Patent ID: 7782148

Claim:
An apparatus for manipulating or modifying an electromagnetic wave or a beam of particles, the apparatus comprising: a first layer of elongated electrical micro or nano conductors; a second layer of elongated electrical micro or nano conductors spaced apart from the first layer and such that in a projection of the second layer into a plane of the first layer the apparatus has a network of projected cross-over junctions between the elongated conductors of the first and second layers; the first and second layers are substantially parallel to a propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave or the beam of particles; means for receiving respective electrical potentials in a tunable way to the micro or nano conductors of the first and second layers for inducing electrical mechanisms in areas between the first and second layers corresponding to the network of projected cross-over points such that scattering of the electromagnetic wave or the beam of particles occurs in said areas; means for varying a relative disposition of the first and second layers of micro or nano conductors; and wherein the means for varying the relative disposition of the first and second layers is tunable for varying a scattering pattern of the apparatus, a form factor of the scattering, or both.