Tunable IK-shaped metamaterial with electromagnetically induced transparency for opto-logic and sensing applications

This study presents a multifunctional tunable IK-shaped metamaterial (TIKM) for the applications of opto-logic devices and high-sensitive environmental sensors. The TIKM comprises two distinct components, which are a dynamically movable K-shaped and a stationary I-shaped metamaterials. Simulations reveal that the TIKM exhibits polarization dependent characteristic. By modulating the distance (d) and height (h) parameters between two components, this advancement achieved dynamic modulations over the transmission and electromagnetic responses. The electromagnetic responses indicate that there exist several resonant modes, forming an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) effect which is highly connected to structural parameters. This tunability makes TIKM a promising candidate for optical switch and opto-logic gate operation. The logic gate operation is demonstrated by interpreting the vertical and horizontal displacements of the movable K-shaped metamaterial as binary inputs, which can transfer the light signals to physical signals. At 0.587 THz, the gate enters an “XNOR” response, while at 0.703 THz, it exhibits an “AND” response. TIKM exhibits different electromagnetic responses by changing the environmental refractive index from 1.0 to 2.0. The red-shifting range of resonances is 0.660 THz. The maximum quality (Q) factor is 132, with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.005 THz at 0.667 THz and the maximum sensitivity to the environmentally refractive index changes is 72 GHz/RIU. These results provide the potential for utilization in the fields of intelligent sensing applications.