In this paper, a liquid crystal (LC) based tunable metamaterial absorber with dual-band absorption is presented. The proposed absorber is analysed both numerically and experimentally. The analysis shows that the two absorption peaks, originating from the new resonant structure, are experimentally detected at 269.8 GHz and 301.4 GHz when no bias voltage is applied to the LC layer. In order to understand the absorption mechanisms, simulation results for the surface current and power loss distributions are presented. Since liquid crystals are used as the dielectric layer to realize the electrically tunable absorber, a frequency tunability of 2.45% and 3.65% for the two absorption peaks is experimentally demonstrated by changing the bias voltage of the LC layer from 0 V to 12 V. Furthermore, the absorber is polarization independent and a high absorption for a wide range of oblique incidence is achieved. The designed absorber provides a way forward for the realization of tunable metamaterial devices that can be applied in multi-band detection and imaging.

This article proposes and experimentally demonstrates an optically transparent and polarization‐insensitive metamaterial absorber in the terahertz (THz) frequencies. The absorber is formed by indium‐tin‐oxide (ITO) resistive films, providing efficient absorption with absorptivity of 94.1% at the peak absorption frequency of 120.8 GHz. We systematically investigate the surface current distribution and the power loss analysis, and explain the architecture of the absorber. Moreover, the absorber exhibits unique absorption properties at resonant frequencies, that is, featuring single‐band or dual‐band operation by changing the surface resistance of the ITO patterns. In addition, the experimental demonstration and measurement results are in good agreement with the simulated results. Most importantly, the fabricated absorber exhibits an optical transparency above 70% over the entire visible waveband, thereby enabling a wide range of applications such as optically transparent THz absorbers and detectors.

This paper proposes a wideband and polarization-insensitive metamaterial absorber (MA) based on tractable conductive plastic, which is compatible with an additive manufacturing technology. We provide the design, fabrication, and measurement result of the proposed absorber and investigate its absorption principle. The performance characteristics of the structure are demonstrated numerically and experimentally. The simulation results indicate that the absorption of this absorber is greater than 90% in the frequency range of 16.3–54.3 GHz, corresponding to the relative absorption bandwidth of 108%, where a high absorption rate is achieved. Most importantly, this additive manufactured structure provides a new way for the design and fabrication of wideband MAs.

Abstract:In this paper, a tunable polarization-dependent terahertz (THz) metamaterial absorber based on liquid crystal (LC) is presented. The measurement results show that absorption peak is at 239.5 GHz for a TE-polarized wave and 306.6 GHz for a TM-polarized wave, without exerting the bias voltage on the LC layer. An increase in bias voltage affects the orientation of LC molecules and causes redshifted resonant frequencies. By adjusting the bias voltage from 0 to 10 V, frequency tunabilities of 4.7% and 4.1% for TE-and TM-polarized waves, respectively, were experimentally demonstrated. Surface current and power loss distribution was analyzed to explain the physical mechanism of the absorber, while the absorption dependence on geometrical parameters and incident angles was also studied in detail. According to the obtained results, the proposed absorber is shown here to be capable of achieving tunable polarization-dependent absorption, and to have potential application in terahertz polarization imaging, terahertz sensing, and polarization multiplexing.