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 Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 52 (2019) 095107 (7pp) https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/aaf84c

Printing flexible terahertz metasurface

of optical transparency
Wenming Su2, Wenrui Guo2, Zhiguo Wang1, Ping Chen1, Cheng Gong1,3 ,
Lie Lin1 and Weiwei Liu1
1
  Institute of Modern Optics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People’s Republic of China
2
  Division of Printed Electronics, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO),
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, People’s Republic of China

E-mail: gongcheng@nankai.edu.cn

Received 30 September 2018, revised 27 November 2018

Accepted for publication 12 December 2018
Published 2 January 2019

Abstract
The paper reports an optical transparent metasurface and printing method. The double spiral
symmetric structure of the metasurface is insensitive to the angle of incident terahertz or
microwave, especially suitable for flexible and non-planar components. The printing method
combines electroplating of nickel mold and printing of silver nanoparticle ink. Using the
method, the spiral structure can be fabricated on ultrathin, flexible, and transparent substrates
to achieve visible light transparency. For verification, a flexible metasurface filter with
thickness of 200 μm and area of 120  ×  120 mm2, which works in terahertz frequency range,
is designed and printed. The transmission spectra under different bending conditions are
measured and the results are consistent with the expectations.

Keywords: flexible metasurface, terahertz, printing method, optical transparency

(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction filter [15], flexible microwave frequency selective metamat­

Realization of flexible, non-planar, bio-compatible and large-
area metamaterials or metasurfaces can open a door for new
generation electromagnetic functional components. For
example, metamaterial-based biosensor [1] combined with
flexible substrate technology can be wrapped on the curved
surface, which will be directly integrated with human skin
for personal health monitoring. Similarly, metamaterial cloak
[2] and carpet [3] combined with the flexible technology can
realize flexible stealth equipment. Within the last decade,
significant progresses have been achieved in flexible meta-
materials or metasurfaces, including wireless strain sensing
metamaterials [4], Fano resonance metamaterials [5], tunable
metamaterials [6, 7], metasurface-based THz polarization
converter [8], broadband terahertz metamaterial components
[9, 10], flexible terahertz (THz) metamaterial absorbers [11],
polypropylene substrate-based metamaterials [12], flexible
metasurfaces and metamaterials [13], wearable microwave
meta-skin [14], dual-band band-stop flexible metamaterials
3
Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.
erials [16], transient and flexible hyperbolic metamaterials
[17], flexible printed optical metamaterials [18]. Especially,
in the frequency range from 0.4 THz to 0.9 THz, Han et  al
reported a flexible broadband multi-layer terahertz metamat­
erials in 2011 [19]. After that, in 2013 Liang et al proposed
a flexible wideband band-pass terahertz filter [20]. Yahiaoui
reported an ultra-flexible multiband terahertz metamaterial
absorber [21]. In 2017, Burrow et al proposed an ultrathin and
highly flexible asymmetric terahertz metasurfaces with polar-
ization-dependent [22]. In 2018, Lan et  al proposed a flex-
ible and tunable terahertz all-dielectric metasurface [23]. The
spectral measurements in these articles [19–23] were all under
normal incidence condition. The spectral sensitivity caused by
the deflection was not discussed.
However, in the case of deflection or bending, the working
frequency or spectral intensity of many flexible metamaterials
or metasurfaces may change greatly [12, 14]. This property
has been applied to tunable functional components [24–26],
but it could be fatal in applications requiring fixed frequency
or spectral intensity. The change will seriously affect comp­
onents’ performance even cause them failure. Besides, many

1361-6463/19/095107+7$33.00 1 © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd  Printed in the UK

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 52 (2019) 095107 W Su et al

Figure 1.  (a) Structure and size of the metasurface’s unit-cell; (b) schematic diagram of a 3  ×  3 cells array.

Figure 2.  (a) The transmission and reflection spectra at various deflection angles; (b) the resonant current distribution, (c) the electric field
and (d) the magnetic field distribution at 0.62 THz.

