A. Akyurtlu, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Intellectual Merit: In this proposal, a new substitute for traditional metals in negative index of refraction metamaterial design - the Magnetic Semiconductor- is introduced for the THz frequency regime. The successful validation of the proposed design would represent one of the first practical implementation of a homogenous, low-loss, and tunable THz metamaterial with negative refractive index. This principally homogeneous medium has never been reported in the field of negative index of refraction metamaterials. The proposed material has an advantage in fabrication over its composite counterparts, with respect to the difficulty in alignment, registration, and in creating multi-layer structures if one is to use these in actual applications (especially as scales become smaller for high frequency regimes). Another important feature of the proposed material is the low losses associated with it due to the small losses in both the electric and the magnetic sub-systems within the magnetic semiconductor. The properties of the metamaterials can be tuned via fabrication parameters and also by an external magnetic field by shifting the position of the band inside the THz region.
Broader Impact: The successful validation of the proposed design would represent one of the first practical implementation of a homogenous, low-loss, and tunable THz metamaterial. These metamaterials could potentially make a significant impact in the areas of personnel security screening, medical imaging, remote sensing, biomedicine, and sensors for high throughput screening. In order to impact the lives of underrepresented groups at an early stage of their education, the PIs will be involved with the Young Scholars Program, which is a partnership between the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Lawrence Middle Schools. A workshop on electromagnetics with emphasis on metamaterials will be developed. The workshop will consist of theoretical and hands-on components. As part of community outreach, a plan to develop a one day presentation, in each year of the funding period, for the Museum of Science in Boston which will describe the topic of electromagnetic metamaterials, to the non-scientific community has been devised.
