Novel Electro-magnetic Phenomena: One-way-waveguides and Wireless Power Transfer
We describe two unusual mechanisms for the transport of electromagnetic energy:
ONE-WAY WAVEGUIDES: An ordinary waveguide transports waves going both forwards and backwards. A one-way waveguide supports only waves propagating in a single direction. Obstacles and disorder can no longer reflect waves, which exhibit 100% transmission even across seemingly impassible perfectly-conducting barriers. We explain how such phenomena, analogous to quantum-Hall edge states, can arise from gyromagnetic materials, and present our experimental demonstration.
NONRADIATIVE WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER: We describe our work on a technique for wireless power transfer using strongly-coupled long-lived electro-magnetic resonances. Instead of irradiating the environment with electromagnetic waves, the source fills the space around it with a "non-radiative" near-field. This technique could potentially be used for middle-range power transfer, such as within a room, or a factory pavilion.
Marin Soljačić, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
