{
    "abstract": "Electromagnetic (EM) metamaterials represent a cutting-edge field that achieves anomalously macroscopic properties through artificial design and arrangement of microstructure arrays to freely manipulate EM fields and waves in desired ways. The unit cell of a microstructure array is also called a meta-atom, which can construct effective medium parameters that do not exist in traditional materials or are difficult to realize with traditional technologies. By deep integration with digital information, the meta-atom is evolved to a digital meta-atom, leading to the emergence of information metamaterials. Information metamaterials break the inherent barriers between the EM and digital domains, providing a physical platform for controlling EM waves and modulating digital information simultaneously. The concepts of meta-atoms and metamaterials are also introduced to high-frequency integrated circuit designs to address issues that cannot be solved by traditional methods, since lumped-parameter models become unsustainable at microscopic scales. By incorporating several meta-atoms to form a metachip, precise manipulation of the EM field distribution can be achieved at microscopic scales. In this perspective, we summarize the physical connotations and main classifications of meta-atoms and briefly discuss their future development trends. Through this article, we hope to draw more research attention to explore the potential values of meta-atoms, thereby opening up a broader stage for the in-depth development of metamaterials.",
    "authors": [
        {
            "affiliation": "State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China.",
            "firstname": "Hao Chi",
            "initials": "HC",
            "lastname": "Zhang"
        },
        {
            "affiliation": "University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China.",
            "firstname": "Sen",
            "initials": "S",
            "lastname": "Gong"
        },
        {
            "affiliation": "State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China.",
            "firstname": "Le Peng",
            "initials": "LP",
            "lastname": "Zhang"
        },
        {
            "affiliation": "University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China.",
            "firstname": "Yaxin",
            "initials": "Y",
            "lastname": "Zhang"
        },
        {
            "affiliation": "State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China.",
            "firstname": "Tie Jun",
            "initials": "TJ",
            "lastname": "Cui"
        }
    ],
    "conclusions": null,
    "copyrights": "Copyright \u00a9 2025 Hao Chi Zhang et\u00a0al.",
    "doi": "10.34133/research.0587",
    "journal": "Research (Washington, D.C.)",
    "keywords": [],
    "methods": null,
    "publication_date": "2025-01-13",
    "pubmed_id": "39801504\n11292865\n19150842\n24352983\n28775295\n17972935\n33981050\n26445889\n39633924\n39580474\n32214267\n36792737",
    "results": null,
    "title": "Meta-atoms: From Metamaterials to Metachips.",
    "xml": "<Element 'PubmedArticle' at 0x788503a7ef70>"
}