Effect of swelling of a photoresist on electromagnetic resonance of terahertz metamaterials

Abstract

This work uses isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to develop a photoresist. IPA dissolves the photoresist that is not exposed to UV light, and swells the photoresist that is exposed to UV light. The swelling of the photoresist distorts the split-ring resonators (SRRs). The distorted SRRs have a larger loop length, smaller line width, and smaller split gap than undistorted SRRs. The change in the dimensions of the SRRs is caused by the extension of the SRR arms in their longitudinal directions. The resonance frequency of the distorted SRRs is smaller than that of the undistorted SRRs, and the resonance frequency decreases with the development time. The resonance frequency of the distorted SRRs depends on not only their dimensions, but also the bending of their arms. The distorted SRRs in this work have a frequency tuning range with a maximum width of 0.13 THz. The method that is proposed herein uses IPA to fabricate passively tunable terahertz metamaterials, which exhibit the advantages of high reliability, low cost, and ease of fabrication.