No Arabic abstract
Dynamically switchable half-/quarter-wave plates have recently been the focus in the terahertz regime. Conventional design philosophy leads to multilayer metamaterials or narrowband metasurfaces. Here we propose a novel design philosophy and a VO2-metal hybrid metasurface for achieving broadband dynamically switchable half-/quarter-wave plate (HWP/QWP) based on the transition from the overdamped to the underdamped resonance. Results show that, by varying the VO2 conductivity by three orders of magnitude, the proposed metasurfaces function can be switched between an HWP with polarization conversion ratio larger than 96% and a QWP with ellipticity close to -1 over the broad working band of 0.8-1.2 THz. We expect that the proposed design philosophy will advance the engineering of metasurfaces for dynamically switchable functionalities beyond the terahertz regime.
Metasurfaces incorporating graphene hold great promise for dynamic manipulation of terahertz waves. However, it remains challenging to design a broadband graphene-based terahertz metasurface with switchable functionality of half-wave plate (HWP) and quarter-wave plate (QWP). Here, we propose a graphene-metal hybrid metasurface for achieving broadband switchable HWP/QWP in the terahertz regime. Simulation results show that, by varying the Fermi energy of graphene from 0 eV to 1 eV, the function of the reflective metasurface can be switched from an HWP with polarization conversion ratio exceeding 97% over a wide band ranging from 0.7 THz to 1.3 THz, to a QWP with ellipticity above 0.92 over 0.78-1.33 THz. The sharing bandwidth reaches up to 0.52 THz and the relative bandwidth is as high as 50%. We expect this broadband and dynamically switchable terahertz HWP/QWP will find applications in terahertz sensing, imaging, and telecommunications.
Recently, metalenses which consist of metasurface arrays, have attracted attention due to their more condensed size in comparison with conventional lenses. In this paper, we propose a reconfigurable coding metasurface hybridized with vanadium dioxide (VO2) for wavefront manipulation at terahertz (THz) frequencies. At room temperature, the unit-cell can reflect as a 1 bit under linearly y polarized illuminated waves. Besides, when the temperature is increased, VO2 would be in a fully metallic state; therefore, unit-cell can act as a 0 reflection phase. Furthermore, by changing the unit-cells arrangements on a metalens surface, the proposed device can focus the incident beam at any position according to a particular design. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the designed VO2-assisted metasurface can generate one and multi-focal spot in reflection mode as expected. Also, theoretical results depict an excellent agreement with obtained simulation results. The presented metalens has notable potential in THz high-resolution imaging and optical coding.
Switchable and active metasurfaces allow for the realization of beam steering, zoomable metalenses, or dynamic holography. To achieve this goal, one has to combine high-performance metasurfaces with switchable materials that exhibit high refractive index contrast and high switching speeds. In this work, we present an electrochemically switchable metasurface for beam steering where we use the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as an active material. We show beam diffraction with angles up to 10{deg} and change of the intensities of the diffracted and primary beams employing an externally applied cyclic voltage between -1 V and +0.5 V. With this unique combination, we realize switching speeds in the range of 1 Hz while the extension to typical display frequencies in the tens of Hz region is possible. Our findings have immediate implications on the design and fabrication of future electronically switchable and display nanotechnologies, such as dynamic holograms.
The ability to manipulate the electric-field vector of broadband terahertz waves is essential for applications of terahertz technologies in many areas, and can open up new possibilities for nonlinear terahertz spectroscopy and coherent control. Here, we propose a novel laser-driven terahertz emitter, consisting of metasurface-patterned magnetic multilayer heterostructures. Such hybrid terahertz emitters can combine the advantages of spintronic emitters for being ultrabroadband, efficient and flexible, as well as those of metasurfaces for the unique capability to manipulate terahertz waves with high precision and degree of freedom. Taking a stripe-patterned metasurface as an example, we demonstrate the generation of broadband terahertz waves with tunable chirality. Based on experimental and theoretical studies, the interplay between the laser-induced spintronic-origin currents and the metasurface-induced transient charges/currents are investigated, revealing the strong influence on the device functionality originated from both the light-matter interactions in individual metasurface units and the dynamic coupling between them. Our work not only offers a flexible, reliable and cost-effective solution for chiral terahertz wave generation and manipulation, but also opens a new pathway to metasurface-tailored spintronic devices for efficient vector-control of electromagnetic waves in the terahertz regime.
As an analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) has been realized both in plasmonic metamaterial and waveguide structures. Via near-field coupling within unit cells, PIT with broadband could be produced by plasmonic metamaterials, which, however, has not been realized in on-chip plasmonic waveguide structures. Here, we introduce broadband PIT based on a plasmonic metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide system. Utilizing the direct coupling structure, PIT emerges based on an easy-fabricated structure without gap. By tuning coupling distance, the transparent window can be continuously tuned from narrow- to broadband. Such device is promising for on-chip applications on sensing, filtering and slow light over a broad frequency range.