Anisotropic Metasurface Research Articles

Anisotropic programmable metasurfaces with individually controllable 2-bit elements

Programmable metasurfaces capable of manipulating electromagnetic (EM) waves in real time provide new opportunities for various exciting applications. However, most previous programmable metasurfaces only work in a single polarization mode and their elements are controlled in a whole or one-dimensional way, which limits functionality and adaptability to complex environments. Here, an anisotropic programmable metasurface with individually controllable elements is proposed to realize real-time and independent dual-polarized EM control in the two-dimension direction. The anisotropic metasurface element is designed using the ingenious cross-over resonant structure integrated with two sets of varactors to achieve 2-bit phase modulation in the respective polarization direction. As a demonstration, an anisotropic programmable metasurface prototype with 21×20 such elements is simulated, fabricated, and measured. Real-time beam scanning and vortex wave generation are verified respectively under two different polarized wave incidences, which indicates that the realized anisotropic programmable metasurface can achieve totally distinct functionalities for two orthogonal polarizations. Our work could push programmable metasurfaces one step closer towards more advanced information devices and complicated applications in communication and imaging.

Full-space trifunctional metasurface with independent control of amplitude and phase for circularly polarized waves

Abstract Flexible and diverse manipulation of electromagnetic (EM) waves in half space (reflection or transmission) has facilitated strong aspiration toward full-space wave control. However, it remains challenging to achieve independent amplitude and phase control, which seriously hinder the real-world applications. Herein, an innovative strategy of trifunctional metasurface is proposed to independently and simultaneously manipulate the amplitude and phase of circular polarized waves in full space. The multifunctional design is composed of double-layer anisotropic metasurface sandwiched with a bandpass frequency selective surface, with a frequency-direction multiplexed paradigm for on-demand control of both amplitude and phase across three independent channels. To validate the concept, a multifunctional metadevice is designed and verified by simulations and experiments, showcasing arbitrary near-field and far-field power modulation in full space. Lateral and axial bifocal metalenses with desired intensity distribution are designed in two reflection channels at 9 GHz, while multibeam generator with desired spatial scatterings and power allocations is designed in transmissive channel at 13 GHz. The finding paves the way for attaining multifunctional metadevices with amplitude and phase modulation in full space, which have potential applications in high-quality imaging and high-capacity communication systems.

Terahertz Sensing with Extraordinary Optical Transmission Hole Arrays

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to substantiate the enhanced performance of hyperbolic anisotropic (HA) meta-surfaces at anomalous extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) resonances. These resonances exhibit distinct transmission peaks highly sensitive to environmental changes, making them particularly valuable for sensing applications. By demonstrating improved transmission efficiency and sensitivity, this study aims to contribute to developing advanced sensing technologies that leverage the unique properties of HA meta-surfaces in detecting minute variations in their surroundings. Methodology: To verify the enhanced sensing performance of anomalous EOT resonances, this study employs a well-established experimental method involving depositing a thin analyte layer of varying thicknesses onto the meta-surface. The study aims to determine which resonance condition provides optimal sensitivity by comparing the performance between regular and anomalous EOT resonances. It explores the improved performance of HA meta-surfaces at anomalous EOT resonances, which occur under certain non-standard conditions, offering potentially superior sensing capabilities compared to regular EOT. Findings: The results indicate that when the analyte is applied to the non-patterned side of the metasurface, the anomalous EOT resonance achieves superior sensing performance. This enhanced sensitivity can be attributed to the unique interaction dynamics between the incident THz waves and the meta-surface structure under abnormal conditions. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: This phenomenon is beneficial in the terahertz (THz) range, making HA meta-surfaces ideal for thin-film label-free sensing applications. The EOT resonance occurs due to the interaction between incident light and the periodic structure of the holes, leading to enhanced light transmission at specific wavelengths. The findings highlight the potential of using anomalous EOT resonances in HA meta-surfaces to develop highly sensitive and efficient sensors for detecting changes in thin films, paving the way for advanced sensing technologies in various scientific and industrial applications.

Near-Infrared Polarization-Sensitive Detection by All-Si Plasmonic Hot Electron Detectors.

