Thermally induced tunability of a terahertz metamaterial by using a specially designed nematic liquid crystal mixture

The search for new low loss nematic liquid crystal mixtures with enhanced birefringence and low temperature of nematic-to-isotropic phase transition plays a pivotal role in a development of new applications in the emerging field of thermally tunable metamaterials. Here we maximize thermally induced...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics express 2018-02, Vol.26 (3), p.2443-2452
Main Authors: Kowerdziej, Rafał, Olifierczuk, Marek, Parka, Janusz
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The search for new low loss nematic liquid crystal mixtures with enhanced birefringence and low temperature of nematic-to-isotropic phase transition plays a pivotal role in a development of new applications in the emerging field of thermally tunable metamaterials. Here we maximize thermally induced tunability of a terahertz metamaterial by using a specially designed nematic liquid crystal mixture. It is shown that the resonant response of a metamaterial device can be effectively tuned both in terms of its magnitude and wavelength with the spectral tunability approaching the theoretical limit of 8 GHz. Electromagnetic simulations confirm our tests and match the experimental observations well. The suggested approach opens new routes for next-generation soft-matter-based filtering and sensing components and devices.
ISSN:1094-4087
1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/oe.26.002443