Compact multiband left-handed metamaterial at terahertz frequencies

We design and analyze a novel multiband left-handed metamaterial based on a fishnet-like structure at terahertz (THz) frequencies.The metamaterial exhibits simultaneous negative refractions around the frequencies of 0.48,1.05,and 1.19 THz for the electromagnetic (EM) wave normal incidence,and around the frequencies of 0.20,0.79,and 1.13 THz for parallel incidence.The simulated results verify the left-handed properties.A particularly important observation is the capability of the proposed metamaterial with a single geometrical structure to display multifrequency operations in a unit cell.The compact metamaterial is a major step toward the miniaturization of THz materials and devices suitable for multifrequencies.     

Fabrication of terahertz metamaterials by laser printing

A laser printing technique was used to fabricate split-ring resonators (SRRs) on Si substrates for terahertz (THz) metamaterials and their resonance behavior evaluated by THz time-domain spectroscopy. The laser-printed Ag SRRs exhibited sharp edge definition and excellent thickness uniformity, which resulted in an electromagnetic response similar to that from identical Au SRR structures prepared by conventional photolithography. These results demonstrate that laser printing is a practical alternative to conventional photolithography for fabricating metamaterial structures at terahertz frequencies, since it allows their design to be easily modified and optimized.     

基于石墨烯编码超构材料的太赫兹波束多功能动态调控

提出了一种基于石墨烯带的太赫兹波段的1 bit编码超构材料,可以实现太赫兹波束的数目、频率、幅度等参数多功能动态调控.该结构由金属薄膜、聚酰亚胺、硅、二氧化硅、石墨烯带组成.通过对石墨烯带施加两种不同的电压,可以实现一定频率范围内相位差接近180?的"0"和"1"数字编码单元,进而构成1 bit动态可控的编码超构材料.全波仿真结果表明,不同序列的编码超构材料能够实现波束数目从单波束、双波束、多波束到宽波束的调控.相同序列的编码超构材料,通过施加石墨烯带的不同电压能够实现宽频段波束频率的偏移.对于000000或者111111周期序列的编码超构材料,通过施加石墨烯带的不同电压还能够实现波束幅度的调控.因此这种基于石墨烯带的编码超构材料为灵活调控太赫兹波提供了一种新的途径,将在雷达隐身、成像、宽带通信等方面具有重要的意义.     

Broadband visible metamaterial absorber based on a three-dimensional structure

In this paper, a broadband metamaterial absorber is successfully designed by a three-dimensional structure. And the three-dimensional absorber is just obtained by a two-dimensional structure which rotates 90°along x-axis. The simulated results show that the absorption of the three-dimensional metamaterial absorber is much better than the two-dimensional absorber. Moreover, the absorber is polarization-sensitive for the incident electromagnetic waves due to the asymmetry of the structure. Compared with the Y-polarization wave, the proposed absorber can realize broadband absorption with greater than 90% from 355.6 to 737.7 THz for X-polarized wave. Finally, based on the analysis of the electric field and surface current distributions, it can demonstrate that the localized surface plasmons and dipoles resonances will play an important role in the broadband absorption. And we believe that the metamaterial absorber will have many potential applications in emitter and energy harvesting.     

基于二氧化钒宽、窄带可切换的双功能超材料吸收器研究

本文提出了一种宽、窄带可切换的双功能超材料吸收器.在超材料吸收器的结构中,引入了相变材料二氧化钒(VO2),仅利用单个可切换超表面就能实现不同的功能,其不同功能之间的相互转换通过VO2绝缘态和金属态之间的可逆相变特性实现.当VO2处于金属态时,设计的结构可以看作一个超材料宽带吸收器.仿真结果表明,在1.55THz至2....     

