Microwave and terahertz wave sensing with metamaterials

Using light to image millimeter wave based on stacked meta-MEMS chip

A stacked metamaterial MEMS (meta-MEMS) chip is proposed, which can perfectly absorb electromagnetic waves, convert them into mechanical energy, drive movement of the optical micro-reflectors array, and detect millimeter waves. It is equivalent to using visible light to image a millimeter wave. The meta-MEMS adopts the design of upper and lower chip separation and then stacking to achieve the "dielectric-resonant-air-ground" structure, reduce the thickness of the metamaterial and MEMS structures, and improve the performance of millimeter wave imaging. For verification, we designed and prepared a 94 GHz meta-MEMS focal plane array chip, in which the sum of the thickness of the metamaterial and MEMS structures is only 1/2500 wavelength, the pixel size is less than 1/3 wavelength, but the absorption rate is as high as 99.8%. Moreover, a light readout module was constructed to test the millimeter wave imaging performance. The results show that the response speed can reach 144 Hz and the lens-less imaging resolution is 1.5 mm.

Adjustable Trifunctional Mid-Infrared Metamaterial Absorber Based on Phase Transition Material VO2

In this paper, we demonstrate an adjustable trifunctional absorber that can achieve the conversion of broadband, narrowband and superimposed absorption based on the phase transition material vanadium dioxide (VO₂) in the mid-infrared domain. The absorber can achieve the switching of multiple absorption modes by modulating the temperature to regulate the conductivity of VO₂. When the VO₂ film is adjusted to the metallic state, the absorber serves as a bidirectional perfect absorber with switching capability of wideband and narrowband absorption. The superposed absorptance can be generated while the VO₂ layer is converted to the insulating state. Then, we introduced the impedance matching principle to explain the inner mechanism of the absorber. Our designed metamaterial system with a phase transition material is promising for sensing, radiation thermometer and switching devices.

Active and tunable nanophotonic metamaterials

Metamaterials enable subwavelength tailoring of light-matter interactions, driving fundamental discoveries which fuel novel applications in areas ranging from compressed sensing to quantum engineering. Importantly, the metallic and dielectric resonators from which static metamaterials are comprised present an open architecture amenable to materials integration. Thus, incorporating responsive materials such as semiconductors, liquid crystals, phase-change materials, or quantum materials (e.g., superconductors, 2D materials, etc.) imbue metamaterials with dynamic properties, facilitating the development of active and tunable devices harboring enhanced or even entirely novel electromagnetic functionality. Ultimately, active control derives from the ability to craft the local electromagnetic fields; accomplished using a host of external stimuli to modify the electronic or optical properties of the responsive materials embedded into the active regions of the subwavelength resonators. We provide a broad overview of this frontier area of metamaterials research, introducing fundamental concepts and presenting control strategies that include electronic, optical, mechanical, thermal, and magnetic stimuli. The examples presented range from microwave to visible wavelengths, utilizing a wide range of materials to realize spatial light modulators, effective nonlinear media, on-demand optics, and polarimetric imaging as but a few examples. Often, active and tunable nanophotonic metamaterials yield an emergent electromagnetic response that is more than the sum of the parts, providing reconfigurable or real-time control of the amplitude, phase, wavevector, polarization, and frequency of light. The examples to date are impressive, setting the stage for future advances that are likely to impact holography, beyond 5G communications, imaging, and quantum sensing and transduction.

An Overview of Terahertz Imaging with Resonant Tunneling Diodes

Terahertz (THz) imaging is a rapidly growing application motivated by industrial demands including harmless (non-ionizing) security imaging, multilayer paint quality control within the automotive industry, insulating foam non-invasive testing in aerospace, and biomedical diagnostics. One of the key components in the imaging system is the source and detector. This paper gives a brief overview of room temperature THz transceiver technology for imaging applications based on the emerging resonant tunneling diode (RTD) devices. The reported results demonstrate that RTD technology is a very promising candidate to realize compact, low-cost THz imaging systems.