flexible metamaterials or metasurfaces are thick and opaque
to visible light. This will limit their applications in many spe-
cial fields where optical transparency is needed. Moreover,
the conventional semiconductor manufacturing process is dif-
ficult to fabricate them in large-area, especially on ultra-thin
flexible substrates. Therefore, we present an optical transpar-
ency metasurface, whose unique double spiral symmetric
2
structure makes it insensitive to the angle of incident radia-
tion, especially suitable for functional components in various
bending or deflection applications. In addition, a new printing
method is applied to fabricate the metasurface. The method
combines electroplating of nickel (Ni) mold and printing of
silver (Ag) nanoparticle ink. It is suitable for fabrication on
flexible transparent substrates in large-area. For verification,
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 52 (2019) 095107
Figure 3.  (a) Spectrum of a single spiral Ag wire; (b) spectrum of double symmetrical spiral Ag wires; (c) the spectra with the change of
the Ag wires width.
we designed and fabricated an ultrathin THz metasurface filter
that has a transmission peak near 0.62 THz. Its thickness is
only about 200 μm and the area is 120  ×  120 mm2. Besides,
the transmission spectra under different bending conditions
are measured. The experimental results agree well with the
expectations. We anticipate that the new printing method and
optical transparent spiral symmetric structure could serve as
a promising platform to advance flexible metasurfaces for a
wide range of applications.
2.  Design, theory and simulations
Figure 1(a) shows the structure and size of the metasur-
face’s unit-cell. It includes three layers: the first layer is the
spiral symmetric structure (Ag); the middle layer is the uv-
glue transparent layer; the bottom layer is transparent PET
(polyethylene terephthalate) substrate. The first layer can be
regarded as two symmetrical resonators based on two open-
ended metal spiral wires (width of the wire is 10 μm). The
multiple cells constitute a periodic array to form the meta-
surface, and the schematic diagram of a 3  ×  3 cells array is
shown in figure  1(b). The thickness of the spiral symmetric
3
W Su et al
resonator is 5 μm, the uv-glue is about 10 μm thick, and the
PET substrate is about 200 μm thick. It should be noted that
the Ag symmetrical resonators are embedded in the uv-glue
owing to the printing method.
In most cases, structures of metasurfaces or metamaterials
are too complex to be solved by the analytical calculation
method. Therefore, their electromagnetic response charac-
teristics are usually acquired by simulating the frequency
dependent S parameters, i.e. S11 and S21. Then, the reflectance
and transmission can be given by:
R = |S11 | , T = |S21 | .
(1)
2 2
Here, R and T stand for the reflectance and transmission
respectively. In the paper, a 3D electromagnetic simulation
software CST (Computer Simulation Technology) is used for
solving the electromagnetic response characteristics and opti-
mizing the resonance structure. Figure 2 presents the simula-
tion results. The transmission and reflection spectra at various
deflection angles of the metasurface are shown in figure 2(a).
It can be seen that the metasurface has a transmission peak
near 0.62 THz (620 GHz). With the change of the deflec-
tion angle, the frequency positions of transmission peaks are
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 52 (2019) 095107
Figure 4.  The printing process: (a) the Ni mold; (b) metasurface pattern; (c) Ag-ink metasurface; (d) polished metasurface.
around 0.62 THz. There are some changes in spectral inten-
sity, but these changes are relatively small. In addition, the
positions and intensity of reflection peaks also change little.
Therefore, it could be considered that the spiral symmetric
structure is insensitive to the deflection angle.
The transmission line model is introduced to analyze the
structure of the symmetric spiral metasurface. The left and
right Ag spiral wires are equivalent to two parallel RLC cir-
cuits. R represents ohm resistance of the Ag wires, L stands
for equivalent inductance, and C is equivalent to capacitance,
respectively. According to the RLC circuit model, the resist­
ance will not affect the resonance frequency, so we omit it for
simplicity. The inductance and capacitance can describe the
resonance frequency of the structures. The inductance of the
spiral wires can approximately be given by L ~ w · k, where
w is the width of the Ag wires, k is the length of the Ag wires.
The capacitance can be expressed by C ~ g · k, where g is
the gap of the symmetric structures. Then the resonance fre-
quency f of the specific structure is given by [27]:
1 (10 μm thick). The detailed steps are as follows: (1) a nickel
f ∼
(2) √ , (L ∼ w · k, C ∼ g · k) .
2π LC
Next, we simulate the resonant current distribution, electric
field and magnetic field distributions at 0.62 THz (the incident
THz is vertically polarized) as shown in figures 2(b)–(d). They
illustrate that the regions with the strongest resonance are the
gaps between the left and right symmetric structure and the
ends of the spiral wires. Because the gaps, ends, wire width,
and wire length have fixed values under deflection or bending
conditions, the metasurface has good insensitivity to the
deflection angle when it is prepared on the flexible substrate.
4
W Su et al
To further understand the structure and the corresponding
spectrum. We simulated the spectra of a single spiral Ag
wire and double symmetrical spiral Ag wires as shown in
figures 3(a) and (b). It can be seen that a single RLC circuit
(single Ag wire) will not lead to resonance splitting, two RLC
circuit (double Ag wires) interactions will lead to resonance
splitting. Therefore, it can be inferred that the spectral features
are formed by the interaction of two RLC circuits. Besides, we
simulated the spectra with the change of the Ag wires width
(4 μm to 14 μm) when the cell period and distances of the two
Ag wires were unchanged as shown in figure 3(c). It indicates
that with the increase of the width (w), the frequency of the
central transmission peak moves to the low frequency, and the
transmittance decreases.
3.  Printing method and testing
Figure 4 illustrates the printing process that starts with a trans-
parent PET substrate (200 μm thick) of spin-coating uv-glue
(Ni) mold, which used for the imprinting process, is obtained
based on the photoresist structure of metasurface by electro-
plating; (2) the spiral symmetric structures are patterned on
the uv-glue layer of the PET substrate through the imprinting
process; (3) the silver ink is filled into the trench of the uv-
glue layer and sintered at 150° for 15 min to print the metasur-
face; (4) polish and clean the metasurface.
Figure 5 shows the printed 120   ×  120 mm2 sample.
Figure  5(a) is a curved metasurface sample and figure  5(b)
illustrates the transparent characteristics of the sample,
respectively. A microphotography of 4  ×  4 cells is depicted
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 52 (2019) 095107 W Su et al

