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In the "bottleneck" field of vacuum electronic devices, Chinese research teams have achieved a leapfrog development from theoretical breakthroughs to the application of major national equipment. Eighteen years of research and development have made metamaterials a "disruptor" in the field of electronic components.

Theoretical Breakthrough: Capturing Physical Phenomena Unseen in Half a Century

The theory of "reverse Cherenkov radiation" proposed in the 1960s remained on paper for a long time due to the lack of material carriers suitable for high vacuum environments. The team led by Duan Zhaoyun from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China has creatively designed two types of all-metal metamaterials: circular and flat complementary electrical open resonant rings, solving the core pain points of traditional dielectric materials such as high loss and poor heat conduction in vacuum environments. In 2015, the team, in collaboration with international institutions, set up an experimental device and observed this phenomenon for the first time with real charged particles, filling a nearly 50-year scientific research gap. The results were published in Nature Communications.

Device innovation: Dual breakthroughs in miniaturization and high efficiency

After theoretical verification, the team quickly shifted to application transformation: the reverse Cherenkov radiation oscillator developed in 2022 has a lateral size of only one-third of the free-space wavelength, yet it can achieve an output power of 10.16kW. The dual-port amplifier launched in 2023 has a total electronic efficiency as high as 33.84%, which is equivalent to equipping the device with "dual engines". A more crucial breakthrough emerged in the field of klystrons - the "heart" of large scientific devices, where traditional products are bulky and inefficient. The S-band metasuric krellical tube developed by the team has a cavity volume reduced by half while increasing the electron efficiency to 62%. The P-band model delivered in 2025 has a peak power exceeding 3.0MW during the spallation neutron source test, and has been operating stably for 48 hours without failure, with key indicators reaching the international advanced level.

Industrial value: The leap from laboratory to National Heavyweights

The metasuric klystrum tube has become a core component of major scientific and technological infrastructure such as the China Spallation Neutron Source and the Tokamak Facility, breaking the foreign monopoly on high-power vacuum electronic devices. The team's published monographs in both Chinese and English have established a complete theoretical system. Twelve authorized invention patents have built a solid barrier for technology transformation. The in-depth participation of enterprises such as Kunshan Guoli Electronics is promoting the advancement of metasurface devices from scientific research achievements to industrialized products.