Efficient second harmonic generation in a metamaterial with two resonant modes coupled through two varactor diodes

Abstract: We present an effective method to generate second harmonic (SH) waves using nonlinear metamaterial composed of coupled split ring resonators (CSRRs) with varactor (variable capacitance) diodes. The CSRR structure has two resonant modes: a symmetric mode that resonates at the fundamental frequency and an anti-symmetric mode that resonates at the SH frequency. Resonant fundamental waves in the symmetric mode generate resonant SH waves in the anti-symmetric mode. The double resonance contributes to effective SH radiation. In the experiment, we observe 19.6 dB enhancement in the SH radiation in comparison with the nonlinear metamaterial that resonates only for the fundamental waves.