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Design and Applications of Terahertz Metamaterials

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical and Photonic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2024) | Viewed by 9401

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Prof. Dr. Lin Chen

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Guest Editor

School of Optoelectronic Information and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
Interests: terahertz technology; waveguides; plasmonics; metamaterials and metasurfaces

Prof. Dr. Jiusheng Li

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Guest Editor

Center for Terahertz Research, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
Interests: terahertz wave; metamaterials; photonic crystal

Dr. Jiaming Xu

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Guest Editor

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758, USA
Interests: terahertz technology; plasmonics; nano-structure; III-V semiconductor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Terahertz waves and relevant technologies have become a new field in the area of electromagnetic waves in recent years. They have attracted a great deal of interest from researchers all over the world, with research on them being very popular. As a new favorite in the field of materials, metamaterials and metasurfaces have been used in a large quantity of designs for functional devices in the terahertz region. They are different from existing materials in nature, as they can accomplish many complicated and unique functions through a well-designed unit structure. Terahertz metamaterials have received sufficient interest and been a hot topic in the terahertz field; they include all-dielectric metamaterials, reconfigurable metamaterials, flexible metamaterials, graphene metamaterials, tunable metamaterials, coding metamaterials, and metasurfaces. Many types of meta-devices have been demonstrated in recent years, such as meta-lens, phase shifter, invisible cloak, absorber, holography, meta-sensor, vortex beam generator, and so on. This Special Issue aims to cover these developments and focus on the design and application of terahertz metamaterials.

Prof. Dr. Lin Chen
Prof. Dr. Jiusheng Li
Dr. Jiaming Xu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

terahertz technology
metamaterials
metasurface
surface plasmons
active control
metasensor

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 25729 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Polarization-Insensitive, Vanadium Dioxide-Based Dynamically Tunable Multiband Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber

by Mohsin Raza, Xiaoman Li, Chenlu Mao, Fenghua Liu, Hongbo He and Weiping Wu

Materials 2024, 17(8), 1757; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17081757 - 11 Apr 2024

Viewed by 426

Abstract

A tunable multiband terahertz metamaterial absorber, based on vanadium dioxide (VO₂), is demonstrated. The absorber comprises a three-layer metal–insulator–metal (MIM) configuration with a split ring and slots of VO₂ on the uppermost layer, a middle dielectric substrate based on silicon dioxide (SiO₂), and a gold reflector on the back. The simulation results indicate that, when VO₂ is in the metallic state, the proposed metamaterial exhibits nearly perfect absorption at six distinct frequencies. The design achieves an average absorption of 98.2%. The absorptivity of the metamaterial can be dynamically tuned from 4% to 100% by varying the temperature-controlled conductivity of VO₂. The proposed metamaterial absorber exhibits the advantages of polarization insensitivity and maintains its absorption over 80% under different incident angle conditions. The underlying physical mechanism of absorption is explained through impedance matching theory, interference theory, and the distribution of electric fields. The ability to achieve multiband absorption with tunable characteristics makes the proposed absorber a promising candidate for applications in terahertz sensing, imaging, communication, and detection. The polarization insensitivity further enhances its practicality in various scenarios, allowing for versatile and reliable performance in terahertz systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Applications of Terahertz Metamaterials)

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16 pages, 3262 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fano Resonances in Metal Gratings with Sub-Wavelength Slits on High Refractive Index Silicon

by Abdelhaq Belkacem, Hammou Oubeniz, Hicham Mangach, Muamer Kadic, Noureddine Cherkaoui Eddeqaqi, Abdenbi Bouzid and Younes Achaoui

Materials 2023, 16(21), 6982; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16216982 - 31 Oct 2023