Gaptronics: multilevel photonics applications spanning zero-nanometer limits

With recent advances in nanofabrication technology, various metallic gap structures with gap widths reaching a few to sub-nanometer, and even 'zero-nanometer', have been realized. At such regime, metallic gaps not only exhibit strong electromagnetic field confinement and enhancement, but also incorporate various quantum phenomena in a macroscopic scale, finding applications in ultrasensitive detection using nanosystems, enhancement of light-matter interactions in low-dimensional materials, and ultralow-power manipulation of electromagnetic waves, etc. Therefore, moving beyond nanometer to 'zero-nanometer' can greatly diversify applications of metallic gaps and may open the field of dynamic 'gaptronics.' In this paper, an overview is given on wafer-scale metallic gap structures down to zero-nanometer gap width limit. Theoretical description of metallic gaps from sub-10 to zero-nanometer limit, various wafer-scale fabrication methods and their applications are presented. With such versatility and broadband applicability spanning visible to terahertz and even microwaves, the field of 'gaptronics' can be a central building block for photochemistry, quantum optical devices, and 5/6G communications.

Reconfigurable terahertz metamaterials: From fundamental principles to advanced 6G applications

Terahertz (THz) electromagnetic spectrum ranging from 0.1THz to 10THz has become critical for sixth generation (6G) applications, such as high-speed communication, fingerprint chemical sensing, non-destructive biosensing, and bioimaging. However, the limited response of naturally existing materials THz waves has induced a gap in the electromagnetic spectrum, where a lack of THz functional devices using natural materials has occurred in this gap. Metamaterials, artificially composed structures that can engineer the electromagnetic properties to manipulate the waves, have enabled the development of many THz devices, known as "metadevices". Besides, the tunability of THz metadevices can be achieved by tunable structures using microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technologies, as well as tunable materials including phase change materials (PCMs), electro-optical materials (EOMs), and thermo-optical materials (TOMs). Leveraging various tuning mechanisms together with metamaterials, tremendous research works have demonstrated reconfigurable functional THz devices, playing an important role to fill the THz gap toward the 6G applications. This review introduces reconfigurable metadevices from fundamental principles of metamaterial resonant system to the design mechanisms of functional THz metamaterial devices and their related applications. Moreover, we provide perspectives on the future development of THz photonic devices for state-of-the-art applications.

Design of Broadband and Wide-Angle Hexagonal Metamaterial Absorber Based on Optimal Tiling of Rhombus Carbon Pixels and Implantation of Copper Cylinders

A design method for a broadband and wide-angle metamaterial absorber is proposed based on optimal tiling of rhombus carbon pixels on and implantation of metal cylinders inside an acrylic substrate for which the backside is blocked by the perfect conductor. First, an intermediate carbon metapattern is achieved via optimal tiling of rhombus carbon pixels based on the genetic algorithm (GA), which can minimize the reflectances of both of the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarized electromagnetic (EM) waves for the incident angles 0∘ and 60∘ simultaneously. Then, copper cylinders are implanted inside the substrate to boost the absorptions of both of the TE and TM polarizations for the 60∘ oblique incidences. To extend the absorption bandwidth, the design is finalized by evolving the intermediate metapattern using the GA. Based on the finalized carbon metapattern, the 90% absorption bandwidth is confirmed in the frequency range 8.8 to 11.6 GHz, for which the fractional bandwidth is 27.5% for both of the two polarizations with the incident angles from 0∘ to 60∘. The proposed method could open a way to design a broadband and wide-angle EM metamaterial absorber that can be applied to the edges of three-dimensional structures such as a regular tetrahedron or square pyramid that have interior angles of 60∘ that cannot be covered by conventional square or rectangular metamaterial absorbers.