Three-dimensional surface current loops in broadband responsive negative refractive metamaterial with isotropy

We propose a bulk negative refractive index (NRI) metamaterial composed of periodic array of tightly coupled metallic cross-pairs printed on the six sides of a cube for applications of superlenses. The structural characteristics of the three-dimensional (3D) metamaterial consist in the high symmetry and the superposition of metallic cross-pairs, which can increase the magnetic inductive coupling between adjacent cross-pairs and realize a broadband and isotropic NRI. The proposed 3D structure is simulated using the CST Microwave Studio 2006 to verify the design validity. The simulation results show that the proposed structure can not only realize simultaneously an electric and magnetic response to an incident electromagnetic (EM) wave, but also exhibit a broadband NRI whose relative bandwidth can reach up to 56.7%. In addition, the NRI band is insensitive to the polarization and the incident angle of the incident EM wave. Therefore, the proposed metamaterial is a good candidate material as three-dimensional broadband isotropic NRI metamaterial.     

Multi-band terahertz two-handed metamaterial based on the combined ring and cross pairs

We present the design of a Multiband two-handed metamaterial (MM) with the composite structure combined ring and cross pairs (RP + CP) in the terahertz regime. The dual-band left-handed and single-band right-handed transmission properties of this composite structure were explored by the FDTD method. The MM exhibits left-handed and right-handed transmission pass bands around the frequencies of 0.43 THz, 1.32 THz and 0.85 THz for the terahertz electromagnetic (EM) wave normal incidence, respectively. The surface currents distributions are demonstrated to discuss the physical mechanism of the left-handed properties of the proposed MM. The retrieved equivalent EM parameters and the refraction phenomenon based on a wedge-shaped model verify the left-handed properties. Furthermore, the dual-band left-handed transmission properties of RP + CP structure can be tunable individually by changing the structural parameters. The presented design of terahertz two-handed MM offers a flexibility for investigation of their novel EM properties, and important terahertz device applications.     

Planar terahertz metamaterial with three-resonant frequencies

In this paper, we study a three-resonant metamaterial with the combination of dual-resonant and single-resonant metamaterials. We present a new method to design multi-resonant metamaterial, which has a smaller dimension than general symmetric and asymmetric multi-resonant metamaterials. Theoretical and experimental results show that the structure has three distinct absorption frequencies centering around 0.29 THz, 0.46 THz, and 0.92 THz, and that each of them corresponds to a different resonant mode. Due to the good separation of the different resonances, this design provides a unique and effective method to construct multiband terahertz devices.     

Designing polarization insensitive negative index metamaterial for operation in near infrared

Hexagonal arrays of gold nanoelements with C₃ symmetry are studied as a metamaterial slab of reduced anisotropy. Tri-dimensional (3D) finite-difference time domain (FDTD) simulations are used to calculate the reflected and transmitted electromagnetic field for two waves normally incident to the slab with mutually perpendicular polarizations. S-parameter method is used to retrieve the constitutive parameters for each polarization. While dipolar plasmonic resonance in the case of one layer metamaterial slab leads only to negative values of permittivity, using two layers of asymmetric nanoelements leads to a negative refractive index metamaterial in the near infrared range (158–172 THz) as a result of hybridized plasmonic states inversion.     

A simple design of ultra-broadband and polarization insensitive terahertz metamaterial absorber

Ultra-broadband metamaterial absorbers have attracted considerable attention due to their great prospect for practical applications. These absorbers are usually stacked by many (no. <20) different shaped or sized subunits in a unit cell, making it quite troublesome to be fabricated. Simple design for ultra-broadband absorber is urgently necessary. Herein, we propose a simple design of ultra-broadband and polarization insensitive terahertz metamaterial absorber based on a double-layered composite structure on a metallic board, and each layer consists of two sets of different sized square metallic plates. Greater than 90 % absorption is obtained across a frequency range of 0.85 THz with the central frequency around 1.60 THz. The relative absorption bandwidth of the device is greatly improved to 53.3 %, which is much larger than previous results. The mechanism of the ultra-broadband absorber is attributed to the overlapping of four closely resonance frequencies. The proposed metamaterial absorber has potential applications in detection, imaging and stealth technology.     

