Broadband Graphene-Based Electro-Optic Chiral Polarization Conversion for Terahertz Pulse Shaping

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) radiation is ideally suited for noninvasive testing and short-distance data transmission. Actively controlling the polarization of THz waves is highly desirable in measurement systems. Although significant developments of THz active devices has been achieved through introducing the electromagnetic resonance structure (e.g., metamaterials), the bandwidth is limited. Here, we propose a graphene-based electrically reconfigurable polarization conversion across a broadband THz region (0.3 to 0.9 THz) for controlling the chiral polarization of terahertz pulse. By electrically controlling the graphene conductivity, we can switch the device reflection in-between total internal reflection and metal mirror reflection to realize a frequency-independent phase change, which enables a tunable waveplate with a high dynamic range for manipulating the polarization of THz waves. Because of the frequency-independent modulation property, we achieved tunable chiral polarization THz waveforms in the time domain for the first time, from right-handed to left-handed polarization. This work opens up a new mechanism for designing novel THz modulators for THz circular dichroism.