Freely-suspended matrix-free metamaterials showing THz left-handed pass bands.pdf

Freely-suspended matrix-free metamaterials showing THz left-handed pass bands H.O. Moser1, J.A. Kong2,3, L.K. Jian1, H.S. Chen2,3, G. Liu1, M. Bahou1, S.M.P. Kalaiselvi1, S.M. Maniam1, X.X. Cheng3, B.I. Wu2, P.D. Gu1, A. Chen1, S.P. Heussler1, Shahrain bin Mahmood1, L. Wen1 1Singapore Synchrotron Light Source (SSLS), National University of Singapore (NUS), 5 Research Link, Singapore 117603 2Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA 3The Electromagnetics Academy at Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China In memoriam Professor Jin Au Kong (1942-2008) Featuring dense spatial distributions of engineered metallic particles, electromagnetic metamaterials exhibit simultaneously negative values of both, dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability, within a resonance frequency band called left-handed passband. Unusual electromagnetic properties are found resulting in promising applications such as sub-wavelength resolution imaging. State-of-the-art micro/nanomanufacturing has led to resonance frequencies reaching the visible red. The common embedding of the metal particles in plastic matrices or deposition on dielectric substrates within a small area severely limits the usefulness of the materials. Here, we use UV or X-ray lithography to build 1 2 comparably large areas and quantities of the first freely-suspended matrix-free metamaterials in which the metallic structures are S-string-like with their ends held by a window-frame. In vacuo spectral characterization combined with simulation reveals left-handed passbands from 1.6 to 2.2 THz. Owing to their size, the devices can be easily handled. They offer a straightforward way of making them tunable and two-dimensionally isotropic. Background After seminal work by Veselago1 and Pendry and co-workers2, 3, the field of electromagnetic metamaterials (EM3) has soared with experimental demonstration