| Infrared Spectroscopy of Novel Electronic and Magnetic Materials | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Electromagnetic metamaterialsElectromagnetic metamaterials are man-made materials comprised of structures whose electromagnetic properties are deliberately engineered to offer a range of response difficult or impossible to achieve in naturally occurring materials or composites. Some astounding applications of metamaterials include (but are not limited to); negative index of refraction (where magnetic and electric response are simultaneously negative), "Perfect" (sub-wavelength) lensing, and electromagnetic "invisibility" cloaks. The goal of our metamaterial research in the Basov lab is to better understand the response of metamaterials, to gain better control over their range of achievable electromagnetic responses, and to investigate new uses for these versatile materials. We carry out this work with the help of many collaborators, including D.R. Smith (Duke), X. Zhang (UC Berkeley), N. Jokerst (Duke), W.Padilla (Boston College), A. Starr (Sensormetrix, inc), and S. Nemat-Nasser. Metamaterial work is supported in part by an ONR MURI program (P.I. Z.Celinski (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs), and through an AFOSR MURI. Below we discuss some of our current or recent metamaterial projects. A remarkable aspect of one particular class of metamaterials is the ability to achieve magnetic permeability µ in a structured medium comprised of conducting non-magnetic elements. This attribute has facilitated creation of artificially magnetic materials at high frequencies where natural magnetism is absent. Resonant response of such a medium termed the Left Handed (LH) behavior has been demonstrated at microwave frequencies by D.R. Smith and S. Schultz (UCSD), and at Terahertz (far-infrared), shown below.
The use of a resonant response allows us metamaterials their unique electromagnetic properties, but it also builds in a limited bandwidth. Dynamic-Tuning (the ability to change the attributes of the resonance in real-time) is a great step towards alleviating the limitations of bandwidth. Our group is working on several approaches to this - ranging form integration into electronic FET devices to hybridization of metamaterials with natural materials that possess advantageous properties. Below is results from one such hybrid metamaterial, a Vanadium Dioxide device. Incorporation of a Vanadium Dioxide layer into our metamaterial allows temperature controlled tuning of greater than 20%
Although metamaterial tuning has been demonstrated for many forms of stimulus (light, temperature, mechanical stress, electrical) have been demonstrated, in most, if not all, cases to date the stimulus must be maintained in order to maintain tuning. This can be a disadvantage if many metamaterial unit-cells are to be tuned to differing degrees. Using VO2, we demonstrated a form of electrical persistent tuning. In this configuration tuning of the metamaterial occurs in response to applied electrical voltage, but remains after voltage is removed. The memory apparent in this configuration is a manifestation of memory-capacitance, a phenomena related to memristance.
Metamaterial Response is most easily thought of in terms of the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability responses. However, these attributes are not directly experimentally accessible. Description of the electric and magnetic metamaterial response from measured reflection and transmission is critical to designing and understanding metamaterials. The Basov lab has developed a coded specialized retrieval fitting routine suited for recovering the electromagnetic response of metamaterials from measured reflection/transmission.
The resonant response of many metamaterials also results in field-amplification, which can be exploited to create new sensors. In a Resonant Electric Dielectric Sensor (REDS). arrangement, the response frequency of the metamaterial shifts in the presence of any dielectric material. The field-amplification concentrates this detection into a small volume, granting significantly increased sensitivity.
Recent publications: Driscoll, T., et al. Memory Metamaterials. Science 2009 315,1518 PDF Driscoll, T., et al., Dynamic tuning of an infrared hybrid-metamaterial resonance using vanadium dioxide. Applied Physics Letters, 2008. 93(2): p. 024101. PDF Driscoll, T., et al., Tuned permeability in terahertz split-ring resonators for devices and sensors. Applied Physics Letters, 2007. 91(6): p. 062511. PDF Driscoll, T., et al., Quantitative investigation of a terahertz artificial magnetic resonance using oblique angle spectroscopy. Applied Physics Letters, 2007. 90(9): p. 092508. PDF Driscoll, T., et al., Electromagnetic characterization of planar metamaterials by oblique angle spectroscopic measurements. Phys. Rev. B, 2007. 75: p. 115114. PDF Driscoll, T., et al., Free-space microwave focusing by a negative-index gradient lens. Applied Physics Letters, 2006. 88(8): p. 081101. PDF
|
|||
t |
|||
 |
|||
THz metamaterials: artificial magnetism