Polarization-sensitive optoelectronic detection has been achieved by an all-Si detector in the NIR range, based on plasmon hot electron generation/internal photoemission effect. An advanced architecture with a specially designed anisotropic metasurface was developed and structurally optimized for maximizing the internal quantum efficiency (IQE). Assisted by finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations, the well-designed device exhibits a maximum optical absorption of 80% around 1.45 μm, corresponding to an optical discrimination ratio of 120. Optoelectronic measurements show the peak responsivity and detectivity of 51.2 mA/W and 8.05 × 1010 cm Hz1/2/W, respectively, at 1.45 μm. A high polarization photocurrent ratio of 35 nm is also achieved at 1.55 μm. Moreover, the optoelectronic response can be tuned by a back-gate bias. Last but not least, we built up a model for theoretically estimating the IQE, which provides instructive guidance for further enhancing the optoelectronic performance of hot electron detectors.

Metal-only anisotropic impedance holographic metasurface

Abstract This paper presents a kind of metal-only anisotropic impedance holographic metasurfaces (MOAIHMs) made up of periodic wavelength size-variable meta-atoms. The proposed meta-atom has only two metal layers, i.e., a upper patterned layer carved with cylindrical hollows connecting by a narrow metal cuboid, and a lower grounded layer. The two metal layers are separated by an air gap. The anisotropy of this tensor impedance meta-atom can be skillfully realized by simultaneously controlling the radius of cylindrical hollows and the orientation angle of the narrow metal cuboid. The relationship between the geometrical parameters of the meta-atoms arranged in different positions and the impedance strips with alternating light and shade can be directly mapped based on the integration of the holographic theory and the leaky-wave principle. For proof of concept, two MOAIHMs are applied to design linearly polarized broadside pencil beam and dual linearly polarized pencil beams with different radiation angles in the C-band. There is good consistency between the measurements and the simulated results. The satisfactory performance and ultralow profile metal-only structure with reduced fabrication complexity/cost make this proposed design a competitive candidate for space applications.

Off-Normal Polarized Single-Photon Emission with Anisotropic Holography Metasurfaces.

Solid-state quantum emitters (QEs) with arbitrary direction emission and well-defined polarization are critical for scalable single-photon sources and quantum information processing. However, the design strategy for on-chip generation of off-normal photon emission with high-purity polarization characteristics has so far remained elusive. Here, we introduce the anisotropic holography metasurfaces for efficiently manipulating the emission direction and polarization of QE. The proposed method offers a flexible way to realize phase matching in surface plasmon scattering with spatially varying filling factors and provides an efficient route for designing advanced QE-coupled metasurfaces. By nonradiatively coupling nanodiamonds with metasurfaces, we experimentally demonstrate on-chip generation of well-collimated single-photon emission propagating along off-normal directions (i.e., 20° and 30°) featuring a divergence angle lower than 2.5°. The experimental average degree of linear polarization attains up to >0.98, thereby revealing markedly high polarization purity. This study facilitates applications of QEs in the deployment of integrated quantum networks.

Tunable Near-Field Radiative Heat Transfer between Graphene-Coated Magneto-Optical Metasurfaces.

The highly structured design of metasurfaces greatly facilitates the manipulation of near-field radiative heat transfer (NFRHT). In this study, we incorporate magneto-optical materials into metasurfaces to theoretically explore the mechanism for controlling NFRHT between anisotropic magneto-optical metasurfaces. Our findings indicate that the interaction between the magnetization-induced modes, arising from interband transitions of graphene, and the surface modes of InSb under a magnetic field leads to a transition in the heat transfer spectrum from a dual band to a triple band. The modification of the distribution and magnitude of transmission wave vectors in surface electromagnetic modes by magnetic fields serves to modulate the radiative heat flux. By combining active control by a magnetic field with passive structural design of metasurfaces, the regulation of heat flux can be increased by more than 8-fold compared with the planar configuration. Additionally, the magnetic field amplifies the anisotropy of the photon energy distribution induced by the symmetry breaking of the metasurface structure. This study is anticipated to provide a pathway for achieving flexible tuning of NFRHT by combining active and passive regulation. It also opens up possibilities for multiband information transmission and for improving the performance of energy conversion devices.

