Double-layered Metasurface-based Dual-function Sensor for Detecting Ionic Liquids and Moisture

YANG Fulong; GUO Zhitao; FENG Zhe; WEI Jinyan; CUI Mengyao; QI Yuqing; WANG Yurui

doi:10.3788/gzxb20265503.0355112

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Double-layered Metasurface-based Dual-function Sensor for Detecting Ionic Liquids and Moisture

Special Issue for Microwave Photonics | 更新时间：2026-04-21

- Double-layered Metasurface-based Dual-function Sensor for Detecting Ionic Liquids and Moisture
- Acta Photonica Sinica Vol. 55, Issue 3, Pages: 180-193(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.兰州理工大学微电子现代产业学院，兰州 730050
  2.兰州理工大学自动化与电气工程学院，兰州 730050
  3.兰州理工大学酒泉先进技术研究院，兰州 730050
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
  
  National Major Scientific and Technological Projects of Gansu Province(25ZDGE003;25ZDWA001;25ZDGE0004;25ZDGA005);General Project of Joint Research Fund(24JRRA829);Gansu Province Key Research and Development Program-Industrial Project(25YFGA033);Youth Doctoral Fund Project of Gansu Provincial Department of Education （2024QB‒036）
- DOI：10.3788/gzxb20265503.0355112
  CLC： O436
- CSTR：32255.14.gzxb20265503.0355112
- Received：11 September 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-01-26，
  
  Accepted：26 January 2026，
  
  Published：25 March 2026
- 稿件说明：
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杨富龙，郭志涛，冯喆，等. 基于双层金属超表面离子液体及水分检测双功能传感器［J］.光子学报，2026，55（3）：0355112

YANG Fulong， GUO Zhitao， FENG Zhe， et al. Double-layered Metasurface-based Dual-function Sensor for Detecting Ionic Liquids and Moisture［J］. Acta Photonica Sinica， 2026， 55（3）：0355112
杨富龙，郭志涛，冯喆，等. 基于双层金属超表面离子液体及水分检测双功能传感器［J］.光子学报，2026，55（3）：0355112 DOI： 10.3788/gzxb20265503.0355112. CSTR： 32255.14.gzxb20265503.0355112.

YANG Fulong， GUO Zhitao， FENG Zhe， et al. Double-layered Metasurface-based Dual-function Sensor for Detecting Ionic Liquids and Moisture［J］. Acta Photonica Sinica， 2026， 55（3）：0355112 DOI： 10.3788/gzxb20265503.0355112. CSTR： 32255.14.gzxb20265503.0355112.

摘要

提出了一种基于双层金属谐振单元的超表面微波传感器。传感器由双层金属谐振单元、开放式样品架和全覆铜底板三层结构组成，双层谐振提高了传感器的灵敏度，开放式样品架设计便于样品装载与检测，全覆铜底板提升了电磁屏蔽性能。仿真与实验结果表明，在工作频段内，传感器对不同种类的离子液体表现出不同的特征频率响应，不同种离子液体之间的最大频率偏移量可达490 MHz，检测灵敏度达到185.42 MHz/ε′。对于含微量水分的1-乙基-3-甲基咪唑四氟硼酸盐溶液（［EMIm］［BF

］），水分含量从0增加到10%时，可产生180 MHz的频率偏移量。该传感器具有结构紧凑、制作工艺简单等技术优势，为离子液体质量监测提供了高效方案。

Abstract

Ionic liquids， as a new type of molten salts with high thermal stability， low vapor pressure， and strong designability， have important application value in cutting-edge fields such as electrochemistry， catalytic synthesis， and biomedicine. However， the accuracy and efficiency of ionic liquid type identification still need to be continuously explored and optimized. Traditional characterization methods， such as infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance， usually rely on large precision instruments， which have limitations such as complex operating procedures， high equipment costs， and long analysis cycles. At the same time， the inherent strong hygroscopicity of ionic liquids makes the control of sample purity more stringent， and existing moisture detection methods find it difficult to achieve rapid and precise measurement. Against this background， metasurfaces， as two-dimensional artificial materials that can flexibly control the amplitude， phase， and polarization of electromagnetic waves， provide a new technical path for the development of high-performance sensing technologies. This type of structure has both high sensitivity and non-contact detection advantages， and has shown significant potential in dielectric property analysis and substance identification. However， existing metasurface sensors still have certain limitations in practical applications， such as being easily affected by external electromagnetic interference or requiring direct contact with samples. These issues not only reduce measurement accuracy but may also cause sensor contamination， thereby limiting their widespread application in practical scenarios.

