)
- Farooq A. Tahir (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0320-3044)
- Yangyishi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3410-0010)
- Akram Alomainy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5802-9194)
- Milo Baraclough (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7454-8245)
- Euan Humphreys
- Miguel Navarro‐Cía (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0256-6465)
- Stephen Henthorn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1913-9283)
- Qammer H. Abbasi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7097-9969)
- Alexander W. Powell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6357-5408)
- Imran Muhammad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0193-0926)
- Rupam Das (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7351-9928)
- Syeda Fizzah Jilani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4751-8574)
- Jalil ur Rehman Kazim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0319-0818)
- William G. Whittow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5668-8014)
- Muhammad Aslam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9697-6766)
- Anikó Német (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6577-9217)
- Aaron Walker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4960-774X)
Institutions
- BT Group (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (GB)
- Loughborough University (GB)
- Aberystwyth University (GB)
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Physics D Applied Physics
- Published
- 2025-12-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ae2b7c
- Primary Topic
- Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00