Origami-Based Reconfigurable Metamaterials for Tunable Chirality

Origami is the art of folding two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as a flat sheet of paper, into complex and elaborate three-dimensional (3D) objects. This study reports origami-based metamaterials whose electromagnetic responses are dynamically controllable via switching the folding state of Miura-ori split-ring resonators. The deformation of the Miura-ori unit along the third dimension induces net electric and magnetic dipoles of split-ring resonators parallel or anti-parallel to each other, leading to the strong chiral responses. Circular dichroism as high as 0.6 is experimentally observed while the chirality switching is realized by controlling the deformation direction and kinematics. In addition, the relative density of the origami metamaterials can be dramatically reduced to only 2% of that of the unfolded structure. These results open a new avenue toward lightweight, reconfigurable, and deployable metadevices with simultaneously customized electromagnetic and mechanical properties.

An approach toward reconfigurable metamaterials with simultaneously customized electromagnetic and mechanical properties is presented. Strong chiroptical responses are induced when transforming a planar, achiral metasurface into 3D origami metamaterials, and breaking the mirror symmetry of the folded origami metamaterials. The relative density of the origami metamaterials can be dramatically reduced to only 2% of that of the unfolded structure.

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