Dynamically Babinet-invertible metasurface: a capacitive-inductive reconfigurable filter for terahertz waves using vanadium-dioxide metal-insulator transition

TL;DR

This paper introduces a reconfigurable terahertz metasurface that switches between capacitive and inductive states via vanadium dioxide's phase transition, enabling tunable filtering and phase shifting.

Contribution

It presents a novel Babinet-invertible metasurface utilizing VO₂'s phase change for dynamic electromagnetic response control in the terahertz range.

Findings

Successfully demonstrated switching between capacitive and inductive responses

Achieved tunable filtering and phase shifting in the terahertz regime

Validated the design through experimental characterization

Abstract

This paper proposes a reconfigurable planar metamaterial that can be switched between capacitive and inductive responses using local changes in the electrical conductivity of its constituent material. The proposed device is based on Babinet's principle and exploits the singular electromagnetic responses of metallic checkerboard structures, which are dependent on the local electrical conductivity. Utilizing the heating-induced metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide ($\mathrm{VO}_2$), the proposed metamaterial is designed to compensate for the effect of the substrate and is experimentally characterized in the terahertz regime. This reconfigurable metamaterial can be utilized as a switchable filter and as a switchable phase shifter for terahertz waves.