Tunable metamaterial for achieving perfect absorption in response to loss variations

What is it about?

To realize perfect absorption of an electromagnetic wave in a metamaterial, the interaction between the electromagnetic wave and the metamaterial needs to be tuned while maintaining zero reflection. We show in this study that the interaction can be tuned by changing the arrangement of the unit structures of the metamaterial without altering their structure and that narrowband perfect absorption occurs at a certain arrangement.

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Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Why is it important?

It has already been shown that label-free sensing of various molecules and substances can be achieved using resonance in metamaterials. However, based on this previously developed technique, this resonance becomes difficult to observe when the loss of the sensed materials varies considerably. In contrast, this resonance can be clearly observed by tuning the arrangement of the unit structure of the metamaterial in response to the loss variation of the sensed materials based on the technique developed in this study. Therefore, this study could lead to the development of material sensing techniques, especially for lossy materials.