The Quest for Ultimate Electromagnetics using Spatial Transformations (QUEST)

Visions and Ambitions:

• To introduce a paradigm shift in the manipulation of electromagnetic fields through the development and application of new theory, the creation of innovative computer-aided design tools, and the manufacture and characterisation of novel devices and systems enabled by the production of radically new materials.
• To move beyond well-established, but separate, fundamental research programmes to address the practical needs of industrial end-users with proof of principle demonstrators.
• To establish a new multi-disciplinary research team of sufficient size and diversity to give the UK impact in this field, and act as a beacon to engage the best international researchers and industrial partners.

Working mainly in the microwave and millimetre-wave regions, we have designated four integrated work-packages to allow us to deliver this programme:

• SP1. Concepts. Here we will extend the basic ideas of spatial transformations specifically towards practical applications. This acts as a cornerstone for the entire programme.
• SP2. Modelling tool kits. We will establish a suite of computational capabilities to allow the design of devices and test structures generated by new concepts from SP1, and the numerical modelling of the performance of test structures in practical environments, which will then be experimentally verified in SP4.
• SP3. Materials Manufacture and Testing. This task will focus on developing new materials with a broad range of EM parameters required for ST and demonstrator devices.
• SP4. Testing the concepts. We will undertake proof-of-principle tests, firstly on materials needed for STs and subsequently on ST demonstrator device implementations.

The desire to achieve impact, by close liaison with our core industrial partners and dissemination amongst academic and end-user communities, will focus our research on our core principle: innovate-design-make-test-exploit. The Consortium already has strong collaborations with a wide range of industries in the area of electromagnetic metamaterials and ICT, and the successful completion of the QUEST project will contribute strongly to the development of the UK electromagnetics industry.