Metasurface Polarization Control in Terahertz Applications
Summary
Metasurfaces are planar assemblies of subwavelength resonators engineered to tailor amplitude, phase and polarisation of electromagnetic waves. In the terahertz domain (0.1–10 THz), they offer a compact, low-loss alternative to conventional bulky optics for imaging, spectroscopy, wireless communication and sensing. By exploiting anisotropic unit-cell geometries, metasurfaces achieve broadband linear-to-circular conversion, spin-dependent beam steering and phase retardation. Hybrid designs that integrate liquid crystals or phase-change materials such as vanadium dioxide enable fast electrical or thermal tuning, while cascaded architectures employ Pancharatnam–Berry phase control to decouple spin channels and realise multifunctional beam shaping. Ongoing advances address the twin challenges of high efficiency and wide operational bandwidth, moving towards fully integrated terahertz polarimetric systems with reconfigurable functionality and on-demand modulation.
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Metasurface Polarization Control in Terahertz Applications publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in metasurface polarization control in terahertz applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Metasurface: A two-dimensional array of subwavelength structures that manipulates electromagnetic waves by imposing spatially varying amplitude, phase and polarisation.
Terahertz radiation: Electromagnetic waves in the frequency range 0.1–10 THz, lying between microwave and infrared regimes, with applications in imaging, spectroscopy and communication.
Pancharatnam–Berry phase: A geometric phase acquired by circularly polarised light when its polarisation state is varied, used in metasurfaces to control wavefronts and spin-dependent effects.
Polarisation conversion: The process of altering the polarisation state of an electromagnetic wave, such as from linear to circular or between orthogonal linear states.
Phase-change material: A substance, such as vanadium dioxide or photo-excited silicon, whose optical properties can be reversibly switched by external stimuli to enable active tuning of metasurfaces.
References
- Fast tunable metamaterial liquid crystal achromatic waveplate. Nanophotonics (2023).
- Terahertz cascaded metasurfaces for both spin-symmetric and asymmetric beam diffractions with active power distribution. APL Photonics (2023).
- An all-silicon design of a high-efficiency broadband transmissive terahertz polarization convertor. Frontiers of Optoelectronics (2023).
- Switchable ultra-broadband absorption and polarization conversion metastructure controlled by light.. Optics Express (2022).
- Switchable multifunctional terahertz metasurfaces employing vanadium dioxide. Scientific Reports (2019).
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