Two simple polarization-independent electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) metamaterials are numerically and experimentally demonstrated at the terahertz region. The first structure is composed of two metal concentric rings on a substrate, while the second one is composed of one metal ring with a cross in it. The bright–bright coupling behavior appears in the two symmetric polarization-independent EIT structures while it is generally observed in asymmetrically structures. In addition, the large group index is extracted to verify the slow-light effect of the two EIT structures. These simple EIT structures may have potential applications in certain areas, including sensing, slow-light and filtering devices.
Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in terahertz (THz) metamaterials relies on the coherent coupling between a radiative (bright) mode and a subradiant (dark) mode. Understanding the dynamic interplay between the bright and dark modes holds the key to manipulate the mutual interference and hence the transparency. Here, we use nonlinear 2D-THz spectroscopy to scrutinize the dynamics through nonlinearities of the EIT-like phenomenon in a metamaterial platform that comprises of two coupled resonators. From the temporal profiles of the nonlinear pump-probe and photon-echo signals, we found that the bright mode relaxation time is almost twice the time for the coherent exchange of energy between the two coupled resonators. The multi-peak nature of photon-echo signal and the corresponding temporal signatures further provides a direct visualization of the interference between the dressed states that drives the transparency window in our THz metamaterial. A time-resolved density matrix model accurately describes the observed features, including the cross-peak behavior and the temporal dynamics, establishing the coherent mode coupling as the origin of the transparency window.
In this Letter, we construct a metamaterial with dual-mode electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like behavior by introducing "bright atoms," "quasi-dark atoms," and "dark atoms" simultaneously. The dual-mode EIT-like behavior has been demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically in terahertz (THz) regime. At two EIT-like modes, slow light is also observed as two time-delayed wave packets, and the effective group refractive index can reach 10(2). Furthermore, stable dual-mode EIT-like behavior is verified in this metamaterial for a wide range of oblique incident angles. Our work provides a design approach to mimic dual-mode EIT, and such an approach may achieve potential applications on miniaturized and versatile THz devices.
In this paper, we theoretically demonstrate that electromagnetic transparency can be induced by optical magnetism in a metamaterial, which is composed of metamolecules. Each metamolecule consists of a metallic split-ring resonator, as one bright meta-atom (which is optically magnetic), and also a cut-wire pair, as one dark meta-atom (which is optically nonmagnetic). It is found that magnetic resonances occur at optical frequencies due to the local magnetic interaction between ``bright'' meta-atoms and ``dark'' meta-atoms; thereafter, a transparency window emerges upon the original absorption background. The phenomenon is similar to the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in atomic three-level systems, and a microscopic picture is given to compare it with the EIT. Furthermore, low loss and slow light in this metamaterial have also been verified. The investigations may achieve potential applications on integrated optical circuits.
Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in metamaterials is studied experimentally in a waveguide system with tunable intrinsic loss. There is a window in the transmission spectrum with nearly unchanged maximum transmittance, which is the result of simultaneous suppression of reflection and absorption. Group delay measurements demonstrate the transmission-delay product is almost independent of the intrinsic loss while the bandwidth-delay product is affected. Dynamic evolution of EIT in metamaterials is also investigated and we observe parameter-controllable excitation transfer from the bright resonator to the dark resonator during the process of EIT buildup.
Abstract Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) stems from a quantum system, where an opaque atomic medium appears the narrow transparent state within a wide absorption area. This phenomenon can be achieved by quantum interference of pumping light and detecting light at different energy levels of transitions. In the generation process of EIT effect, in addition to transparent state, the atomic medium is usually accompanied with a strong dispersion effect, which will bright about a significant reduction of light velocity, thus realizing many important applications, such as slow light propagations. Although the EIT effect has many important applications, its application scenarios are greatly limited due to the fact that EIT realization usually requires specific and complicated conditions, such as refrigeration temperature, high intensity laser, etc. Recently, the analogue of EIT effect in metamaterial has attracted increasing attentions due to its advantages such as controllable room temperature and large operating bandwidth. Metamaterial analogue of EIT effect has become a new research focus. In this article, we review current research progresses on EIT metamaterials. Firstly, we describe the theoretical models for analyzing EIT metamaterials, including the mechanical oscillator model and the equivalent circuit model. Then, we describe the simulations, designs and experiments of passive EIT metamaterials with fixed structures and active EIT metamaterials with tunable elements. Furthermore, the applications of EIT metamaterials in the areas of slow lights, sensings, absorptions and other fields are also reviewed. Finally, the possible directions and key issues of future EIT metamaterial researches are prospected.