Digital Microfluidics for Terahertz Digital and Programmable Metamaterials: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Digital and programmable metamaterials (MMs) have attracted an increasing interest for their powerful capabilities in manipulating electromagnetic (EM) waves. Although have been experimentally validated in the microwave range, digital and programmable MMs have not been realized in the terahertz (THz) due to technical challenges. In this paper, a novel method for creating THz digital and programmable MMs using digital microfluidics technologies is investigated. We first briefly review the development of reconfigurable MMs. After an introduction of digital microfluidics technologies, a reflective-type 1-bit THz digital metamaterial is proposed for proof-of-concept purpose. Simulation results show a fractional bandwidth of ~67% from 0.21 to 0.42 THz. This provides a promising way to create different functionalities using a single THz device.