A wide-angle and TE/TM polarization-insensitive terahertz metamaterial near-perfect absorber based on a multi-layer plasmonic structure

A kind of near-perfect metamaterial absorber, made of only Au and Si, has been presented in the terahertz band with extremely high absorptance. A flexible design method is proposed, which could create absorbers with four independent functions as follows. First, selective perfect absorption is achieved at a single frequency, which means the absorptance is more than 99.9% at the required frequency and almost 0% at adjacent frequencies. Second, nearly 100% perfect absorption is realized at more frequencies, which can be changed by simply adjusting the geometric parameters. Third, broadband absorption with a controllable band is gained, and the average absorptance exceeds 99% from 1.2 to 2 THz. Finally, the combination of single-frequency absorption and broadband absorption is accomplished, which greatly expands the application prospects of the proposed absorber. Besides, the absorber exhibits high performance over a wide range of incident angles from 0° to 60°. Meanwhile, it is insensitive to both TE and TM waves. The aforementioned design idea can be extended to other bands.

Robot-assisted, source-camera-coupled multi-view broadband imagers for ubiquitous sensing platform

Multi-functional photo-imaging garners attention towards the development of universal safety-net sensor networks. Although there are urgent needs to comprehensively address the optical information from arbitrarily structured and located targets, investigations on multi-view sensitive broadband monitoring, being independent of the operating environment, are yet to be completed. This study presents a robot-assisted, photo-source and imager implanted, multi-view stereoscopic sensitive broadband photo-monitoring platform with reflective and transmissive switchable modes. A multifaceted photo-thermoelectric device design based on flexible carbon nanotube films facilitates the prototype demonstrations of non-destructive, target-structure-independent, free-form multi-view examinations on actual three-dimensional industrial components. Further functionalisation, namely, a portable system utilising three-dimensional printing and ultraviolet processing, achieves the unification of freely attachable photo-imagers and miniature photo-sources, enabling location-independent operation. Consequently, the non-destructive unmanned, remote, high-speed, omni-directional testing of a defective aerial miniature model winding road-bridge with a robot-assisted photo-source imager built into a multi-axis movable photo-thermoelectric monitor arm is demonstrated.

The use of imager devices to supplement broadband photo-monitoring technology has enabled multi-functional sensing capability relevant to internet of things-related applications. Here, the authors report a robotassisted imager-implanted broadband photo-monitoring sensing platform.

Broadband Terahertz Near-Perfect Absorbers

Broadband terahertz (THz) absorbers are highly desired in detection, modulation, receiving, and imaging devices. We report the design and successful implementation of a novel broadband THz metasurface with a near-perfect absorption. Different from the traditional metal/dielectric/metal three-layer structures, the as-designed THz absorber has one more metal layer and a dielectric spacer on top, both of which are 200 nm thick. Although the total thickness increased by ∼7%, the near-perfect THz absorption band significantly broadened by 4×, achieving a broadband absorption of 270 GHz. Broadband, polarization-insensitive, and near-perfect THz absorptions were also observed over wide incident angles in these meta-absorbers, where the electric field and power loss were mainly concentrated in the additional thin dielectric layer. Such a broadband THz absorption was achieved through electromagnetic coupling between the top and middle metal layers and the resultant overlapping of the resonance frequencies. This strategy can be adapted to other spectrum-shaping devices.

Single-layer metamaterial bolometer for sensitive detection of low-power terahertz waves at room temperature

This study demonstrates a metamaterial bolometer that can detect terahertz (THz) waves by measuring variations in electrical resistance. A metamaterial pattern for enhanced THz waves absorption and a composite material with a high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) are incorporated into a single layer of the bolometer chip to realize a compact and highly sensitive device. To detect the temperature change caused by the absorption of the THz waves, a polydimethylsiloxane mixed with carbon black microparticles is used. The thermosensitive composite has TCR ranging from 1.88%/K to 3.11%/K at room temperature (22.2-23.8^°C). In addition, a microscale metamaterial without a backside reflector is designed to enable the measurement of the resistance and to enhance the sensitivity of the bolometer. The proposed configuration effectively improves thermal response of the chip as well as the absorption of the THz waves. It was confirmed that the irradiated THz waves can be detected via the increment in the electrical resistance. The resistance change caused by the absorption of the THz waves is detectable in spite of the changes in resistance originating from the background thermal noise. The proposed metamaterial bolometer could be applied to detect chemical or biological molecules that have fingerprints in the THz band by measuring the variation of the resistance without using the complex and bulky THz time-domain spectroscopy system.

