Fano resonance based ultra high-contrast electromagnetic switch

We experimentally achieve highly asymmetrical enhanced-Q Fano resonances in metallic electromagnetic structures fabricated on conductive planes. We show that the complete destructive interference mechanism of the dark and bright resonant modes generated by a pair of electromagnetically coupled open-ended conductive arms can lead to the asymmetric resonance characterized by a near-unity transparency window followed by a deep scattering band. With the incorporation of a variable capacitor between the coupled metallic strips, the dynamic tunability of the resonant modes is achieved, which can be exploited in high isolation switches and modulators in the GHz spectrum. The switching contrast of over 50 dB achieved through Fano resonance is much higher considering its compact size (i.e., the transmission path is much smaller than the wavelength λ / 30). The dispersion based tunable Fano switch offers several advantages over conventional microelectromechanical system and CMOS based switches.