Experimental and numerical studies of terahertz surface waves on a thin metamaterial film

TL;DR

This paper combines experimental, numerical, and analytical approaches to study terahertz surface waves on a thin metamaterial film, providing a comprehensive understanding of their propagation and dispersion characteristics.

Contribution

It introduces a simple analytical model for terahertz surface waves on a metamaterial film, validated by numerical simulations and spectroscopic measurements.

Findings

Analytical model accurately predicts dispersion relations.

Numerical simulations agree with experimental data.

Surface waves are effectively guided by the metamaterial structure.

Abstract

We present experimental and numerical studies of localized terahertz surface waves on a subwavelength-thick metamaterial film consisting of in-plane split-ring resonators. A simple and intuitive model is derived that describes the propagation of surface waves as guided modes in a waveguide filled with a Lorentz-like medium. The effective medium model allows to deduce the dispersion relation of the surface waves in excellent agreement with the numerical data obtained from 3-D full-wave calculations. Both the accuracy of the analytical model and the numerical calculations are confirmed by spectroscopic terahertz time domain measurements.