Octave-Spanning Terahertz Quarter-Wave Plates Based on Over-Coupled Fabry-P\'erot Resonances in Reflective Metal-Dielectric-Metal Metasurfaces

TL;DR

This paper introduces broadband terahertz quarter-wave plates based on over-coupled reflective metasurfaces, achieving high efficiency and wide bandwidth for polarization control in the 0.25--3 THz range.

Contribution

It demonstrates a novel design of over-coupled metal-dielectric-metal metasurfaces that enable efficient broadband polarization conversion in the terahertz regime.

Findings

Achieved octave-wide bandwidth with axial ratio below 3 dB.

Polarization conversion efficiencies exceeded 80% across most of the band.

Experimental results closely match simulations, confirming design effectiveness.

Abstract

Compact devices for broadband polarization control in the terahertz (THz) regime are challenging due to the intrinsic phase dispersion of birefringent materials and resonant structures. Here, we demonstrate high-performance broadband THz quarter-wave plates based on over-coupled metal-dielectric-metal reflective metasurfaces. The devices operate as single-port anisotropic Fabry-P\'erot cavities in which the phase dispersion of over-coupled resonances is engineered to produce an approximately constant relative phase delay between orthogonal field components. By tailoring the metasurface geometry, efficient linear-to-circular polarization conversion is achieved while maintaining high reflectance. Four complementary metasurface designs, operated at an incidence angle of $45^\circ$, collectively cover the 0.25--3 THz frequency range accessible to a typical THz time-domain spectroscopy system. Each device exhibits an approximately octave-wide bandwidth with an axial ratio below 3\,dB and polarization conversion efficiencies exceeding 80\% across most of the operating band. Systematic optimization suppresses coupling to higher-order diffraction and surface wave modes, further extending the usable bandwidth while preserving the required phase relationship. The metasurfaces are compatible with wafer-scale fabrication, and experimental results show excellent agreement with simulations. These findings establish over-coupled reflective metasurfaces as a robust and versatile platform for broadband THz polarization control.