CONDUCTIVE POLYMER METAMATERIALS

1 . An apparatus, comprising:

an optical component having a stack of layers of electrically conductive flexible polymers, said stack being a metamaterial.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a refractive surface of said optical component is deformable by flexing said stack.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said stack comprises layers of flexible organic dielectrics, said layers of organic dielectric and the layers of conductive polymer alternate in the stack.

4 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said flexing of said stack causes a refractive angle of said optical component to change by at least about 1 percent.

5 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said stack is a metamaterial at a wavelength of near infrared light or visible light.

6 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said stack is a metamaterial at a wavelength of near microwaves.

7 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said stack is deformable to vary a focal length of said optical component.

8 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein an electrical conductivity of said conductive flexible polymers can be increased or decreased by exposure to a gas.

9 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein said gas is an organic gas or an inorganic gas.

10 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said stack has both a negative electrical permittivity and a negative magnetic permeability in a wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation over which said stack is a metamaterial.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a first pattern of resonators of conductive flexible polymer provides said stack with a negative permittivity in said wavelength range and a disjoint second pattern of resonators provides said stack with a negative permeability in said wavelength range.

12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein said first pattern is composed of said conductive flexible polymers of a first type, and said second pattern is composed of said conductive flexible polymers of a second type, wherein said first type of conductive flexible polymers has a different molecular formula than said second type of conductive flexible polymers.

13 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein one said first pattern or said second pattern further includes a metal.

14 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein one or both of said first pattern or said second pattern of said conductive flexible polymers includes an anisotropic material comprising said conductive flexible polymer.

15 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said conductive flexible polymers are selected from the group consisting of:

polyacetylene;

polyaniline;

polypyrrole;

polythiophene;

poly(3-alkylthiophene);

polyphenylenesulphide;

poly(phenylene sulphide-phenyleneamine);

polyphenylene-vinylene;

polythienylene-vinylene;

polyphenylene;

polyisothi-anaphthene;

polyazulene; and

polyfuran.

16 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said optical component forms a portion of said apparatus configured as a sensor system.

17 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said optical component is part of said apparatus configured as an optoelectronic system or wireless transmission system.

18 . A method of using an apparatus, comprising:

providing an optical component having a stack of layers of electrically conductive flexible polymers, said stack being a metamaterial; and

changing an optical property of said optical component by flexing said metamaterial optical component.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further including exposing said optical component to a gas that causes a change in a conductivity of said conductive flexible polymers thereby changing an optical property of said optical component as compared to before exposure to said gas.

20 . A method of manufacture, comprising,

forming an optical component including forming a stack of layers of electrically conductive flexible polymers, said stack being a metamaterial.