Non-scattering Metasurface-bound Cavities for Field Localization, Enhancement, and Suppression

We propose and analyse metasurface-bound invisible (non-scattering) partially open cavities where the inside field distribution can be engineered. It is demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally that the cavities exhibit unidirectional invisibility at the operating frequency with enhanced or suppressed field at different positions inside the cavity volume. Several examples of applications of the designed cavities are proposed and analyzed, in particular, cloaking sensors and obstacles, enhancement of emission, and "invisible waveguides". The non-scattering mode excited in the proposed cavity is driven by the incident wave and resembles an ideal bound state in the continuum of electromagnetic frequency spectrum. In contrast to known bound states in the continuum, the mode can stay localized in the cavity infinitely long, provided that the incident wave illuminates the cavity

Improving B1 homogeneity in abdominal imaging at 3 T with light and compact metasurface

Radiofrequency field inhomogeneity is a significant issue in imaging large fields of view in high- and ultrahigh-field MRI. Passive shimming with coupled coils or dielectric pads is the most common approach at 3 T. We introduce and test light and compact metasurface, providing the same homogeneity improvement in clinical abdominal imaging at 3 T as a conventional dielectric pad. The metasurface comprising a periodic structure of copper strips and parallel-plate capacitive elements printed on a flexible polyimide substrate supports propagation of slow electromagnetic waves similar to a high-permittivity slab. We compare the metasurface operating inside a transmit body birdcage coil to the state-of-the-art pad by numerical simulations and in vivo study on healthy volunteers. Numerical simulations with different body models show that the local minimum of B1+ causing a dark void in the abdominal domain is removed by the metasurface with comparable resulting homogeneity as for the pad without noticeable SAR change. In vivo results confirm similar homogeneity improvement and demonstrate the stability to body mass index. The light, flexible, and cheap metasurface can replace a relatively heavy and expensive pad based on the aqueous suspension of barium titanate in abdominal imaging at 3 T.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 4 supplementary figure