Flexible and reconfigurable terahertz metamaterials

Metamaterial and plasmonic composites have led to the realization that new possibilities abound for creating materials displaying functional electromagnetic properties not realized by nature. Recently, we have extended these ideas by combining metamaterial elements - specifically, split ring resonators - with MEMS technology. This has enabled the creation of non-planar flexible composites and micromechanically active structures where the orientation of the electromagnetically resonant elements can be precisely controlled with respect to the incident field. Such adaptive structures are the starting point for the development of a host of new functional electromagnetic devices which take advantage of designed and tunable anisotropy. © 2009 SPIE.