Aiming at the technical bottlenecks of ionic liquid type identification and moisture content detection mentioned above， this paper proposes a metasurface microwave sensor based on a dielectric substrate integrated with a double-layer metal resonant structure. The sensor converts the dielectric properties of ionic liquids into significant changes in resonant frequency shift and resonance linearity through its unique electromagnetic field localization and enhancement mechanism， providing a new way to achieve rapid and precise sensing analysis. To deeply study the working mechanism of the sensor， this study adopted a multi-level research method： from the physical mechanism level， the formation and energy distribution of electromagnetic resonance were intuitively presented through surface current distribution analysis； from the model construction level， the physical structure was transformed into circuit parameters through equivalent circuit analysis， and the regulation law of resonant frequency was quantitatively revealed； from the performance prediction level， the electromagnetic response characteristics of the sensor were accurately obtained through full-wave numerical simulation， and the structure was optimized； from the final verification level， experimental tests confirmed that the sensor can not only accurately distinguish six different types of ionic liquids but also achieve high-precision detection of trace moisture content.

Before conducting experimental characterization， this study first compared and analyzed the reflection characteristic changes of the sensor before and after loading ionic liquids in the 7~10 GHz frequency band based on electromagnetic simulation software. The simulation results show that the introduction of ionic liquids not only changed the original resonant mode of the sensor but also induced a stronger electromagnetic response through the dielectric regulation mechanism， thereby verifying that the metasurface sensor has excellent dielectric sensitivity and electromagnetic regulation capabilities. Subsequently， six representative ionic liquids were selected as the measured samples for actual measurement analysis. The experimental measurement results show that when the sample to be tested in the sample holder is changed from ［EMIm］［BF₄］ to ［OMIm］［BF₄］， the resonant peak position of the reflection spectrum shifts from 8.37 GHz to 8.86 GHz， resulting in a significant frequency shift of 490 MHz. Calculations show that the sensor's average sensitivity to dielectric constant changes can reach 185.42 MHz/ε′. In addition， this study systematically evaluated the sensor's ability to detect trace moisture content. Experimental data show that when the water content increases from 0% to 10%， the resonant peak of the reflection spectrum shows a significant frequency shift of 180 MHz （8.22 GHz→8.40 GHz）， proving that the sensor can effectively detect moisture changes in ionic liquids at the ppm level.

In summary， this paper successfully designed and verified a metasurface microwave sensor based on a double-layer metal resonant unit. By using a three-layer structure constructed with an FR4 epoxy resin substrate， combined with an open sample holder and a fully copper-plated bottom p

late design， the sensor exhibits excellent detection performance in the 7~10 GHz working frequency band， achieving non-contact and high-precision detection of ionic liquid types and their moisture content. Simulation and experimentalresults show that the sensor has different characteristic frequency responses for six typical ionic liquids （including ［EMIm］［BF

］，［BMIm］［SCN］，［BMIm］［OTf］，［BMIm］［BF

］，［HMIm］［NTf₂］， and ［OMIm］［BF

］）， with a maximum frequency shift of 490 MHz and a detection sensitivity of 185.42 MHz/ε′. In terms of moisture detection， the sensor shows a good resonant response to 0~10% moisture content changes in ［EMIm］［BF

］ solutions， with a resonant frequency shift of 180 MHz. The metasurface sensor designed in this study has high sensitivity and good measurement repeatability， providing an effective technical means for ionic liquid purity detection and deterioration monitoring， and has important engineering application prospects in fields such as chemical process control and real-time monitoring in hazardous environments.

关键词

Keywords

references

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