Open AccessRealization of switchable EIT metamaterial by exploiting fluidity of liquid metal
Author(s) -
Jing Xu,
Yuancheng Fan,
Ruisheng Yang,
Quanhong Fu,
Fuli Zhang
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.27.002837
Subject(s) - metamaterial , electromagnetically induced transparency , liquid metal , materials science , optics , transformation optics , metamaterial absorber , optoelectronics , tunable metamaterials , physics , composite material
Novel manipulation techniques for the propagation of electromagnetic waves based on metamaterials can only be performed in narrow operating bands, and this drawback is a major challenge for developing metamaterial-based practical applications. We demonstrate that the scattering of metamaterials can be switched and that their operating band can be tuned by introducing liquid metal in the design of functional metamaterials. The proposed liquid metal-based metamaterial is composed of a copper wire pair and a tiny pipe filled with a liquid metal, namely eutectic gallium-indium. The interference of the sharp magnetic resonance of the copper wire pair and the broad dipolar mode of the liquid metal rod lead to an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like spectrum. We experimentally demonstrate that this EIT-like behavior can be switched on or off by exploiting the fluidity of the liquid metal, which is useful for multi-frequency modulators. These findings will hopefully promote the development of fluid matter-based metamaterials for extending the operating band of novel electromagnetic functions.