Fano Resonance Phenomena in Metamaterials and Dielectric Metasurfaces

Fano resonance arises from the interference between a narrow discrete state and a broad continuum, yielding a characteristic asymmetric spectral profile. In metamaterials—artificially engineered composites with subwavelength structural elements—this mechanism can be harnessed by introducing slight asymmetries or coupling bright and dark modes. Dielectric metasurfaces, composed of high-index dielectric nanoparticles arranged in planar arrays, exploit low intrinsic losses to support high-quality resonances. By breaking spatial symmetry or utilising bound states in the continuum, these platforms achieve ultranarrow linewidths and strong local field enhancement. Such features have driven advances in ultrasensitive refractive index sensing, tunable optical filtering, slow-light devices and dynamic light–matter interaction at visible to terahertz frequencies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Studies have demonstrated an electrically tunable metamaterial in which a graphene layer interfaced with a metallic framework produces controllable Fano profiles. By varying gate voltage on graphene, the interference between plasmonic modes can be switched, enabling dynamic modulation of transmission spectra and offering prospects for terahertz switching and sensing. In a separate line of work, cascades of Fano resonances in homogeneous high-index dielectric cylinders have been harnessed to suppress light scattering across observation angles. This effect exploits sharp modal interference in Mie scattering to achieve cloaking without multilayer coatings, opening new directions in all-dielectric invisibility devices and on-chip light routing.

Fano Resonance Phenomena in Metamaterials and Dielectric Metasurfaces publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in fano resonance phenomena in metamaterials and dielectric metasurfaces across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Fano resonance: Interference effect between a discrete resonant mode and a continuum leading to an asymmetric line shape.

Metamaterial: Artificially structured medium with tailored electromagnetic response arising from subwavelength inclusions.

Dielectric metasurface: Two-dimensional array of dielectric resonators that manipulates phase, amplitude and polarisation of light with low loss.

Quality factor (Q factor): Dimensionless parameter characterising the sharpness of a resonance, defined by centre frequency divided by linewidth.

Bound state in the continuum (BIC): Non-radiating eigenmode embedded within the radiation spectrum, yielding theoretically infinite Q in ideal structures.

References

1. A dynamically reconfigurable Fano metamaterial through graphene tuning for switching and sensing applications. Scientific Reports (2013).
2. Mie scattering as a cascade of Fano resonances.. Optics Express (2013).
3. Dual-resonance sensing for environmental refractive index based on quasi-BIC states in all-dielectric metasurface. Nanophotonics (2023).