Electromechanically tunable frequency-agile metamaterial bandpass filters for terahertz waves

Tunable transmission filters are essential for various key terahertz applications including miniaturized spectrometers, hyperspectral imagers and channel selectors in high-speed wireless communication systems. However, tunable terahertz transmission filters have remained elusive, so far. Here, we report an electromechanically reconfigurable microcantilever integrated complementary metamaterial to function as a frequency-agile bandpass transmission filter at terahertz spectral region. A large tunable range of 70% at central frequency of 0.455 THz is designed and the experimental results show switching of terahertz transmission frequency range of 54% at central frequency of 0.5 THz. The proposed electromechanically reconfigurable metadevice provides large tunable range, uses electrical control, and is fabricated using CMOS compatible materials and process, thus making it highly attractive for the realization of plethora of miniaturized high-performance terahertz components and devices.