Strongly Localized ohmic Absorption of Terahertz Radiation in Nanoslot Antennas

Ohmic absorption of light is an indication of a light-matter interaction within metals, where many interesting phenomena and application potentials can be found. To realize the ohmic absorption of light at long wavelengths, where metals are highly reflective, one can use a metamaterial absorber design to concentrate the electromagnetic field within a thin metal film. This concept has enabled thinning of perfect absorbers from a quarter-wave thickness to several tens of nanometers, greatly improving the utility and efficiency of light-metal interactions. Further improvements on the performance are expected if the absorption can be additionally focused laterally, which is a possibility not yet explored. In this study, we report that nanoslot antennas can be a unique ohmic absorber of the low-frequency radiations, where it can incorporate 70% of incident light to ohmic absorption, focused laterally onto 1% of the unit cell area. The inductive field that drives both field enhancement and ohmic absorption is localized within a skin depth distance from the slots with amplitude being as large as 30% of the incident field. Mode-matching calculations and terahertz spectroscopy measurements confirm the inductive and localized nature of the absorption. The strong confinement of the inductive field and of the resulting ohmic absorption is expected to open a new venue in nanocalorimetry, optical nonlinearities of metals, and bolometer applications.

Implementing infrared metamaterial perfect absorbers using dispersive dielectric spacers

A typical metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA) is comprised of a metamaterial layer, a dielectric spacer, and a ground plane. The conventional spacer material is usually a lossy dielectric with little-dispersion for the purpose of easing the design and optimization procedure of the MPA. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and characterization of metamaterial perfect absorbers with a highly dispersive spacer, which is compatible with functional microelectromechanical systems. The measured dispersive permittivity of a silicon nitride thin film is used in modeling the absorption response of MPAs with rigorous coupled wave analysis. Different designs of MPA structures are fabricated and characterized. Spectroscopy data shows two perfect absorption peaks in wavelengths ranging from 8 μm to 20 μm, which supports the theoretical calculation and numerical simulation. The dispersion of silicon nitride enables the shared resonant modes of the two peak wavelengths and decreases the wavelength shift led by variations in structural parameters. We demonstrate that the use of dispersive dielectric materials in MPAs potentiates various functional devices.

Integrating microsystems with metamaterials towards metadevices

Electromagnetic metamaterials, which are a major type of artificially engineered materials, have boosted the development of optical and photonic devices due to their unprecedented and controllable effective properties, including electric permittivity and magnetic permeability. Metamaterials consist of arrays of subwavelength unit cells, which are also known as meta-atoms. Importantly, the effective properties of metamaterials are mainly determined by the geometry of the constituting subwavelength unit cells rather than their chemical composition, enabling versatile designs of their electromagnetic properties. Recent research has mainly focused on reconfigurable, tunable, and nonlinear metamaterials towards the development of metamaterial devices, namely, metadevices, via integrating actuation mechanisms and quantum materials with meta-atoms. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), or microsystems, provide powerful platforms for the manipulation of the effective properties of metamaterials and the integration of abundant functions with metamaterials. In this review, we will introduce the fundamentals of metamaterials, approaches to integrate MEMS with metamaterials, functional metadevices from the synergy, and outlooks for metamaterial-enabled photonic devices.

