On-chip terahertz orbital angular momentum demultiplexer

Abstract

The terahertz regime is widely recognized as a fundamental domain with significant potential to address the demands of next-generation wireless communications. In parallel, mode division multiplexing based on orbital angular momentum (OAM) shows promise in enhancing bandwidth utilization, thereby expanding the overall communication channel capacity. In this study, we present both theoretical and experimental demonstrations of an on-chip terahertz OAM demultiplexer. This device effectively couples and steers seven incident terahertz vortex beams into distinct high-quality focusing surface plasmonic beams, and the focusing directions can be arbitrarily designated. The proposed design strategy integrates space-to-chip mode conversion, OAM recognition, and on-chip routing in a compact space with subwavelength thickness, exhibiting versatility and superior performance.