Numerical homogenization and synthesis of wave polarizers through the Material-by-Design paradigm
A Material-by-Design (MbD) strategy is introduced for the design of multi-layer wave polarizers based on metasurfaces with arbitrarily-shaped unit cells. Following the MbD paradigm, the design is carried by integrating a solution-space exploration block, an electromagnetic simulation block (exploiting a full-wave Method-of-Moments with periodic boundary conditions), a homogenization block, and a cost function evaluation block. Numerical example showing the effectiveness of the proposed strategy is presented.
Metamaterial-enhanced arrays by innovative QCTO approaches
Quasi Conformal Transformation Optics (QCTO) is applied in innovative antenna array enhancement applications. The QCTO is implemented numerically. Examples provided include miniaturization of a linear array using isotropic metamaterial lens and transformation of an arbitrary shaped conformal array to a well known (for example circular) array. A full-wave electromagnetic simulation is used to validate the approach.
The MR-TOF-MS isobar separator for the TITAN facility at TRIUMF
At TRIUMF’s Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear Science (TITAN) a multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS) will extend TITAN’s capabilities and facilitate mass measurements and in-trap decay spectroscopy of exotic nuclei that so far have not been possible due to strong isobaric contamination. This MR-TOF-MS will also enable mass measurements of very short-lived nuclides (half-life > 1 ms) that are produced in very low quantities (a few detected ions overall). In order to allow the installation of an MR-TOF-MS in the restricted space on the platform, on which the TITAN facility is located, novel mass spectrometric methods have been developed. Transport, cooling and distribution of the ions inside the device is done using a buffer gas-filled RFQ-based ion beam switchyard. Mass selection is achieved using a dynamic retrapping technique after time-of-flight analysis in an electrostatic isochronous reflector system. Only due to the combination of these novel methods the realization of an MR-TOF-MS based isobar separator at TITAN has become possible. The device has been built, commissioned off-line and is currently under installation at TITAN.