Multicolor T-Ray Imaging Using Multispectral Metamaterials

Recent progress in ultrafast spectroscopy and semiconductor technology is enabling unique applications in screening, detection, and diagnostics in the Terahertz (T-ray) regime. The promise of efficaciously operation in this spectral region is tempered by the lack of devices that can spectrally analyze samples at sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. Real-time, multispectral T-ray (Mul-T) imaging is reported by designing and demonstrating hyperspectral metamaterial focal plane array (MM-FPA) interfaces allowing multiband (and individually tunable) responses without compromising on the pixel size. These MM-FPAs are fully compatible with existing microfabrication technologies and have low noise when operating in the ambient environment. When tested with a set of frequency switchable quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) for multicolor illumination, both MM-FPAs and QCLs can be tuned to operate at multiple discrete THz frequencies to match analyte "fingerprints." Versatile imaging capabilities are presented, including unambiguous identification of concealed substances with intrinsic and/or human-engineered THz characteristics as well as effective diagnosis of cancerous tissues without notable spectral signatures in the THz range, underscoring the utility of applying multispectral approaches in this compelling wavelength range for sensing/identification and medical imaging.

Microwave Metamaterial Absorber for Non-Destructive Sensing Applications of Grain

In this work, we propose a metamaterial absorber at microwave frequencies with significant sensitivity and non-destructive sensing capability for grain samples. This absorber is composed of cross-resonators periodically arranged on an ultrathin substrate, a sensing layer filled with grain samples, and a metal ground. The cross-resonator array is fabricated using the printed circuit board process on an FR-4 board. The performance of the proposed metamaterial is demonstrated with both full-wave simulation and measurement results, and the working mechanism is revealed through multi-reflection interference theory. It can serve as a non-contact sensor for food quality control such as adulteration, variety, etc. by detecting shifts in the resonant frequencies. As a direct application, it is shown that the resonant frequency displays a significant blue shift from 7.11 GHz to 7.52 GHz when the mass fraction of stale rice in the mixture of fresh and stale rice is changed from 0% to 100%. In addition, the absorber shows a distinct difference in the resonant absorption frequency for different varieties of grain, which also makes it a candidate for a grain classification sensor. The presented scheme could open up opportunities for microwave metamaterial absorbers to be applied as efficient sensors in the non-destructive evaluation of agricultural and food product quality.

Tailoring polarization and magnetization of absorbing terahertz metamaterials using a cut-wire sandwich structure

The permittivity and permeability of a cut-wire sandwich structure can be controlled by laterally shifting the upper and lower layers. The use of this process for designing specific application-oriented devices may lack clear-cut guidelines because the lateral misalignment will significantly change the permittivity and permeability simultaneously. Therefore, in this work, we designed, fabricated and characterized a cut-wire sandwich device capable of tailoring the polarization and magnetization separately, thereby providing a promising recipe for achieving specific application objectives, such as a high-performance absorber. Accumulated charges effectively provided the polarization at the edge of cut-wires, and the surface current density on the cut-wires at top and bottom layers effectively generated the magnetization. By controlling and optimizing the geometrical configurations of the entire sandwich device (without lateral misalignment), the impedance could be matched to that of free space while generating a large imaginary part in the refractive index. This work characterizes the absorption performance of such sandwich structures in the terahertz regime. This mechanism could be further extended to other metamaterial devices in the terahertz and other frequency ranges because polarization and magnetization can now be selectively controlled in a straightforward manner.

Optomechanical terahertz detection with single meta-atom resonator

Most of the common technologies for detecting terahertz photons (>1 THz) at room temperature rely on slow thermal devices. The realization of fast and sensitive detectors in this frequency range is indeed a notoriously difficult task. Here we propose a novel device consisting of a subwavelength terahertz meta-atom resonator, which integrates a nanomechanical element and allows energy exchange between the mechanical motion and the electromagnetic degrees of freedom. An incident terahertz wave thus produces a nanomechanical signal that can be read out optically with high precision. We exploit this concept to demonstrate a terahertz detector that operates at room temperature with high sensitivity and a much higher frequency response compared to standard detectors. Beyond the technological issue of terahertz detection, our architecture opens up new perspectives for fundamental science of light–matter interaction at terahertz frequencies, combining optomechanical approaches with semiconductor quantum heterostructures.

