Active-Thermal-Tunable Terahertz Absorber with Temperature-Sensitive Material Thin Film

It is shown that active-tunable terahertz absorbers can be realized in a sandwich-structured system comprising an ultrathin dielectric film(polyimide) on a temperature-sensitive substrate(InSb) with a metal film on the back by utilizing the intrinsic carrier density(N) variation in InSb. When increasing the temperature from 250 to 320 K, N in InSb varied from ～5.50×1015 to ～2.98×1016 cm–3. Fixing the thickness of dielectric film with the value of 1.37 μm, the absorption peak shifted from 1.41 to 3.29 THz while keeping absorption higher than 99%. This active tunability can respond to even a slight temperature perturbation, and shows polarization insensitivity as well as high tolerance of incidence-angle(absorption peak can still exceed 90% even the incidence angle reaches 60°). Besides, the refractive index of polyimide(PI) has thermal stability at the terahertz range and the merit of good workability. These characteristics guarantee the stability of activetunable performance. The peculiarities and innovations of this proposal promise a wide range of high efficiency terahertz devices, such as thermal sensors, spatial light modulators(SLMs) and so on.

Recent progress in graphene terahertz modulators

Graphene has been recognized as a promising candidate in developing tunable terahertz(THz)functional devices due to its excellent optical and electronic properties,such as high carrier mobility and tunable conductivity.Here,we review graphene-based THz modulators we have recently developed.First,the optical properties of graphene are discussed.Then,graphene THz modulators realized by different methods,such as gate voltage,optical pump,and nonlinear response of graphene are presented.Finally,challenges and prospective of graphene THz modulators are also discussed.

Asymmetric frequency multiplexing topological devices based on a floating edge band

Topological photonics provides a platform for robust energy transport regardless of sharp corners and defects.Recently,the frequency multiplexing topological devices have attracted much attention due to the ability to separate optical signals by wavelength and hence the potential application in optical communication systems.Existing frequency multiplexing topological devices are generally based on the slow light effect.However,the resulting static local spatial mode or finely tuned flat band has zero-group velocity,making it difficult for both experimental excitation and channel out-coupling.Here,we propose and experimentally demonstrate an alternative prototype of asymmetric frequency multiplexing devices including a topological rainbow and frequency router based on floating topological edge mode(instead of localized ones);hence the multiple wavelength channels can be collectively excited with a point source and efficiently routed to separate output ports.The channel separation in our design is achieved by gradually tuning the band gap truncation on a topological edge band over a wide range of frequencies.A crucial feature lies in that the topological edge band is detached from bulk states and floating within the upper and lower photonic band gaps.More interestingly,due to the sandwiched morphology of the edge band,the top and bottom band gaps will each truncate into transport channels that support topological propagation towards opposite directions,and the asymmetrical transportation is realized for the frequency multiplexing topological devices.

Meta-optics inspired surface plasmon devices

Surface plasmons(SPs)are electromagnetic surface waves that propagate at the interface between a conductor and a dielectric.Due to their unique ability to concentrate light on two-dimensional platforms and produce very high local-field intensity,SPs have rapidly fueled a variety of fundamental advances and practical applications.In parallel,the development of metamaterials and metasurfaces has rapidly revolutionized the design concepts of traditional optical devices,fostering the exciting field of meta-optics.This review focuses on recent progress of meta-optics inspired SP devices,which are implemented by the careful design of subwavelength structures and the arrangement of their spatial distributions.Devices of general interest,including coupling devices,on-chip tailoring devices,and decoupling devices,as well as nascent SP applications empowered by sophisticated usage of meta-optics,are introduced and discussed.

Anisotropic coding metamaterials and their powerful manipulation of differently polarized terahertz waves

Metamaterials based on effective media can be used to produce a number of unusual physical properties(for example,negative refraction and invisibility cloaking)because they can be tailored with effective medium parameters that do not occur in nature.Recently,the use of coding metamaterials has been suggested for the control of electromagnetic waves through the design of coding sequences using digital elements‘0’and‘1,'which possess opposite phase responses.Here we propose the concept of an anisotropic coding metamaterial in which the coding behaviors in different directions are dependent on the polarization status of the electromagnetic waves.We experimentally demonstrate an ultrathin and flexible polarization-controlled anisotropic coding metasurface that functions in the terahertz regime using specially designed coding elements.By encoding the elements with elaborately designed coding sequences(both 1-bit and 2-bit sequences),the x-and y-polarized waves can be anomalously reflected or independently diffused in three dimensions.The simulated far-field scattering patterns and near-field distributions are presented to illustrate the dual-functional performance of the encoded metasurface,and the results are consistent with the measured results.We further demonstrate the ability of the anisotropic coding metasurfaces to generate a beam splitter and realize simultaneous anomalous reflections and polarization conversions,thus providing powerful control of differently polarized electromagnetic waves.The proposed method enables versatile beam behaviors under orthogonal polarizations using a single metasurface and has the potential for use in the development of interesting terahertz devices.

