My research interests span a broad range of applied electromagnetics, as shown in the infographic above, with applications ranging from microwave to terahertz frequencies.
Wave-Matter Interaction: The science of wave-matter interactions has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade with the introduction of metasurfaces, which are two-dimensional counterparts of volumetric metamaterials. These artificially engineered surfaces have opened up previously unimagined avenues for achieving unprecedented levels of wave-matter interactions, ranging from acoustics to optics. Within the realm of surface electromagnetics, the artificial engineered surfaces provide extraordinary EM properties that go beyond the limits of existing materials, and they are widely used to manipulate the amplitude, phase, polarization, wave-vector, and other properties of EM waves. These artificial platforms have exerted a substantial influence across diverse domains, including but not limited to communication, bio-medical, computing, and quantum. The temporal modulation of material characteristics, either independently or in conjunction with spatial modulations, has further unlock the potential of metasurfaces for extreme wave manipulation, leading to magnetless non-reciprocity, frequency manipulation, signal amplification, multi-functional meta-devices, among many others. Considerable investigation is presently underway regarding current (5G) and forthcoming (6G) wireless communication systems, with the objective of augmenting their robustness, reconfigurability, and self-adaptability. The following are some research directions in this broad area that I am interested in:
- Theory and design of passive metasurfaces/metagratings at mm-wave and THz frequencies for next-generation wireless communication systems (5G/6G) and bio-medical applications.
- Active metasurfaces to dynamically control the wave-matter interaction.
- Time modulated and space-time modulated metasurfaces.
- Applications: Communication (5G/6G), Sensing, Quantum Computing.
Millimeter-Wave (30-300 GHz) and sub-THz/THz (0.3-3 THz) Communication Systems: The field of wireless communication has witnessed significant progress, evolving from its first generation (1G) systems in the 1980s to the latest fifth generation (5G) systems. The current system (5G) employ sub-6 GHz and mm-wave frequency spectrum, enabling them to achieve a remarkable peak data throughput of approximately 10 Gbps. Due to the proliferation of connected devices and the growing need for higher data rates and larger bandwidth, the research focus is shifting towards the terahertz (THz) frequency spectrum, which is envisioned for sixth generation (6G) wireless communication systems, with an expected data rate of more than 1 Tbps. THz frequencies, in addition to communications, possess promising prospects in various domains such as sensing, imaging, security, and healthcare. The following are some research directions in this broad area that I am interested in:
- Dielectric fiber/waveguide based communication systems for extreme temperature.
- Wireless interconnects for high-speed data communication at hot and cryogenic temperature.
Millimeter-Wave and Terahertz Antennas: Antennas are an integral part of communication systems, and rising demand for high data rates, low latency, and high reliability is propelling the advancement of antenna systems operating in the millimeter-wave (30 to 300 GHz) and terahertz (0.1 to 10 THz) frequency ranges. Moreover, these antenna systems find applications in the domain of healthcare and bio-medical research. Some of the research directions that I am interested in within this broad field are as follows:
- Metasurface antennas for beam-forming and beam-steering applications.
- MIMO and full-duplex antenna systems.
- Reconfigurable antennas.
- On-chip antennas.
- Antennas and sensors for biomedical applications.
- All-dielectric antennas and sensor for space-related applications.