Achieving fast, sensitive and room temperature detection of terahertz waves remains a formidable scientific and technological challenge. Here, the authors propose a compact terahertz device combining concepts from metamaterial resonators, optomechanics and semiconductor nanotechnology.

Strongly Confined Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons Waveguiding Enabled by Planar Staggered Plasmonic Waveguides

We demonstrate a novel route to achieving highly efficient and strongly confined spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) waveguides at subwavelength scale enabled by planar staggered plasmonic waveguides (PSPWs). The structure of these new waveguides consists of an ultrathin metallic strip with periodic subwavelength staggered double groove arrays supported by a flexible dielectric substrate, leading to unique staggered EM coupling and waveguiding phenomenon. The spoof SPP propagation properties, including dispersion relations and near field distributions, are numerically investigated. Furthermore, broadband coplanar waveguide (CPW) to planar staggered plasmonic waveguide (PSPW) transitions are designed to achieve smooth momentum matching and highly efficient spoof SPP mode conversion. By applying these transitions, a CPW-PSPW-CPW structure is designed, fabricated and measured to verify the PSPW's propagation performance at microwave frequencies. The investigation results show the proposed PSPWs have excellent performance of deep subwavelength spoof SPPs confinement, long propagation length and low bend loss, as well as great design flexibility to engineer the propagation properties by adjusting their geometry dimensions and material parameters. Our work opens up a new avenue for development of various advanced planar integrated plasmonic devices and circuits in microwave and terahertz regimes.

Multi-Direction-Tunable Three-Dimensional Meta-Atoms for Reversible Switching between Midwave and Long-Wave Infrared Regimes

We introduce an electromechanically tunable metasurface composed of an array of three-dimensional nanosplit-rings for reversible and large-range changes of optical characteristics in infrared (IR) regime. When a current is induced or withdrawn, each nanosplit ring in the surface can deform in multi directions and consequently become a closed (OFF) or an open (ON) state. Theoretical and experimental results manifest that, as the metasurface is dynamically manipulated between the ON and OFF states, the corresponding resonance absorption will reversibly switch between the long wave (around 10.4 μm) and midwave (around 6.3 μm) IR regimes, two key IR spectral windows, and the reversible relative reflection changes can reach up to 95%.

Broadband terahertz metamaterial absorber based on sectional asymmetric structures

We suggest and demonstrate the concept and design of sectional asymmetric structures which can manipulate the metamaterial absorber’s working bandwidth with maintaining the other inherent advantages. As an example, a broadband terahertz perfect absorber is designed to confirm its effectiveness. The absorber’s each cell integrates four sectional asymmetric rings, and the entire structure composed of Au and Si₃N₄ is only 1.9 μm thick. The simulation results show the bandwidth with absorptivity being larger than 90% is extended by about 2.8 times comparing with the conventional square ring absorber. The composable small cell, ultra-thin, and broadband absorption with polarization and incident angle insensitivity will make the absorber suitable for the applications of focal plane array terahertz imaging.

Diode-based microbolometer with performance enhanced by broadband metamaterial absorber

This Letter reports a microbolometer integrated with a broadband metamaterial absorber (MMA) to enhance its performance, which contains series-connected silicon diodes as the temperature sensor. The broadband MMA is readily integrated into the device by introducing an array of different-sized square resonators on the silicon nitride structural layer, while the widened titanium interconnecting wires between individual diodes serve as the ground plane. In a comparative experiment, the broadband MMA was demonstrated to be superior to the ordinary silicon nitride absorber in a broad spectra range, especially in a long-wavelength IR regime, which directly leads to an increase in IR responsivity by 60%. More importantly, this enhancement in responsivity was achieved with no sacrifice of the response time due to the negligible thermal mass of the introduced resonator array.

