Tuning the Resonance in High-Temperature Superconducting Terahertz Metamaterials

Abstract

In this Letter, we present resonance properties in terahertz metamaterials consisting of a split-ring resonator array made from high-temperature superconducting films. By varying the temperature, we observe efficient metamaterial resonance switching and frequency tuning. The results are well reproduced by numerical simulations of metamaterial resonance using the experimentally measured complex conductivity of the superconducting film. We develop a theoretical model that explains the tuning features, which takes into account the resistive resonance damping and additional split-ring inductance contributed from both the real and imaginary parts of the temperature-dependent complex conductivity. The theoretical model further predicts more efficient resonance tuning in metamaterials consisting of a thinner superconducting split-ring resonator array, which are also verified in subsequent experiments.

A review of metasurfaces: physics and applications

“…The frequency tuning range is, however, quite limited and the operation speed is rather slow. THz superconducting metasurfaces consisting of resonant elements made of superconducting films instead of the typically used metals have shown outstanding switching and frequency tuning behaviors via thermal control [208][209][210][211] or photoexcitation [212], although this only applies to microwave and THz frequencies, limiting the applications of active superconducting metasurfaces. The last but not the least, integration of MEMS into metasurfaces has enabled reconfigurable resonances by changing the geometry of the resonant elements through thermal or electrostatic actuation [213][214][215][216][217].…”

Realization of Variable Three‐Dimensional Terahertz Metamaterial Tubes for Passive Resonance Tunability

“…[ 5 , 6 ] Previous experimental studies on tunable metamaterials are focused on active tunability by tuning the optical properties of the substrates using external sources. [7][8][9][10][11] Passive tunability, without any external constituents, is of great signifi cance to realize resonance tunability with simple setup and convenient operation. Structural tunability in the multi-layer metamaterials was proposed to tune the resonance frequency by the relative position of SRRs in the neighboring layers, which demonstrates a potential way to realize passive tunability.…”

Wide-band tuneability, nonlinear transmission, and dynamic multistability in SQUID metamaterials

“…Superconductors, on the other hand, are intrinsically nonlinear materials, due to the extreme sensitivity of the superconducting state in external stimuli [7,8], which moreover exhibit significantly reduced Ohmic losses. They thus provide unique opportunities to the researchers in the field for the fabrication of superconducting metamaterials with highly controllable effective electromagnetic properties including wideband tuneability [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20].…”