Metamaterial-Inspired Multichannel Thin-Film Sensor

A multichannel thin-film sensor is implemented from a set of microstrip-coupled split-ring resonators (SRRs) with different dimensions. Each SRR exhibits a unique high-Q resonance that is sensitive to the presence of a sample in a particular area. Hence, this SRR-based sensor can function (i) to detect different samples simultaneously to increase the throughput or (ii) to characterise nominally identical samples at multiple frequencies to increase the sensor selectivity. In addition, the sensitivity of this SRR-based sensor is optimized through strategic design of the resonator shape to produce a strong confined electric field at each sensing region. The design principle is validated with simulation and measurement. Owing to the optimized design, sensing a low-permittivity film with a thickness as small as one thousandth of the operating wavelength is achievable.