HKU Physicist participated in cross-institutional Areas of Excellence project on meta-materials and meta-devices

Professor Shuang ZHANG of Research Division for Physics & Astronomy was one of the Co-Principal Investigators of a successful grant application entitled “Meta-optics, Meta-acoustics and Meta-devices” in the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme 2020/21 (Ninth Round).

The application, led by Professor Din-Ping TSAI of The Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (PolyU), focuses on development of metamaterials and metasurfaces for bridging the gap between fundamental research and industrial applications of metamaterials. Specifically, the project aims at developing novel meta-materials and meta-devices that can control and manipulate electromagnetic and acoustic waves for improving the quality of human daily life.

Metamaterials and meta-devices take advantages of the localized and non-localized resonances of artificial structures in which the response of the electrons, phonons, plasmons, and excitons are strongly modified to give novel properties and functionalities which are not found in nature.

This AoE project will cover the design, numerical simulation, advanced manufacturing, characterizations and measurements of these materials for various applications including environment, biomedical, imaging and sensing, and information security. It is expected that this AoE project will generate a new platform for knowledge-based intelligent artificial materials and devices which are low energy consumption (“green”) and compatible with advanced manufacture in micro- and nano-electronics industrial techniques for wearable or portable innovation. The team consists of seven research groups from PolyU, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong.

The project has been awarded funding of HK$65 million from the AoE Scheme  (Ninth Round) under the University Grants Committee (UGC). In this project, Professor Zhang will be responsible for the development of topological photonics based on metamaterials, and tunable metasurfaces for dynamically shaping the wave-front of light.

Background of the AoE Scheme

The AoE Scheme was launched in 1998. The objective of the Scheme is to support the University Grants Committee-funded universities to build upon their existing strengths and develop them into areas of excellence. A total of 24 AoE projects from various disciplines have been funded in the past eight rounds of exercise. For the funding results of the Ninth Round Exercise, please visit: https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/aoe/funded_research/aoe9.html