Polarization-sensitive mechanically-tunable microwave filter using metallic photonic crystals

A tunable, polarization-sensitive microwave filter based on a reconfigurable dual-layered two-dimensional metallic photonic crystal is presented. The filter consists of a metallic plate with periodic holes and metal pillars which are anchored in a substrate material. The diameter of the pillars is smaller than that of the holes and the lateral position of the pillars with respect to the holes is tunable. We study the transmission of the device for linearly polarized electromagnetic radiation, which is polarized parallel and perpendicular to the displacement of the movable membrane, respectively. The tuning range spans from 20.18 GHz to 26.58 GHz for perpendicular polarization and from 20.18 GHz to 18.42 GHz for parallel polarization. The 3 dB operation bandwidth varies between 3.82 GHz and 6.44 GHz for perpendicular polarization and between 3.42 GHz and 3.82 GHz for parallel polarization. Experimental data are in good agreement with finite element method (FEM) simulations. The proposed structure is scalable to other frequency ranges such as terahertz frequencies.