Graphene-Based Active Tunable Metasurfaces for Dynamic Terahertz Absorption and Polarization Conversion

Simultaneous broadband absorption and polarization conversion are crucial in many practical applications,especially in terahertz communications.Thus,actively tunable metamaterial systems can exploit the graphene-based nanomaterials derived from renewable resources because of the flexible surface conductivity and selective permeability of the nanomaterials at terahertz frequencies.In this paper,we propose a graphene-based active tunable bifunctional metasurface for dynamic terahertz absorption and polarization conversion.The graphene ring presents a certain opening angle(A)along the diagonal of the xoy plane.When A=0°,the proposed metasurface behaves as a broadband absorber.Numerical results show the feasibility of achieving this polarization-insensitive absorber with nearly 100%absorptance,and the bandwidth of its 90%absorptance is 1.22 THz under normal incidence.Alternatively,when A=40°after optimization,the proposed metasurface serves as a broadband polarization convertor,resulting in robust broadband polarization conversion ratio(PCR)curves with a bandwidth surpassing 0.5 THz in the reflection spectrum.To tune the PCR response or the broad absorption spectrum of graphene,we change the Fermi energy of graphene dynamically from 0 to 0.9 eV.Furthermore,both the broadband absorption and the linear polarization conversion spectra of the proposed metasurface exhibit insensitivity to the incident angle,allowing large incident angles within 40°under high-performance operating conditions.To demonstrate the physical process,we present the impedance matching theory and measure electric field distributions.This architecture in the THz frequency range has several applications,such as in modulators,sensors,stealth,and optoelectronic switches.THz wave polarization and beam steering also have broad application prospects in the field of intelligent systems.

Observed levels and trends of gaseous SO_2 and HNO_3 at Mt.Waliguan,China:Results from 1997 to 2009

Long-term measurements of SO2 and HNO3, particularly those from the background sites, are rarely reported. We present for the first time the long-term measurements of SO2 and HNO3 at Waliguan （WLG）, the only global baseline station in the back-land of the Eurasian Continent. The concentrations of SO2 and HNO3 were observed at WLG from 1997 to 2009. The observed annual mean concentrations of SO2 and HNO3 at WLG were 1.28 ± 0.41 and 0.22 ± 0.19 μg/m3, respectively. The HNO3 concentrations were much higher in warmer seasons than in colder seasons, while the SO2 concentrations showed a nearly reversed seasonal pattern. In most months, the concentration of HNO3 was significantly correlated with that of SO2, suggesting that some common factors influence the variations of both gases and the precursors of HNO3 may partially be from the SO2-emitting sources. The SO2 concentration had a very significant （P 〈 0.0001） decreasing trend （-0.2 μg/（m3.yr）） in 1997-2002, but a significant （P 〈 0.05） increasing trend （＋0.06 μg/（m3-yr）） in 2003-2009. The HNO3 concentration showed no statistically significant trend during 1997-2009. While the decrease of SO2 in 1997-2002 agrees with the trend of global SO2 emissions, the increase in 2003-2009 is not consistent with the decreasing trends in many other regions over the world. Trajectory analysis suggests that the airmasses from the northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the Takla Makan Desert regions contributed significantly to the increasing trends of SO2 and HNO3 at WLG in 2003-2009, with a rate of ＋0.13 μg/（m3.yr） and ＋0.007μg/（m3.yr）, respectively.