Figure 5.  (a) A curved metasurface sample and a microphotography of 4  ×  4 cells (inset); (b) a transparent metasurface sample.

Figure 6.  (a) Schematic of the measurement system; (b) transmission curves at various bending angles.

as the inset of figure 5(a). Although the Ag is impervious to
visible light, the width of the open-ended metal spiral wires
is only 10 μm, and the gaps between wires are larger than
10 μm. Therefore, the Ag wires do not affect the transmit-
tance of the sample to visible light. In addition, owing to the
excellent flexibility and optical transmittance of uv-glue and
PET substrate, the fabricated sample is almost transparent to
visible light and has good flexibility. The optical transmittance
of the metasurface could be estimated by area ratio. It can be
expressed as Toptical  =  (Stotal  −  SAg)/Stotal. Here, Toptical repre-
sents the visible light transmittance; Stotal stands for the area of
one cell; Stotal is the area of Ag wires in a cell. Therefore, the
estimated optical transmittance is about 70%.
Next, we measured the transmittance of the metasurface at
various bending conditions using the terahertz time domain
spectroscopy system (THz-TDS). Figure  6(a) shows sche-
matic of the measurement system. The THz transmitting
antenna emits THz radiation (vertically polarized), which is
collimated and reflected to the sample by an off-axis parabolic
mirror. Then the radiation passes the sample and is reflected
and focused to the THz receiving antenna by second off-axis
parabolic mirror. The sample is placed on a bending adjust-
ment device for bending angle adjustment. The transmission
spectra of the metasurface at various bending angles respec-
tively are shown in figure  6(b). It can be seen that with the
change of the bending angle from 0 to 70 degrees, there is

5
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 52 (2019) 095107
almost no change in frequency of the transmission peak, and
the variation of the transmittance is also quite small (<10%).
Compared with the measured results, the simulation results
shown in figure 2(a) provide sharper transmission peaks and
lower transmittance. There are two main reasons: (1) the
difference between the actual bending measurement by the
THz-TDS and the idealized deflection simulation by the CST
software; and (2) the dimensional inaccuracy of the metasur-
face structure made during fabrication. In addition, the origin
of the spectral fringes in experiments is the multiple reflec-
tions in the THz optical elements. The aforementioned dis-
crepancy notwithstanding, the experimental results agree with
the expectations, especially in the work frequency. This proves
the validity of the proposed printing method and metasurface.
4. Conclusion
In summary, we designed and fabricated an ultrathin flexible
THz metasurface of visible light transparency by a printing
method. The spiral symmetric structure of the metasurface
is insensitive to the angle of incident electromagnetic wave,
especially suitable for flexible functional components. The
printing method has advantages of (1) can print various meta-
surface structures on flexible, bio-compatible, even elasto-
meric substrates; (2) the substrate are transparent to visible
light; (3) it is conducive to the fabrication of ultrathin and
large-area samples. We believe that the new printing method
and optical transparent structure can break the limits and serve
as a promising platform to advanced flexible metasurfaces for
a wide range of applications, including stealth cloak, radar
electronic countermeasures, THz communication, flexible
biosensor, and wearable photonics devices, and so on.
Acknowledgments
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude towards Nan-
jing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology, National
Astronomical Observatories (CAS) and nanofabrication facil-
ity in Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (CAS)
for their support.
Funding
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
(61505087, 11574160), National Key Research and
Development Program (2018YFB0504400), National Basic
Research Program of China (2014CB339802) and Tianjin
Special Program for Talent Development.
ORCID iDs
Cheng Gong https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7282-7707
6
W Su et al
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