Continuously tunable terahertz metamaterial employing a thermal actuator

Abstract

In order to increase the flexibility of the resonance frequency, a widely and continuously tunable terahertz metamaterial structure that employs a thermal actuator for tuning the resonance frequency of a two-cut split-ring resonator is proposed in this paper. The tunable metamaterial device model is designed and simulated based on the MetalMUMPs process. The use of V-shaped thermal actuators enables continuous tuning of the resonance frequency over a large range from 1.374 to 1.574 THz. The transmission curves have a sharp dip in every resonance frequency, which indicates an excellent performance of strong resonance. The geometrical parameters of the V-shaped thermal actuator are optimized by COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2 in order to obtain enough displacement under minimum driven current. The relationship between driven current and slabs' displacement is also characterized. The reliability of the metamaterial structure array actuated by the thermal actuator is also calculated and discussed.