Stretchable nanotube metasurfaces tune terahertz beams

By AI, Created 3:21 PM UTC, June 04, 2026, /AGP/ – Researchers in China and Russia have built stretchable metasurfaces from single-walled carbon nanotube film that can tune terahertz wavefronts by mechanical stretching. The devices could help advance wearable components for 6G communications, security screening and sensing.

Why it matters: - Terahertz systems need compact parts that can steer and focus beams on demand. - Static metasurfaces limit real-world use in communications, imaging and sensing. - Stretchable designs could make THz components more practical for wearable and adaptive devices.

What happened: - Researchers from China and Russia designed and fabricated two stretchable THz metasurfaces using single-walled carbon nanotube film on a silicone substrate. - The work was published in Light: Advanced Manufacturing. - The devices include a focal-length-tunable lens and a beam-steering off-axis lens. - Both devices operate at 0.35 THz and use mechanical stretching for continuous tuning.

The details: - Each metasurface measures 21 mm × 21 mm. - Each device uses 60 × 60 rectangular rods of SWCNT film with different orientations. - The SWCNT-based design is meant to avoid cracking under strain, unlike conventional metallic plasmonic metasurfaces. - The nanotube structure keeps optical functionality through repeated deformation cycles. - In the lens device, a 0.35 THz left-handed circularly polarized wave produces a right-handed circularly polarized focus at 19.4 mm in the unstretched state. - As stretching increases, the focal point shifts backward and the focal length increases continuously. - In the beam-steering device, the unstretched focal point sits at z = 19.9 mm with a beam deflection angle of -19.69°. - At a stretching factor of 1.2, the focal point moves to 27.7 mm and the beam deflection angle changes to -16.01°. - The measured deflection shift is 3.68°. - The publication DOI is 10.37188/lam.2026.066.

Between the lines: - The result is a materials-and-mechanics approach to beam control, not an electronic one. - That matters because stretchable hardware can be lighter and more adaptable than rigid THz components. - The collaboration spans Capital Normal University, Beijing Jiaotong University, the Moscow Center for Advanced Studies, the Prokhorov General Physics Institute of RAS, the University of Otago, Harbin Institute of Technology and Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology. - The authors frame the platform as a path toward programmable photonic systems.

What’s next: - The researchers expect the platform to evolve into smart, lightweight and wearable THz components. - Future uses could include 6G wireless networks, real-time security screening and human-device interactive interfaces. - The work points to broader use of mechanically tunable metasurfaces in adaptive sensing and communication systems.

The bottom line: - Stretching a nanotube-based metasurface can continuously reshape terahertz beams, offering a route to tunable THz hardware for next-generation networks and sensing.