Research Brings Us Closer to See-through Cameras, Detectors

Using metamaterials -- the same materials that led to the development of cloaking technology -- Boston University researchers have  developed a new way to detect and control terahertz radiation using optics and materials science.  This type of radiation is made up of electromagnetic waves that can pass through materials safely. This breakthrough brings us closer to developing devices -- like cameras, scanners, detectors and medical imaging devices -- that can see through objects.

The researchers developed a device that consists of split-ring resonators made up of flexible metamaterial panels that can control the electromagnetic properties of a beam of THz energy passing by them.