All-dielectric metasurface for polarization-multiplexed single-pixel imaging

Integration and miniaturization of multi-channel single-pixel imaging systems have become a developing trend. However, it is challenging to meet such development needs solely relying on traditional optical devices. One feasible solution is the utilization of metasurfaces with multiplexing functionality. Here, we propose and validate an all-dielectric, anisotropic metasurface that provides a random mask with polarization multiplexing for single pixel imaging. The design ensures each mask contains 50% target information, allowing adaptive correlated imaging of different targets without needing to redesign the masks. By optimizing the metasurface, we enhance computational efficiency by preventing correlation between different polarization channels and mask patterns. We also adjust the parameters of the compressed sensing algorithm to accommodate various sampling rates, ensuring high-quality image reconstruction. Additionally, the whole system is simulated by the angular spectrum transmission and compressed sensing reconstruction algorithm, providing image reconstruction results for metasurfaces of different sizes, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed approach. It is noteworthy that the designed metasurface works for single-wavelength operation and could be extended to multispectral imaging by introducing achromatic metasurface technology. The proposed method could miniaturize the optical devices and reduce light loss.

Engineering hyperbolicity and plasmon canalization for resonant plasmonic anisotropic nanopatch-based metasurfaces

Hyperbolic metasurfaces exhibit unique dispersion and polarization properties, making them a promising platform for a plethora of photonic applications. At the same time, the ability to engineer the hyperbolicity via the predefined spectral positions of the metasurface resonances remains a notable challenge. Here, we analyze the dependencies of the spectral positions of the resonances corresponding to the limits of the hyperbolic regime for the metasurfaces based on square arrays of the rectangular nanopatches. We show that the spectral difference between the resonances increases linearly with stretching of the nanopatch, but this dependence becomes quadratic when the length of the stretched nanopatch exceeds 85% of the lattice constant, indicating the regime of extreme anisotropy. Finally, we demonstrate the characteristic feature of the engineered resonances by showing the canalization (divergenceless propagation) of the surface plasmon-polariton along the anisotropic nanopatch-based metasurface in the vicinity of the resonance. The results obtained may be used for the engineering of the anisotropic nanoparticle-based metasurfaces for a plethora of photonic applications.

High-speed independent polarization modulation based on dual channel 2DEG anisotropic terahertz metasurfaces.

In communication and imaging systems, anisotropic metasurfaces bring new degrees of freedom for the independent control of electromagnetic waves with different polarizations. This paper proposes a dual-polarization modulation metasurface (DPMM) operating in the terahertz (THz) frequency range, which can effectively and independently modulate two orthogonally linearly polarized electromagnetic waves. The metasurface unit adopts an anisotropic structure, and by integrating multiple GaN-based high electron mobility transistors (GaN-HEMTs) into the anisotropic structure, independent control of the two-dimension electron gas (2DEG) carrier concentration in the dual-polarization channel is achieved, enabling selective modulation of x-polarization and y-polarization waves. Simulation and static experimental results demonstrate the excellent modulation isolation performance of the DPMM, with a maximum isolation exceeding 45 dB. Dynamic experiments further highlight the high-speed modulation effect, with modulation speeds exceeding 1 GHz for a single channel and an overall modulation speed of 2 GHz for dual polarization, highlighting its potential for enhancing channel capacity and information throughput in THz communication and imaging systems.

Reflective Polarization Conversion with Multi-Functional, Ultrathin Metasurface for Ku- and K-Band Applications

Reflective polarization conversions with a simplistic design of an ultrathin, single-layered, and multi-functional anisotropic metasurface as a polarization converter is utilized for Ku- and K-band applications. The designs with two substrate thicknesses (0.095λ0 and 0.069λ0, respectively) are capable of a cross-polarization converter (CPC) and a linear-to-circular (LTC) polarization conversion. The design with 0.095λ0 thickness achieves a CPC between 17.96 and 26.90GHz with the efficiency of more than 90% and a relative bandwidth of 40% under normal incidence. It maintains angular stability by altering the oblique incidence angles up to 300 with greater than 80% of the PCR in the K-band. Meanwhile, an LTC in two frequency bands, 10.30-10.53GHz and 28.65-29.70GHz, is also numerically demonstrated. The second design with 0.069 λ0 thickness provides a CPC above the PCR value of 87% in the frequency range from 10.46-23.05GHz (covering the entire Ku- and part of the K-band) with angular stability of 40 above the PCR value of 80%. In the meantime, an LTC with relative bandwidth of 75% in the frequency range from 9.53-9.79&24.74-25.27GHz is numerically revealed. These polarization converters exhibit relatively good performances of facile structure and multi-functional properties, which can be useful in Ku- and K-band applications.

