Terahertz Metamaterial Modulator Based on Vanadium Dioxide

We present a design of terahertz modulator based on metamaterial absorber structure withvanadium dioxide(VO2), which can be controlled by optical-pumping or temperature variation. With the state change of VO2 from an insulator to a metal, the absorption has an abrupt increase from zero to 88.5%. In particular, the VO2 layer here is used to not only provide the modulating character, but also replace the metal ground plane to join the resonance operating as a metamaterial absorber. This work demonstrates a feasibility of VO2 in metamaterial perfect absorber, and exhibits potential applications in controllable terahertz devices.