Toward tunable pixelated microwave metamaterial for multiple sensing

• Published in: JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS
• Main Authors: Shahzad, A.; Ahmed, S.; Naqvi, Q. A.; Ibrahim, Abdel-Baset M. A.; Choudhury, Pankaj K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Optica Publishing Group 2025
• Subjects: Optics
• Online Access: https://www-webofscience-com.uitm.idm.oclc.org/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001417241800005
• ISSN: 0740-3224; 1520-8540
• DOI: 10.1364/JOSAB.544537

An investigation was made of a specially designed pixelated metamaterial, with the top metasurface comprising square pixels of SrTiO3 and graphene, deposited over an indium antimonide (InSb) layer, with the bottom substrate being the SiO2 dielectric medium. Beneath the bottom, a thin copper layer blocks transmission. Emphasizing the absorption characteristics, artificial tunability was explored in the GHz frequency range under the electric and/or magnetic bias as the external stimuli. Apart from the polarization-insensitive properties, nearly perfect absorption was noticed within the 42.5-58.0 GHz frequency range while considering the isotropic and anisotropic conditions of the InSb layer. The developed pixelated metasurface demonstrates temperature sensitivities of approximate to 0.37 GHz/degrees C for an initial temperature increase from -5 degrees C to 0 degrees C, and approximate to 0.01 GHz/degrees C as the temperature rises from 20 degrees C to 25 degrees C under isotropic conditions. Additionally, a maximum magnetic field sensitivity of around 6 GHz/T was observed for the anisotropic case. The findings demonstrate the versatility and potential of the proposed metamaterial for multi-functional sensing applications in the GHz range, particularly within the V-band, owing to its exceptional performance under varying thermal, electrical, and magnetic environments. The novelty of this work lies in the unique material combination, design robustness, and exploration of both the isotropic and anisotropic conditions, enabling tunable, polarization-insensitive high-performance absorption in the GHz range for advanced reconfigurable sensing and communication applications. (c) 2025 Optica Publishing Group. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), Artificial Intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved.