The nonlinear properties of a metamaterial sample composed of double-layer metallic patterns and voltage controllable diodes are experimentally investigated. Second harmonics and spectrum modulations are clearly observed in a wide band of microwave frequencies, showing that this kind of metamaterial is not only tunable by low DC bias voltage, but also behaves strong nonlinear property under a small power incidence. These properties are difficult to be found in normal, naturally occurring materials.
Space-time varying metamaterials based on uniform-velocity modulation have spurred considerable interest over the past decade. We present here the first extensive investigation of accelerated modulation space-time metamaterials. Using the tools of general relativity, we establish their electrodynamic principles and describe their fundamental phenomena, in comparison with the physics of moving-matter media. We show that an electromagnetic beam propagating in an accelerated modulation metamaterial is bent in its course, which reveals that such a medium curves space-time for light, similarly to g…
This article presents a global and generalized perspective of electrodynamic meta-materials formed by space and time engineered modulations, which we name Generalized Space-Time Engineered Modulation (GSTEM) Metamaterials, or GSTEMs. In this perspective, it describes metamaterials from a unified spacetime viewpoint and introduces accelerated metamaterials as an extra type of dynamic metamaterials. First, it positions GSTEMs in the even broader context of electrodynamic systems that include (non-modulated) moving sources in vacuum and moving bodies, explains the difference between the moving-ma…
One route to create tunable metamaterials is through integration with "on-demand" dynamic quantum materials, such as vanadium dioxide (VO2). This enables new modalities to create high performance devices for historically challenging applications. Indeed, dynamic materials have often been integrated with metamaterials to imbue artificial structures with some degree of tunability. Conversely, metamaterials can be used to enhance and extend the natural tuning range of dynamic materials. Utilizing a complementary split ring resonator array deposited on a VO2 film, we demonstrate enhanced terahertz…
We present a general framework for the homogenisation theory of space-time metamaterials. By mapping to a frame co-moving with the space-time modulation, we derive analytical formulae for the effective material parameters for travelling wave modulations in the low frequency limit: electric permittivity, magnetic permeability and magnetoelectric coupling. Remarkably, we show that the theory is exact at all frequencies in the absence of back-reflections, and exact at low frequencies when that condition is relaxed. This allows us to derive exact formulae for the Fresnel drag experienced by light …
We present an experimental and numerical study of a terahertz metamaterial with a nonlinear response that is controllable via the relative structural positioning of two stacked split ring resonator arrays. The first array is fabricated on an n-doped GaAs substrate and the second array is fabricated vertically above the first using a polyimide spacer layer. Due to GaAs carrier dynamics, the on-resonance terahertz transmission at 0.4 THz varies in a nonlinear manner with incident terahertz power. The second resonator layer dampens this nonlinear response. In samples where the two layers are alig…
Ultraviolet (UV) electro-optic modulation system based on graphene-plasmonic metamaterials nanomechanical system (NEMS) with superlubricity is investigated. Due to the strong optical absorption intensity of graphene in the UV region and the combination of metamaterial structure based on surface plasmons, the modulation depth of the UV NEMS electro-optic modulator approaches as high as 8.5 times compared to the counterpart modulator in visible light region. Meanwhile, the superlubricity significantly reduces the power consumption of the UV electro-optic modulation system due to its extremely lo…
Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) analogue in all-dielectric metamaterials with a high quality factor provides an effective route to enhance light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. In particular, the active control applied to it enables great degree of freedom for spatial light modulation and thus promises functional device applications with high flexible tunability. Here we load graphene into all-dielectric metamaterials and realize the remarkably high modulation depth in the transmission amplitude of the EIT resonance with the manipulation of graphene conductivity, via shifti…
Achieving efficient, high-power harmonic generation in the terahertz spectral domain has technological applications, for example in sixth generation (6G) communication networks. Massless Dirac fermions possess extremely large terahertz nonlinear susceptibilities and harmonic conversion efficiencies. However, the observed maximum generated harmonic power is limited, because of saturation effects at increasing incident powers, as shown recently for graphene. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature terahertz harmonic generation in a Bi$_2$Se$_3$ topological insulator and topological-insulator-grati…
In this paper, we study the scattering and diffraction phenomena in time-modulated metamaterials of metallic nature by means of Floquet equivalent circuits. Concretely, we focus on a time-periodic screen that alternates between "metal" and "air" states. We generalize our previous approaches by introducing the concepts of "macroperiod" and "duty cycle" to the time modulation. This allows to analyze time-periodic metallic metamaterials whose modulation ratios are, in general, rational numbers. Furthermore, with the introduction of the duty cycle, perfect temporal symmetry is broken within the ti…
