Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026

13:44
Simulation, Fabrication and Characterization of THz Metamaterial Absorbers
Published on: December 27, 2012
Radar illusion via metamaterials
1State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, Department of Radio Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China. wxjiang@emfield.org
Summary
Researchers developed a novel radar illusion device using metamaterials. This device experimentally transforms a metallic target
Area of Science:
- Metamaterials and Electromagnetics
- Radar Technology and Signal Processing
Background:
- Optical illusions leverage physiological or visual tricks to deceive perception.
- Metamaterials offer advanced methods for creating optical illusions, but research is largely theoretical.
- Existing metamaterial illusions are confined to optical frequencies and simulations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and experimentally realize a radar illusion device.
- To demonstrate the transformation of a metallic target's radar signature into that of a dielectric target.
- To overcome the limitations of existing metamaterial illusion research by moving to experimental radar applications.
Main Methods:
- Designed and fabricated a radar illusion device using artificial metamaterials.
- Operated the device in the microwave frequency range.
- Experimentally validated the device's ability to alter electromagnetic scattering characteristics.
Main Results:
- The fabricated device successfully altered the radar image of a metallic target.
- The metallic target, when enclosed by the device, exhibited electromagnetic scattering identical to a predesigned dielectric target.
- The device effectively concealed the true electromagnetic properties of the metallic target.
Conclusions:
- The study presents the first experimental realization of a radar illusion device.
- Metamaterial-based radar illusions are feasible and can effectively deceive radar systems.
- This technology has potential applications in radar countermeasures and target cloaking.
Related Concept Videos
Doppler Effect - II
The Doppler effect has several practical, real-world applications. For instance, meteorologists use Doppler radars to interpret weather events based on the Doppler effect. Typically, a transmitter emits radio waves at a specific frequency toward the sky from a weather station. The radio waves bounce off the clouds and precipitation and travel back to the weather station. The radio frequency of the waves reflected back to the station appears to decrease if the clouds or precipitation are moving...
Doppler Effect - I
The Doppler effect and Doppler shift were named after the Austrian physicist and mathematician Christian Johann Doppler in 1842, who conducted experiments with both moving sources and moving observers. Consider an observer standing on a street corner, observing an ambulance with a siren sound passing by at a constant speed. The observer experiences two characteristic changes in the sound of the siren. Initially, the sound increases in loudness as the ambulance approaches and decreases in...
Dual Nature of Electromagnetic (EM) Radiation
Electromagnetic (EM) radiation consists of electric and magnetic field components oscillating in planes perpendicular to each other and mutually perpendicular to radiation propagation through space. EM radiation can be classified as a wave, characterized by the properties of waves such as wavelength (denoted as λ) and frequency (represented by ν).
Wavelength is the distance between two consecutive peaks (the highest point) or troughs (the lowest point) in the wave. Frequency is the number of...
Wavelength is the distance between two consecutive peaks (the highest point) or troughs (the lowest point) in the wave. Frequency is the number of...