Viewed by 715

Abstract

The enhancement of optical waves through perforated plates has received particular attention over the past two decades. This phenomenon can occur due to two distinct and independent mechanisms, namely, nanoscale enhanced optical transmission and micron-scale Fabry–Perot resonance. The aim of the present paper is to shed light on the coupling potential between two neighboring slots filled with two different materials with contrasting physical properties (air and silicon, for example). Using theoretical predictions and numerical simulations, we highlight the role of each constituent material; the low-index material (air) acts as a continuum, while the higher-index material (silicon) exhibits discrete states. This combination gives rise to the so-called Fano resonance, well known since the early 1960s. In particular, it has been demonstrated that optimized geometrical parameters can create sustainable and robust band gaps at will, which provides the scientific community with a further genuine alternative to control optical waves. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Applications of Terahertz Metamaterials)

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17 pages, 4878 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Specularly-Reflected Wave Guidance of Terahertz Plasmonic Metamaterial Based on the Metal-Wire-Woven Hole Arrays: Functional Design and Application of Transmission Spectral Dips

by Borwen You, Ryuji Iwasa, Po-Lun Chen, Tun-Yao Hung, Chih-Feng Huang, Chin-Ping Yu and Hsin-Ying Lee

Materials 2023, 16(12), 4463; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16124463 - 19 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 894

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) plasmonic metamaterial, based on a metal-wire-woven hole array (MWW-HA), is investigated for the distinct power depletion in the transmittance spectrum of 0.1–2 THz, including the reflected waves from metal holes and woven metal wires. Woven metal wires have four orders of power depletion, which perform sharp dips in a transmittance spectrum. However, only the first-order dip at the metal–hole–reflection band dominates specular reflection with a phase retardation of approximately π. The optical path length and metal surface conductivity are modified to study MWW-HA specular reflection. This experimental modification shows that the first order of MWW-HA power depletion is sustainable and sensitively correlated with a bending angle of the woven metal wire. Specularly reflected THz waves are successfully presented in hollow-core pipe wave guidance specified from MWW-HA pipe wall reflectivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Applications of Terahertz Metamaterials)

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12 pages, 8249 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Bidirectional Terahertz Vortex Beam Regulator

by Jiusheng Li, Fenglei Guo, Shuping Zhang and Chao Liu

Materials 2022, 15(23), 8639; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15238639 - 3 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1643

Abstract

Most of the reported vortex beam generators with orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the terahertz region only operate in either the reflection mode or the transmission mode, which greatly limits the integration and application in terahertz technology systems. Herein, we propose a full-space vortex beam regulator at two different frequencies. By changing the VO₂ phase transition state, the transmission and reflection mode OAM beams can be flexibly controlled by a single metasurface. For the transmission mode, the proposed structure realizes an OAM beam at the topological charges of l = 1 and 2 at 0.6 THz and 1.4 THz. For the reflection mode, our structure generates an OAM beam at the topological charges of l = 1 and 2 at 0.9 THz and 1.5 THz. Based on the superposition theorem and convolution operation principle, the regulation of an OAM vortex beam with a specific deflection angle and a symmetrical deflection OAM vortex beam are realized. The designed metasurface integrates multiple transmitted and reflected vortex beam functions in full space and has potential application in different terahertz systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Applications of Terahertz Metamaterials)

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14 pages, 3533 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhanced Sensing Capacity of Terahertz Triple-Band Metamaterials Absorber Based on Pythagorean Fractal Geometry

by Alin Gheorghita Mazare, Yadgar I. Abdulkarim, Ayoub Sabir Karim, Mehmet Bakır, Mohamed Taouzari, Fahmi F. Muhammadsharif, Bhargav Appasani, Olcay Altıntaş, Muharrem Karaaslan and Nicu Bizon

Materials 2022, 15(18), 6364; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15186364 - 13 Sep 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1662

