US Patent 8134774 - Dynamically reconfigurable negative index material with gain

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8134774.html

This patent discloses a way to use nanowire crossbar structures to selectively control the resonant characteristics of negative index metamaterials. Claim 1 reads:

1. A negative index material crossbar comprising:

a first layer of non-crossing nanowires;

a second layer of non-crossing nanowires, each nanowire in the second layer overlaying the nanowires in the first layer;

resonant elements at intersections of nanowires in the first layer and nanowires in the second layer; and

a gain material incorporated in the crossbar such that transmitted electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in a wavelength band of interest is enhanced when the crossbar is flood pumped with pump electromagnetic radiation.