Highly efficient and tunable terahertz polarization converter based on double subwavelength metallic gratings infiltrated with liquid crystal

Abstract

In this work, a tunable cross-polarized transmission structure at the terahertz frequency was demonstrated, and the polarization state during modulation was investigated. The proposed structure can significantly enhance the polarization conversion performance of nematic liquid crystals by leveraging the formation of a Fabry–Perot-like resonant cavity that consists of two metal gratings. As a result, the incident waves are continuously reflected in the liquid crystal layer to complete the accumulation of polarization angle changes. From the experimental results acquired, it was concluded that the insertion loss of the cross-polarization transmission was less than 3 dB and the extinction ratio was larger than 28 dB in the frequency range of 388–426 GHz. Our work provides useful insights for improving the efficiency of cross-polarization conversion by enhancing the resonance process in a Fabry–Perot-like resonant cavity and, thus, significantly extending the equivalent optical path.