Abstract

A new design of a triple band perfect metamaterial absorber based on Pythagorean fractal geometry is proposed and analyzed for terahertz sensing applications. The proposed design showed an enhanced sensing performance and achieved three intensive peaks at 33.93, 36.27, and 38.39 THz, corresponding to the absorptivity of 98.5%, 99.3%, and 99.6%, respectively. Due to the symmetrical nature of the recommended design, the structure exhibited the characteristics of independency on the incident wave angles. Furthermore, a parametric study was performed to show the effects of the change in substrate type, resonator material, and substrate thickness on the absorption spectrum. At a fixed analyte thickness (0.5 μm), the resonance frequency of the design was found to be sensitive to the refractive index of the surrounding medium. The proposed design presented three ultra-sensitive responses of 1730, 1590, and 2050 GHz/RIU with the figure of merit (FoM) of 3.20, 1.54, and 4.28, respectively, when the refractive index was changed from 1.0 to 1.4. Additionally, the metamaterial sensor showed a sensitivity of 1230, 2270, and 1580 GHz/μm at the three resonance frequencies, respectively, when it was utilized for the detection of thickness variation at a fixed analyte refractive index (RI) of 1.4. As long as the RI of the biomedical samples is between 1.3 and 1.4, the proposed sensor can be used for biomedical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Applications of Terahertz Metamaterials)

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14 pages, 5445 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

A Novel Method for Carbendazim High-Sensitivity Detection Based on the Combination of Metamaterial Sensor and Machine Learning

by Ruizhao Yang, Yun Li, Jincun Zheng, Jie Qiu, Jinwen Song, Fengxia Xu and Binyi Qin

Materials 2022, 15(17), 6093; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15176093 - 2 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1467

Abstract

Benzimidazole fungicide residue in food products poses a risk to consumer health. Due to its localized electric-field enhancement and high-quality factor value, the metamaterial sensor is appropriate for applications regarding food safety detection. However, the previous detection method based on the metamaterial sensor only considered the resonance dip shift. It neglected other information contained in the spectrum. In this study, we proposed a method for highly sensitive detection of benzimidazole fungicide using a combination of a metamaterial sensor and mean shift machine learning method. The unit cell of the metamaterial sensor contained a cut wire and two split-ring resonances. Mean shift, an unsupervised machine learning method, was employed to analyze the THz spectrum. The experiment results show that our proposed method could detect carbendazim concentrations as low as 0.5 mg/L. The detection sensitivity was enhanced 200 times compared to that achieved using the metamaterial sensor only. Our present work demonstrates a potential application of combining a metamaterial sensor and mean shift in benzimidazole fungicide residue detection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Applications of Terahertz Metamaterials)

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14 pages, 9547 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Development and Analysis of Coding and Tailored Metamaterial for Terahertz Frequency Applications

by Tayaallen Ramachandran, Mohammad Rashed Iqbal Faruque, Mohammad Tariqul Islam, Mayeen Uddin Khandaker, Amal Alqahtani and D. A. Bradley

Materials 2022, 15(8), 2777; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15082777 - 10 Apr 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1810

Abstract

This study represents the development and analysis of the types of metamaterial structures for terahertz frequency. Recently, investigations about unique coding metamaterial have become well-known among the scientific community since it can manipulate electromagnetic (EM) waves by utilizing various coding sequences. Therefore, several coding and tailored metamaterial designs were compared and numerically analyzed the performances in this research work. The 1-bit coding metamaterial made up of only “0” and “1” elements by adopting two types of unit cells with 0 and π phase responses were analyzed for the coding metamaterial. Moreover, for the numerical simulation analyses, the well-known Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio software was adopted. This investigation focused on the frequency ranges from 0 to 5 THz. On the other hand, the proposed designs were simulated to find their scattering parameter behavior. The comparison of coding and tailored metamaterial revealed slight differences in the RCS values. The coding metamaterial designs manifested RCS values less than −50 dBm², while tailored metamaterial designs exhibited less than −60 dBm². Furthermore, the proposed designs displayed various transmission coefficient result curves for both types of metamaterial. Moreover, the bistatic far-field scattering patterns of both metamaterial designs were presented in this work. In a nutshell, the 1-bit coding metamaterial with a unique sequence can influence the EM waves and realize different functionalities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Applications of Terahertz Metamaterials)

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