Design of a metamaterial absorber based high performance THz biosensor for cancer detection

Terahertz (THz) metamaterial absorber (TMMA) biosensors present a promising platform for cancer diagnosis due to their rapid, non-destructive, and label-free sensing capabilities. Taking advantage of these features, this study proposes a novel, high-performance TMMA, specifically designed for the detection of different cancer cells. The structure of the proposed TMMA unit cell consists of an arrangement of four diamond shaped split ring resonators of silver (Ag) on the top layer, a ground plane of Ag at the bottom, and a dielectric spacer of polyimide in between them. In this work, the finite element method is utilized for the numerical analysis of the TMMA sensor. The optimized TMMA structure achieves a high absorption of 99.29% at the resonant frequency of 5.4418 THz. The sensing capability of the TMMA is then evaluated by placing an analyte layer on top of it. The proposed sensor effectively differentiates between normal and cancerous states for eight different types of cancer biomarkers, achieving a high sensitivity of 1.70 THz/RIU. Additionally, the proposed sensor exhibits a high Q factor of 115.88 and a high FOM of 43.70 RIU −1 , demonstrating its reliability in the detection of cancer cells. Furthermore, the selection of Ag ensures a balance between cost-effectiveness and oxidation resistance, enhancing the practical realizability of the device. Due to the high absorption efficiency, enhanced sensitivity, excellent Q factor, high FOM, cost effectiveness and environmental robustness, our proposed TMMA is a suitable candidate for practical cancer sensing applications.