Voltage-tunable dual-layer terahertz metamaterials

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a real-time voltage-tunable terahertz metamaterial based on microelectromechanical systems and broadside-coupled split-ring resonators. In our metamaterial, the magnetic and electric interactions between the coupled resonators are modulated by a comb-drive actuator, which provides continuous lateral shifting between the coupled resonators by up to 20 μm. For these strongly coupled split-ring resonators, both a symmetric mode and an anti-symmetric mode are observed. With increasing lateral shift, the electromagnetic interactions between the split-ring resonators weaken, resulting in frequency shifting of the resonant modes. Over the entire lateral shift range, the symmetric mode blueshifts by ~60 GHz, and the anti-symmetric mode redshifts by ~50 GHz. The amplitude of the transmission at 1.03 THz is modulated by 74%; moreover, a 180° phase shift is achieved at 1.08 THz. Our tunable metamaterial device has myriad potential applications, including terahertz spatial light modulation, phase modulation, and chemical sensing. Furthermore, the scheme that we have implemented can be scaled to operate at other frequencies, thereby enabling a wide range of distinct applications.

Observation of tunable nonlinear effects in an analogue of superconducting composite right/left hand filter

Artificial structures with negative permittivity or permeability have attracted significant attention in the science community because they provide a pathway for obtaining exotic electromagnetic properties not found in natural materials. At the moment, the great challenge of these artificial structures in microwave frequency exhibits a relatively large loss. It is well-known that superconducting thin films have extremely low surface resistance. Hence, it is a good candidate to resolve this constraint. Besides, the reported artificial structures with negative permittivity or permeability are mainly focusing on linear regime of wave propagation. However, any future effort in creating tunable structures would require knowledge of nonlinear properties. In this work, a tunable superconducting filter with composite right/left-hand transmission property is proposed and fabricated. Its nonlinear effects on temperature and power are studied by theoretical analysis and experiments.

Three-dimensional THz lumped-circuit resonators

Our work describes a novel three dimensional meta-material resonator design for optoelectronic applications in the THz spectral range. In our resonant circuits, the capacitors are formed by double-metal regions cladding a dielectric core. Unlike conventional planar metamaterials, the electric field is perpendicular to the surface and totally confined in the dielectric core. Furthermore, the magnetic field, confined in the inductive part, is parallel to the electric field, ruling out coupling through propagation effects. Our geometry thus combines the benefit of double-metal structures that provide parallel plate capacitors, while maintaining the ability of meta-material resonators to adjust independently the capacitive and inductive parts. Furthermore, in our geometry, a constant bias can be applied across the dielectric, making these resonators very suitable for applications such as ultra-low dark current THz quantum detectors and amplifiers based on quantum cascade gain medium.

MEMS reconfigurable metamaterial for terahertz switchable filter and modulator

We demonstrate a reconfigurable metamaterial developed by surface micromachining technique on a low loss quartz substrate for a tunable terahertz filter application. The device implements a reconfigurable RF-MEMS (radio frequency - micro electro mechanical systems) capacitor within a split-ring resonator (SRR). Time-domain spectroscopy confirms that the tunability of the SRR resonance and thus the terahertz transmittance are electrostatically controlled by the RF-MEMS capacitor. Due to the high transparency and low loss of quartz used as a substrate, the device exhibits a high contrast switching performance of 16.5 dB at 480 GHz, which is also supported by the terahertz dynamic modulation measurement results. The device shows promise for tunable transmission terahertz optics.

Multispectral metamaterial absorber

We present the simulation, implementation, and measurement of a multispectral metamaterial absorber (MSMMA) and show that we can realize a simple absorber structure that operates in the mid-IR and terahertz (THz) bands. By embedding an IR metamaterial absorber layer into a standard THz metamaterial absorber stack, a narrowband resonance is induced at a wavelength of 4.3 μm. This resonance is in addition to the THz metamaterial absorption resonance at 109 μm (2.75 THz). We demonstrate the inherent scalability and versatility of our MSMMA by describing a second device whereby the MM-induced IR absorption peak frequency is tuned by varying the IR absorber geometry. Such a MSMMA could be coupled with a suitable sensor and formed into a focal plane array, enabling multispectral imaging.

