A metamaterial that is embedded in an in-plane-switching dual-frequency liquid crystal cell is used to develop an electrically controllable terahertz (THz) metamaterial. The resonance peak of the metamaterial can be redshifted and blueshifted as the frequency of an external voltage is switched, and the response times for the redshift and blueshift are 1.044 and 1.376 ms, respectively. A simulation confirms the spectral redshift and blueshift. The variation in peak frequency as a function of applied frequency at the external voltage is presented. Experimental results show that the resonance peak of the metamaterial can be continuously tuned within a frequency range of 15 GHz as the applied frequency is switched between 19 and 22 kHz. Therefore, this metamaterial is a continuously tunable and fast-response THz filter and could be used for THz imaging and THz telecommunications.

Aqueous solutions cannot be detected using transmissive terahertz metamaterials because water strongly absorbs terahertz waves. Transmissive terahertz metamaterials are easier to integrate terahertz emitters and receivers into single and compact devices than reflective terahertz metamaterials. The detection of aqueous solutions using transmissive terahertz metamaterials is a big challenge. This work fabricates a transmissive terahertz metamaterial using a folding metamaterial comprising split-ring resonators (SRRs) with nano-profiles with a high aspect ratio of 41.4. The folding metamaterial has a small transmittance of − 49    dB at its resonance frequency, large transmittance contrast of approximately 6 × 10 4 with respect to the transmittance of its substrate, large refractive index sensitivity of 647 GHz/RIU, and large quality factor of 37. This result arises from the nano-profiles of the SRRs. The nano-profiles increase the surface areas of the SRRs, increasing their surface currents and enhancing the electromagnetic resonance of the folding metamaterial. The folding metamaterial detects a 188-μm-thick rabbit-blood layer that is deposited on it, which cannot be detected by using a common metamaterial. This result reveals that folding metamaterials have potential in detecting the products of live microorganisms with geometrical sizes up to several hundreds of micrometers, such as hydrogen gas, hydrocarbons, and antibodies.

This work uses isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to develop a photoresist. IPA dissolves the photoresist that is not exposed to UV light, and swells the photoresist that is exposed to UV light. The swelling of the photoresist distorts the split-ring resonators (SRRs). The distorted SRRs have a larger loop length, smaller line width, and smaller split gap than undistorted SRRs. The change in the dimensions of the SRRs is caused by the extension of the SRR arms in their longitudinal directions. The resonance frequency of the distorted SRRs is smaller than that of the undistorted SRRs, and the resonance frequency decreases with the development time. The resonance frequency of the distorted SRRs depends on not only their dimensions, but also the bending of their arms. The distorted SRRs in this work have a frequency tuning range with a maximum width of 0.13 THz. The method that is proposed herein uses IPA to fabricate passively tunable terahertz metamaterials, which exhibit the advantages of high reliability, low cost, and ease of fabrication.