MEMS reconfigurable terahertz meta-absorber with polarization-dependent and sensing characteristics.

• A MEMS reconfigurable THz metamaterial absorber (TMA) is presented. • MEMS-based TMA shows tunable free spectra range (FSR) characteristic. • MEMS-based TMA also shows polarization-dependent characteristic. • Remarkable linear sensitivity to variations in surrounding environment is demonstrated. This study presents and demonstrates a design of a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) reconfigurable terahertz (THz) metamaterial absorber (TMA) that shows tunable free spectra range with a maximum value as 166 GHz in transverse magnetic mode and switchable resonance from 1.24 THz to 1.53 THz. The unit structure of TMA consists of two movable rectangular resonators aside and an x-shaped resonator at the center comprising two c-shaped resonators connected upside down. The material configuration of TMA is typical of the metal–insulator-metal sandwich configuration. That is a bottom Au layer preventing the penetration of the THz wave, a dielectric SiO 2 layer to accommodate and absorb the incident wave, and a patterned Au structure array to select the resonant frequency. The electromagnetic response of TMA could be flexibly modulated when the structure is reconfigured by changing the gaps between x-shaped resonators and rectangular resonators based on the MEMS platform. Meanwhile, owing to the asymmetry of resonant structure, the electromagnetic response of TMA could be tuned from single-, dual-, triple- quad-resonances by varying the polarization state of incidence. Furthermore, the sensitivity of TMA is explored and demonstrated with remarkable linearity under a variation of the surrounding environment refractive index from 1.0 to 2.0. The feasibility of TMA is validated as the experimental absorption spectra are well meet the simulation results. The above results indicate the proposed TMA possesses great potential applications in multiple resonance switches, polarization switches, and highly efficient environmental sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]