Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) has created the first inverse-design software for optical metamaterials--meaning users start by describing the result they want, and the software fills in the steps to get there. The modern design approach takes guesswork out of engineering as-yet theoretical technologies like ultracompact, high-performance cameras and cloaking armor that could make wearers invisible to detection.
Sandia uses the design aid, called Mirage, in its research and development programs and released a test version to select collaborators last year. Now, researchers working on government metamaterial projects can request a license at no cost. Look for a feature article on this software in the June issue of Laser Focus World.
"Predicting what the bulk 'homogenized' properties will be has been very hard to determine until now," said Mike Fiddy, a program manager in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, which funded the software's development.
Mirage lets users start by telling it the optical property they want--how their metamaterial needs to interact with light--and their starting materials. Mirage generates designs that match those criteria from a library of more than 100 templates. Or, users can draw their own designs, and the program will check them for errors.
See the source link below for the full story and to request a copy of the software.
SOURCE: Sandia National Laboratory; https://share-ng.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/optical_metamaterials/
