Group-theory approach to tailored electromagnetic properties of metamaterials: an inverse-problem solution.

The problem of designing electromagnetic metamaterials is complicated by the pseudo-infinite parameter space governing such materials. We present a general solution based on group theory for the design and optimization of the electromagnetic properties of metamaterials. Using this framework, the fundamental properties of a metamaterial design, such as anisotropy or magnetic or electrical resonances, can be elucidated based on the symmetry class into which the unit cell falls.