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Metamaterial absorber integrated microfluidic terahertz sensors
Author(s) -
Hu Xin,
Xu Gaiqi,
Wen Long,
Wang Huacun,
Zhao Yuncheng,
Zhang Yaxin,
Cumming David R. S.,
Chen Qin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
laser and photonics reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.778
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1863-8899
pISSN - 1863-8880
DOI - 10.1002/lpor.201600064
Subject(s) - terahertz radiation , metamaterial , refractive index , metamaterial absorber , optoelectronics , materials science , plasmon , dielectric , sensitivity (control systems) , electromagnetic field , microfluidics , optics , physics , nanotechnology , tunable metamaterials , electronic engineering , quantum mechanics , engineering
Spatial overlap between the electromagnetic fields and the analytes is a key factor for strong light‐matter interaction leading to high sensitivity for label‐free refractive index sensing. Usually, the overlap and therefore the sensitivity are limited by either the localized near field of plasmonic antennas or the decayed resonant mode outside the cavity applied to monitor the refractive index variation. In this paper, by constructing a metal microstructure array‐dielectric‐metal (MDM) structure, a novel metamaterial absorber integrated microfluidic (MAIM) sensor is proposed and demonstrated in terahertz (THz) range, where the dielectric layer of the MDM structure is hollow and acts as the microfluidic channel. Tuning the electromagnetic parameters of metamaterial absorber, greatly confined electromagnetic fields can be obtained in the channel resulting in significantly enhanced interaction between the analytes and the THz wave. A high sensitivity of 3.5 THz/RIU is predicted. The experimental results of devices working around 1 THz agree with the simulation ones well. The proposed idea to integrate metamaterial and microfluid with a large light‐matter interaction can be extended to other frequency regions and has promising applications in matter detection and biosensing.