Polarization-independent all-silicon dielectric metasurfaces in the terahertz regime

Dielectric metasurfaces have achieved great success in realizing high-efficiency wavefront control in the optical and infrared ranges. Here, we experimentally demonstrate several efficient, polarization-independent, all-silicon dielectric metasurfaces in the terahertz regime. The metasurfaces are composed of cylindrical silicon pillars on a silicon substrate, which can be easily fabricated using etching technology for semiconductors. By locally tailoring the diameter of the pillars, full control over abrupt phase changes can be achieved. To show the controlling ability of the metasurfaces, an anomalous deflector, three Bessel beam generators, and three vortex beam generators are fabricated and characterized. We also show that the proposed metasurfaces can be easily combined to form composite devices with extended functionalities. The proposed controlling method has promising applications in developing low-loss, ultra-compact spatial terahertz modulation devices.

Terahertz surface plasmonic waves: a review

Terahertz science and technology promise many cutting-edge applications.Terahertz surface plasmonic waves that propagate at metal–dielectric interfaces deliver a potentially effective way to realize integrated terahertz devices and systems.Previous concerns regarding terahertz surface plasmonic waves have been based on their highly delocalized feature.However,recent advances in plasmonics indicate that the confinement of terahertz surface plasmonic waves,as well as their propagating behaviors,can be engineered by designing the surface environments,shapes,structures,materials,etc.,enabling a unique and fascinating regime of plasmonic waves.Together with the essential spectral property of terahertz radiation,as well as the increasingly developed materials,microfabrication,and time-domain spectroscopy technologies,devices and systems based on terahertz surface plasmonic waves may pave the way toward highly integrated platforms for multifunctional operation,implementation,and processing of terahertz waves in both fundamental science and practical applications.We present a review on terahertz surface plasmonic waves on various types of supports in a sequence of properties,excitation and detection,and applications.The current research trend and outlook of possible research directions for terahertz surface plasmonic waves are also outlined.

Moiré-driven electromagnetic responses and magic angles in a sandwiched hyperbolic metasurface

Recent moiréconfigurations provide a new platform for tunable and sensitive photonic responses,as their enhanced light–matter interactions originate from the relative displacement or rotation angle in a stacking bilayer or multilayer periodic array.However,previous findings are mostly focused on atomically thin condensed matter,with limitations on the fabrication of multilayer structures and the control of rotation angles.Structured microwave moiréconfigurations are still difficult to realize.Here,we design a novel moiréstructure,which presents unprecedented capability in the manipulation of light–matter interactions.Based on the effective medium theory and S-parameter retrieval process,the rotation matrix is introduced into the dispersion relation to analyze the underlying physical mechanism,where the permittivity tensor transforms from a diagonal matrix to a fully populated one,whereas the permeability tensor evolves from a unit matrix to a diagonal one and finally becomes fully filled,so that the electromagnetic responses change drastically as a result of stacking and rotation.Besides,the experiment and simulation results reveal hybridization of eigenmodes,drastic manipulation of surface states,and magic angle properties by controlling the mutual rotation angles between two isolated layers.Here,not only a more precisely controllable bilayer hyperbolic metasurface is introduced to moiréphysics,the findings also open up a new avenue to realize flat bands at arbitrary frequencies,which shows great potential in active engineering of surface waves and designing multifunctional plasmonic devices.

Near-field manipulation of terahertz surface waves by metasurfaces [Invited]

Surface waves（SWs） are a special form of electromagnetic waves that travel along the boundary between a metal and a dielectric. The special optical properties of SWs render them very attractive in applications, such as subdiffractional lithography, novel biochemical sensors, and ultrafast integrated circuitries. Herein, we present a review of our recent progress in excitation and manipulation of terahertz SWs due to interference or coupling between a pair of slit resonators in metasurfaces, showing the ability to devise ultrathin and compact plasmonic components.