Website: http://www.calozgroup.org

Coming to Canada from

University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Research involves

Producing innovations in various theoretical, computational and technological aspects of metamaterials (materials that exhibit properties not usually found in nature).

Research relevance

This research on novel artificial materials with unprecedented electromagnetic and quantum properties has the potential to reshape the landscape of high-frequency electronics.

Using new electromagnetic materials to make breakthroughs in electronics

Metamaterials—broadly defined as artificial materials with properties that do not normally exist in nature—have spurred great excitement in the scientific world.

Although the science of metamaterials is relatively new, a large variety of applications have already been found for these materials by researchers like Dr. Christophe Caloz, Canada Research Chair in Future Intelligent Radiofrequency Metamaterials.

Caloz has already developed several electronics components and systems based on microstructured metamaterials. These include smart antennas that can scan an entire space and reconfigure themselves in an agile manner, and many compact and efficient microwave and millimetre-wave devices for wireless communication and sensing applications.

He is now working to improve the sophistication and performance of these components by developing metamaterials with additional structuring scales (in particular nano- and atomic scales) and ingredients (magnetic, ferroelelectric, multiferroic carbon nanotube, graphene, and ferromagnetic nanowire composites).

The groundbreaking research of Caloz and his research team is helping create materials that can do things beyond what we could imagine based on the materials available in the natural world. His innovations may have a vast array of real-world applications to improve our lives, such as new analog signal processors that would make it possible to produce low-cost, millimetre-wave radars and high-speed communication systems and terahertz detectors based on new types of nanostructures.