Bi-material terahertz sensors using metamaterial structures

In this paper we report on the design, fabrication and characterization of terahertz (THz) bi-material sensors with metamaterial absorbers. MEMS fabrication-friendly SiOx and Al are used to maximize the bimetallic effect and metamaterial absorption at 3.8 THz, the frequency of a quantum cascade laser illumination source. Sensors with different configurations were fabricated and the measured absorption is near 100% and responsivity is around 1.2 deg/μW, which agree well with finite element simulations. The results indicate the potential of using these detectors to fabricate focal plane arrays for real time THz imaging.

Plasmonically enhanced thermomechanical detection of infrared radiation

Nanoplasmonics has been an attractive area of research due to its ability to localize and manipulate freely propagating radiation on the nanometer scale for strong light-matter interactions. Meanwhile, nanomechanics has set records in the sensing of mass, force, and displacement. In this work, we report efficient coupling between infrared radiation and nanomechanical resonators through nanoantenna enhanced thermoplasmonic effects. Using efficient conversion of electromagnetic energy to mechanical energy in this plasmo-thermomechanical platform with a nanoslot plasmonic absorber integrated directly on a nanobeam mechanical resonator, we demonstrate room-temperature detection of nanowatt level power fluctuations in infrared radiation. We expect our approach, which combines nanoplasmonics with nanomechanical resonators, to lead to optically controlled nanomechanical systems enabling unprecedented functionality in biomolecular and toxic gas sensing and on-chip mass spectroscopy.

Experimental realization of a metamaterial detector focal plane array

We present a metamaterial absorber detector array that enables room-temperature, narrow-band detection of gigahertz (GHz) radiation in the S band (2-4 GHz). The system is implemented in a commercial printed circuit board process and we characterize the detector sensitivity and angular dependence. A modified metamaterial absorber geometry allows for each unit cell to act as an isolated detector pixel and to collectively form a focal plane array . Each pixel can have a dedicated microwave receiver chain and functions together as a hybrid device tuned to maximize the efficiency of detected power. The demonstrated subwavelength pixel shows detected sensitivity of -77 dBm, corresponding to a radiation power density of 27 nW/m(2), with pixel to pixel coupling interference below -14 dB at 2.5 GHz.

Metamaterial electromagnetic wave absorbers

The advent of negative index materials has spawned extensive research into metamaterials over the past decade. Metamaterials are attractive not only for their exotic electromagnetic properties, but also their promise for applications. A particular branch-the metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA)-has garnered interest due to the fact that it can achieve unity absorptivity of electromagnetic waves. Since its first experimental demonstration in 2008, the MPA has progressed significantly with designs shown across the electromagnetic spectrum, from microwave to optical. In this Progress Report we give an overview of the field and discuss a selection of examples and related applications. The ability of the MPA to exhibit extreme performance flexibility will be discussed and the theory underlying their operation and limitations will be established. Insight is given into what we can expect from this rapidly expanding field and future challenges will be addressed.

Microelectromechanical systems bimaterial terahertz sensor with integrated metamaterial absorber

This Letter describes the fabrication of a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) bimaterial terahertz (THz) sensor operating at 3.8 THz. The incident THz radiation is absorbed by a metamaterial structure integrated with the bimaterial. The absorber was designed with a resonant frequency matching the quantum cascade laser illumination source while simultaneously providing structural support, desired thermomechanical properties and optical readout access. Measurement showed that the fabricated absorber has nearly 90% absorption at 3.8 THz. A responsivity of 0.1°/μW and a time constant of 14 ms were observed. The use of metamaterial absorbers allows for tuning the sensor response to the desired frequency to achieve high sensitivity for potential THz imaging applications.