Performance improvement of organic light emitting diode using 4,4$$^{\prime }$$-N,N$$^{\prime }$$-dicarbazole-biphenyl (CBP) layer over fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) surface with doped light emitting region

A metallic fishnet metamaterial structure in sub-THz region is presented. The proposed structure is based on hexagonal resonators. Simulations have been performed by a 3D full-wave electromagnetic simulator and a negative refractive index has been observed at the frequency range between 0.55 and 0.70 THz with the help of the graphene layer. In order to observe the effect of the graphene layer, the metamaterial structure has been simulated and examined before and after graphene integration. Significant modification in the propagation properties has been observed after the graphene integration. Change in S-parameters with the size variation of hexagonal resonators and alteration in graphene thickness are also presented as a parametric study to show the tunability of the structure. Suitability of the metamaterial for sensor applications has been investigated. The proposed metamaterial structure is promising to be effectively used for tunability and sensor applications.     

Negative refractive index in chiral spiral metamaterials at terahertz frequencies

A three-dimensional chiral metamaterial consisting of arrays of the multi-layered mutually twisted metallic spirals is proposed. We theoretically demonstrate such a chiral spiral structure exhibiting negative refractive index at terahertz frequencies. The chirality with varied refractive index can be obtained by change of configurations of the structure. The presented design offers flexibility for investigation of electromagnetic properties of chiral metamaterials in the terahertz regime and thus leads to a unique route to terahertz device applications.     

Polarization-independent broadband terahertz chiral metamaterials on flexible substrate

A THz band-reject filter is designed based on chiral four-fold rotational symmetry metamaterial. This filter was fabricated by laser micro-lens array lithography and characterized by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The resonant frequencies at different twist angles are almost the same, which demonstrates the polarization independence of the structure. The electric field distribution is simulated to explain the physics mechanism behind the polarization independence. By stacking multiple metamaterial layers together, a THz broadband reject filter at a bandwidth of 0.461 THz is experimentally achieved.     

太赫兹超材料生物传感器的应用研究进展

太赫兹（THz）波,是指频率范围在0.1～10 THz的电磁波,在电磁波谱中处于红外与微波之间。太赫兹波的光子能量相对于可见光更低,1 THz对应的能量大约只有4.14 meV,意味着这将大大减少对生物体内组织器官的辐射而引起的伤害,不会对生物分子产生电离。因此,该波段在基础科学、人体安检、危险品检测、高速通信和医学成像等领域具有重要的潜在应用价值。但在医药和生物探测的应用中,通常需要检测微量的分析物,这就需要更高的灵敏度和检测的准确度。但是现存的检测方法受到太赫兹波强度检测可靠性不高的影响。基于超材料的生物传感可以通过增强局域电磁谐振,实现亚波长分辨,大大提高了传感器的分辨率与灵敏度,引起了人们的广泛关注。超材料是一种人工设计的周期性结构,通过合理设计可以增强局域电磁谐振响应,实现亚波长分辨,大大提高传感器的分辨率与灵敏度。太赫兹超材料传感器为生物传感领域提供了一种新的检测方法,具有灵敏度高、响应速度快、无标记检测等优点。随着微纳加工技术的快速发展,制作超材料太赫兹传感器的成本不断降低,从而在生物医学领域具有非常大的潜在应用价值。基于超材料的太赫兹传感器的研究已成为目前一个非常热门的国际前沿方向。但是关于太赫兹超材料传感器的最新研究进展未见报道,为此通过大量搜集并整理相关资料,综述了太赫兹超材料传感器在各种生物探测场景中的最新应用,分别从医学诊断、食品安全、农药检测等方面展开介绍。最后,对太赫兹超材料在生物传感器的发展和应用前景进行了总结和展望。该研究将为人们充分掌握太赫兹超材料生物传感器的最新应用进展提供重要参考,同时为太赫兹超材料传感器的发展和应用提供方向性的指导。     

Multiband terahertz metamaterial absorber

This paper reports the design of a multiband metamaterial (MM) absorber in the terahertz region. Theoretical and simulated results show that the absorber has four distinct and strong absorption points at 1.69, 2.76, 3.41 and 5.06 THz, which are consistent with `fingerprints' of some explosive materials. The retrieved material parameters show that the impedance of MM could be tuned to match approximately the impedance of the free space to minimise the reflectance at absorption frequencies and large power loss exists at absorption frequencies. The distribution of the power loss indicates that the absorber is an excellent electromagnetic wave collector: the wave is first trapped and reinforced in certain specific locations and then consumed. This multiband absorber has applications in the detection of explosives and materials characterisation.     

