Three-Dimensional Metamaterials and Nanostructures

Three-dimensional metamaterials and nanostructures represent an extraordinary class of engineered materials in which arrays of subwavelength building blocks are organised in three dimensions to achieve electromagnetic, acoustic or mechanical responses not found in nature. By extending design freedom beyond planar geometries, these structures unlock phenomena such as negative refractive index, enhanced chirality and dynamic control of light–matter interactions. Fabrication approaches now span bottom-up self-assembly, top-down direct writing and hybrid nanoimprint processes, enabling feature sizes from a few nanometres to micrometres over wafer scales. The interplay of geometry, material choice and external stimuli yields reconfigurable behaviour, tunable resonances and strong field localisation. Applications range from compact photonic devices, sensors and optical interconnects to adaptive cloaking, on-chip holography and energy harvesting. Recent advances have pushed the frontiers of active three-dimensional metamaterials, integrating phase-change components, flexible substrates or electromechanical actuation. The global effort underpins transformative capabilities in telecommunications, biomedical imaging and quantum technologies, cementing 3D metamaterials as a cornerstone of future nanophotonics and metamaterial science.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated on-chip electromechanically reconfigurable nano-kirigami systems that transform planar gold–silicon structures into three-dimensional forms via electrostatic actuation. Such architectures exhibit large-amplitude deformations at submicrometre pitches and achieve broadband modulation of optical transmission and helicity across visible and near-infrared wavelengths, offering contrasts near 500%. This work establishes a scalable platform for dynamic light manipulation at the nanoscale. In parallel, investigations into three-dimensional plasmonic resonators have revealed strong coupling between surface plasmon Fano states, resulting in clear Rabi splitting within vertical split-ring assemblies. The observation of twin Rabi splittings in asymmetric three-dimensional geometries confirms the interplay of dark and bright modes, paving the way for enhanced light–matter interaction in sensing and quantum analogue studies.

Three-Dimensional Metamaterials and Nanostructures publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in three-dimensional metamaterials and nanostructures across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Metamaterial: An artificial composite structured at subwavelength scales to exhibit tailored macroscopic properties, such as unusual refractive index or chirality.

Nanostructure: A feature or assembly with at least one dimension in the nanometre range, used to manipulate electromagnetic fields at the nanoscale.

Fano resonance: An asymmetric spectral feature arising from interference between a narrow ‘dark’ resonance and a broader ‘bright’ mode, leading to sharp spectral profiles.

Kirigami: A microfabrication approach based on controlled cutting and folding of thin films to transform two-dimensional patterns into three-dimensional architectures.

Rabi splitting: The energy separation between hybridised states when two resonant modes strongly interact, observed as distinct peaks in the frequency spectrum.

References

1. Nanofabrication of nanostructure lattices: from high-quality large patterns to precise hybrid units. International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing (2024).
2. A kirigami-based reconfigurable metasurface for selective electromagnetic transmission modulation. npj Flexible Electronics (2024).
3. Electromechanically reconfigurable optical nano-kirigami. Nature Communications (2021).
4. Fano resonance Rabi splitting of surface plasmons. Scientific Reports (2017).