Tunable metamaterials based on voltage controlled strong coupling

Journal Article · Sun Dec 22 23:00:00 EST 2013 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4859636· OSTI ID:22253154

Benz, Alexander; Brener, Igal ^[1]; Montaño, Inès; Klem, John F. ^[2]

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1. Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)
2. Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)

We present the design, fabrication, and realization of an electrically tunable metamaterial operating in the mid-infrared spectral range. Our devices combine intersubband transitions in semiconductor quantum-wells with planar metamaterials and operate in the strong light-matter coupling regime. The resonance frequency of the intersubband transition can be controlled by an external bias relative to the fixed metamaterial resonance. This allows us to switch dynamically from an uncoupled to a strongly coupled system and thereby to shift the eigenfrequency of the upper polariton branch by 2.5 THz (corresponding to 8% of the center frequency or one full linewidth) with a bias of 5 V.

• OSTI ID: 22253154
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 26 Vol. 103; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
COUPLING
DESIGN
EIGENFREQUENCY
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
FABRICATION
QUANTUM WELLS
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
STRONG-COUPLING MODEL
SWITCHES
VISIBLE RADIATION