Abstract
In this paper we perform an in-depth theoretical study of a sensing platform based on epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials. The structure proposed for sensing is a narrow metallic waveguide channel. An equivalent circuit model is rigorously deduced using transmission line theory, considering several configurations for a dielectric body (analyte sample) inserted within the narrow channel, showing good agreement with results obtained from numerical simulations. The transmission line model is able to reproduce even the most peculiar details of the sensing platform response. Its performance is then evaluated by varying systematically the size, position and permittivity of the analyte, and height of the ENZ channel. It is shown that the sensor is capable of detecting changes in the permittivity/refractive index or position even with deeply subwavelength analyte sizes (∼0.05λ0), giving a sensitivity up to 0.03 m/RIU and a figure of Merit ∼25. The effective medium approach is evaluated by treating the inhomogeneous cross-section of the analyte as a transmission line filled with a homogeneous material.
Highlights
30 April 2019An equivalent circuit model is rigorously deduced using transmission line theory, considering several configurations for a dielectric body (analyte sample) inserted within the narrow channel, showing good agreement with results obtained from numerical simulations
Since metamaterials were introduced several years ago, the possibility to arbitrarily control the electromagnetic parameters of a material has become a strong field of research in the scientific community [1]
Metamaterials with near-zero values of permittivity, so called epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials, have become an interesting subfield of research due to their fascinating properties, such as an almost infinite wavelength and close to zero values of group velocity in unbounded lossless ENZ media [22, 23]
Summary
An equivalent circuit model is rigorously deduced using transmission line theory, considering several configurations for a dielectric body (analyte sample) inserted within the narrow channel, showing good agreement with results obtained from numerical simulations. The transmission line model is able to reproduce even the most peculiar details of the sensing platform response. Its performance is evaluated by varying systematically the size, position and permittivity of the analyte, and height of the ENZ channel. The effective medium approach is evaluated by treating the inhomogeneous cross-section of the analyte as a transmission line filled with a homogeneous material
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