Terahertz stretchable metamaterials with deformable dolmen resonators for uniaxial strain measurement

Abstract

In this study, we propose a terahertz stretchable metamaterial that can measure uniaxial strain. Gold dolmen resonators formed on a sheet of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is deformed by strain, and its resonance peak exhibits the gradual decrease in reflectance without a frequency shift, which is suitable for imaging applications at a single frequency. The metamaterial was designed by mechanical and electromagnetic simulations and fabricated by microfabrication including a transfer process of gold structures from a glass substrate to a PDMS sheet. By measuring the reflectance and observing the deformation under different strains, the reflectance decrease was obtained at 0.292 THz despite the appearance of wrinkles on gold structures. Linear response and repeatability up to 20% strain were also confirmed. Furthermore, the strain measurement through a sheet of paper was demonstrated, suggesting that our method can be applied even in situations where opaque obstacles in the visible region exist.