Directive multiple beams from linear-to-circular polarized reflectarray antenna

We demonstrate the design of a highly directive circularly polarized planar reflectarray in this paper, with efficient polarization conversion from the linearly polarized excitation to the circularly polarized radiations based on a novel Jerusalem like cross loaded C-shaped open loop and circular patch anisotropic metasurface. The full-wave simulation results clearly show that circularly polarized plane waves could be generated by the proposed anisotropic metasurface after the linearly polarized incident waves emitted from the horn feed antenna at 15 GHz. Finally, we fabricate the proposed reflectarray antenna, and demonstrate the perfect generation of triple circularly polarized beams with the axial ratio of these beams all less than 2 dB, and an average gain of 22.4 dBic.

A compact single‐layer reflective metasurface for high‐efficiency polarisation conversion applications in C and X bands

AbstractThe authors design and experimentally analyse an anisotropic metasurface for the simultaneous conversions of linear cross and circular polarisations in the C and partial X bands. The proposed compact structure utilises a dual‐cut square‐ring resonator and a square patch on an FR4 substrate above a ground plane. The full‐wave simulations exhibit over 92% efficiency in cross‐conversion over a fractional bandwidth (BW) of 52.3%. The proposed metasurface efficiently converts linear to circular polarisation in two different bands, achieving left‐hand circularly polarised and right‐hand circularly polarised efficiencies exceeding 93% and 89%, respectively. The compact unit‐cell with dimension 0.22λ × 0.22λ attains stable polarisation transformation efficiency rates exceeding 80% up to 40° incident angles. The design is adaptable for efficient wide BW across both lower and higher (millimetre‐wave) frequencies through scaling. A prototype of the proposed polarisation converter (PC) was realised and validated effectively in measurements, aligning well with simulations. This PC features a novel and simple structure with multifunctional wideband operation, stable incident angle output, polarisation insensitivity, and scalability, making it an efficient front‐end for various radio frequency applications, including polarisation control and polarisation transformers.

Transmissive all-dielectric metasurfaces for reconstructing terahertz holographic images via polarization-multiplexing and polarization-decoupling

Recently, the multifunctional terahertz metasurface holography (meta-holography) has garnered significant attention and sparked wide discussions due to its capacity for carrying a large amount of information. However, traditional multifunctional meta-holography, achieved by integrating metasurfaces with active materials or MEMS technology, have exhibited distinct shortcomings due to their intrinsic properties, such as slow response, complex structure, or low reliability. Herein, we propose a transmissive metasurface platform composed of anisotropic all-dielectric meta-atoms including three parts: the elliptical silicon pillars (Si-pillars), circular Si-pillars, and a quartz substrate sandwiched between them. This platform enables the implementation of dual-channel holographic images by utilizing linear polarization (LP) multiplexing and circular polarization (CP) decoupling. As proof of concept, two transmissive anisotropic metasurfaces (MS-1 and MS-2) are designed and created. When illuminated with two orthogonal LP-polarization waves, the MS-1 can produce holographic images of the letters ‘X’ and ‘Y’ in the corresponding co-polarized channel. Additionally, the MS-2 is illuminated by the left-circularly polarized (LCP) wave, two holographic images with different patterns (‘L’ and ‘R’) are reconstructed in the co-polarized and cross-polarized channels respectively. Therefore, the proposed metasurfaces allowing for polarization-multiplexing or polarization-decoupling can exhibit considerable potential for applications in multifunctional integration and high information capacity.

