Tunable multiband terahertz metamaterials using a reconfigurable electric split-ring resonator array

摘要

Researchers in Singapore have developed metamaterials whose shape and optical properties can be easily reconfigured. Metamaterials are artificial structures much smaller than the wavelength of light that can achieve functionalities not possible with conventional optics. Chengkuo Lee and colleagues at the National University of Singapore achieved reconfigurable control by fabricating metamaterials on micrometer-scale cantilevers. Applying an electrical voltage bends the cantilevers vertically and thus changes the shape of each component in the metamaterial. As the active elements of the device move away from each other with increasing cantilever height, the optical resonance of the device shifts. The researchers performed their investigation in the terahertz regime, although in principle the concept can be applied to the entire electromagnetic spectrum. This approach could lead to novel applications in which optical functionalities can be freely tuned by an electrical voltage.