光频三维各向同性左手超材料结构单元模型的仿真设计

基于树枝结构单元思想,提出了光频三维各向同性左手超材料球刺结构单元模型.采用金属的Drude原理,运用等效媒质理论,仿真研究了结构的电磁响应特性.在晶格间距与工作波长的比值满足等效媒质理论要求的前提下,通过调节结构单元的几何参数,发现它能在光波段出现介电常数和磁导率同时为负值的区域,实现折射率小于零的左手超材料响应特性.该模型结构简单,具有各向同性特点.研究结果为采用"由下向上"方法制备光波段的三维左手超材料指出了新的途径. 关键词： 球刺模型 光波段 三维 各向同性     

基于石墨烯和二氧化钒的太赫兹宽带可调谐超材料吸收器

太赫兹超材料吸收器作为一种重要的太赫兹功能器件,被广泛应用于生物医学传感、电磁隐身、军用雷达等多个领域.但这种传统的超材料吸收器结构具有可调谐性差、功能单一、性能指标不足等缺点,已经无法满足复杂多变的电磁环境的要求,因此可调谐超材料吸收器逐渐成为了太赫兹功能器件领域的研究热点.为实现超材料吸收器吸收特性的调谐,通常从调...     

Photoexcited Blueshift and Redshift Switchable Metamaterial Absorber at Terahertz Frequencies

We propose a design and numerical study of an optically blueshift and redshift switchable metamaterial(MM)absorber in the terahertz regime. The MM absorber comprises a periodic array of metallic split-ring resonators(SRRs) with semiconductor silicon embedded in the gaps of MM resonators. The absorptive frequencies of the MM can be shifted by applying an external pump power. The simulation results show that, for photoconductivity of silicon ranging between 1 S/m and 4000 S/m, the resonance peak of the absorption spectra shifts to higher frequencies, from 0.67 THz to 1.63 THz, with a resonance tuning range of 59%. As the conductivity of silicon increases, the resonance frequencies of the MM absorber are continuously tuned from 1.60 THz to 1.16 THz, a redshift tuning range of 28%. As the conductivity increases above 30000 S/m, the resonance frequencies tend to be stable while the absorption peak has a merely tiny variation. The optical-tuned absorber has potential applications as a terahertz modulator or switch.     

Terahertz bandpass filters using double-stacked metamaterial layers

Bandpass filters are reported based on double-stacked metamaterial layers separated by an air gap for operation at terahertz frequencies. Several stacking configurations were investigated designed for a ~0.5 THz center frequency. The filters exhibited improved spectral transmission properties when compared with conventional ones based on single metamaterial layers. 3 dB bandwidth of ~78 GHz and sidelobe suppression ratio >16 dB were determined when symmetric or asymmetric double layers were stacked. We demonstrate that superior frequency selectivity can be achieved when metamaterial layers with different unit cells are used. Good agreement was found between measured and simulated transmission response.     

基于圆台结构的超宽带极化不敏感太赫兹吸收器

本文提出一种基于圆台形吸收单元的超宽带、极化不敏感的超材料太赫兹吸收器. 该超材料吸收器采用金属薄膜金和介质层二氧化硅交替叠加的多层结构. 采用商业软件CST Studio Suite 2009时域求解器计算了其在0–10 THz波段内的吸收率A（ω）,在2–10 THz之间实现了对入射太赫兹波的超宽频带强吸收. 仿真结果表明,由于其圆台形单元结构,在器件垂直方向上形成一系列不同尺寸的微型吸收器,产生了吸收频点相连的多频吸收峰. 利用不同吸收峰的耦合叠加效应,获得超过8 THz的超宽带太赫兹波吸收,吸收强度达到92.3%以上. 这一结构具有超宽带强吸收,360°极化不敏感以及易于加工等优越特性,因而在太赫兹波探测器、光谱成像以及隐身技术方面具有潜在的应用. 关键词： 太赫兹波 超材料吸收器 圆台结构 超宽带