Reconfigurable terahertz quarter-wave plate for helicity switching based on Babinet inversion of anisotropic checkerboard metasurface

TL;DR

This paper introduces a reconfigurable terahertz quarter-wave plate that enables dynamic helicity switching by utilizing a Babinet inversion in an anisotropic checkerboard metasurface, demonstrated through simulation and experiments with vanadium dioxide.

Contribution

It presents a novel metasurface design that achieves dynamic helicity switching in the terahertz range via Babinet inversion and temperature-controlled conductivity modulation.

Findings

Successful simulation of the metasurface's functionality.

Experimental demonstration of helicity switching with vanadium dioxide.

Effective control of polarization states in the terahertz frequency range.

Abstract

Dynamic helicity switching by utilizing metasurfaces is challenging because it requires deep modulation of polarization states. To realize such helicity switching, this paper proposes a dynamic metasurface functioning as a switchable quarter-wave plate, the fast axis of which can be dynamically rotated by $90^\circ$. The device is based on the critical transition of an anisotropic metallic checkerboard, which realizes the deep modulation and simultaneous design of the switchable states. After verifying the functionality of the ideally designed device in a simulation, we tune its structural parameters to realize practical experiments in the terahertz frequency range. By evaluating the fabricated sample with vanadium dioxide, the conductivity of which can be controlled by temperature, its dynamic helicity switching function is demonstrated.