Department News

New 'Metamaterial' Device Tames Terahertz Frequency

February 27, 2009

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (Feb. 2009) – An engineered metamaterial proved it can function as a state-of-the-art device in the complex terahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum, setting a standard of performance for modulating tiny waves of radiation, according to a team of researchers from Boston College, the Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories,
and Boston University.

An electrical current applied to the metamaterial – a hybrid structure of metallic split-ring resonators – controlled the phase of a terahertz beam with 30 times more speed and far greater precision than a conventional optical device, the researchers report in the current online edition of the journal Nature Photonics.

The discovery marks a milestone in the use of metamaterials and terahertz radiation, a safe, nonionizing frequency that is the subject of a growing body of research and viewed as a promising component in applications that include advanced security screening systems and imaging technologies.

“This is a true metamaterial device,” Boston College Physicist Willie J. Padilla, one of the coauthors of the paper, said. “This highlights the fact that you can make solid state devices at terahertz frequencies with metamaterials.”

Read more: News Release | Science Daily | Nanotechnology Now | NanoWerk | ScienceCentric (Bulgaria)| Innovations Report (Germany).