Generation and Curvature Control of Airy Beam in RF Field Based on Fourier Transform and Anisotropic Metasurface

Generation and Curvature Control of Airy Beam in RF Field Based on Fourier Transform and Anisotropic Metasurface

Design and experimental realization of multifunctional anisotropic metasurface for efficient polarization manipulation in microwave frequencies

This paper presents the realization of a multifunction anisotropic metasurface capable of operating as both a half-waveplate and a quarter-waveplate in the C, X, and Ku bands. The numerical and experimental results demonstrate the metasurface is able to convert linear and circular polarizations to their respective cross-polarizations, as well as achieve linear-to-circular and circular-to-linear polarization conversions in the microwave frequency regime. Notably, the metasurface maintains high conversion efficiencies for both half-wave and quarter-wave plate operations, even when subjected to variations in the incidence angle. The underlying physical mechanism is elucidated through the analysis of eigen values, surface current distribution and the retrieval of effective physical parameters. The proposed metasurface is useful for communication and polarization manipulation devices due to its simple construction, compact size, angular stability, and multi-functionality.

Multi-Wavelength Selective and Broadband Near-Infrared Plasmonic Switches in Anisotropic Plasmonic Metasurfaces.

Anisotropic plasmonic metasurfaces have attracted broad research interest since they possess novel optical properties superior to natural materials and their tremendous design flexibility. However, the realization of multi-wavelength selective plasmonic metasurfaces that have emerged as promising candidates to uncover multichannel optical devices remains a challenge associated with weak modulation depths and narrow operation bandwidth. Herein, we propose and numerically demonstrate near-infrared multi-wavelength selective passive plasmonic switching (PPS) that encompasses high ON/OFF ratios and strong modulation depths via multiple Fano resonances (FRs) in anisotropic plasmonic metasurfaces. Specifically, the double FRs can be fulfilled and dedicated to establishing tailorable near-infrared dual-wavelength PPS. The multiple FRs mediated by in-plane mirror asymmetries cause the emergence of triple-wavelength PPS, whereas the multiple FRs governed by in-plane rotational asymmetries avail the implementation of the quasi-bound states in the continuum-endowed multi-wavelength PPS with the ability to unfold a tunable broad bandwidth. In addition, the strong polarization effects with in-plane anisotropic properties further validate the existence of the polarization-resolved multi-wavelength PPS. Our results provide an alternative approach to foster the achievement of multifunctional meta-devices in optical communication and information processing.

Second harmonic generation in an anisotropic lithium niobate metasurface governed by quasi-BICs

Resonant metasurfaces can greatly trap the light fields, so that they are widely used to enhance light–matter interactions at the nanoscale, such as promoting nonlinear effects of materials. Lithium niobate (LN) is an excellent nonlinear optical material and is often employed to generate harmonic signals. In this Letter, we numerically study the second harmonic generation (SHG) characteristics of the LN metasurface based on the quasi-bound states in the continuum (QBIC). The designed BIC and excited QBIC metasurfaces always hold C4v symmetry, and the BIC is demonstrated to degenerate into two BICs due to the anisotropic characteristics of LN. Moreover, the excited two high Q-factor QBICs can effectively enhance the SHG in LN, although the device maintains C4v symmetry, the SHG signal still shows polarization dependence. In addition, with the increase of Q-factor of quasi-BIC, the power and conversion efficiency (η) of SHG increase significantly. The calculated η can reach 6.04 × 10−3 and can be further improved when the resonance mode is closer to BIC. These results have important implications for high-quality nonlinear light sources based on LN materials.

Tunable acoustic superscatterer composed of magnetorheological fluid and maze-like metasurface

Metamaterials have been widely studied in recent years, setting out their various exotic properties, but typically passive configurations are discussed, with limitations in frequency or loading performance. Here, we present a novel tunable acoustic superscatterer, a type of metamaterial, whose scattering cross-section in water can be varied with externally applied stimuli. The core of the superscatterer is filled with a magnetorheological fluid and the envelope is made of an extremely anisotropic acoustic metasurface in the form of a maze-like annular sleeve which can be additively manufactured. When an external magnetic field is applied in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the incoming acoustic field, the scattering boundary of the core is modulated, resulting in switchable total scattering cross-section of the superscatterer. Here we report analytical studies demonstrating this concept, as well as numerical simulation results that support the analytical results.

Arbitrary manipulations of broadband terahertz focused Poincaré beams enabled by anisotropic silicon metasurfaces

Focused Poincaré beams (FPBs) carrying inhomogeneous polarization properties describe the paraxial solution of the vector Helmholz equation in cylindrical coordinate systems, with potential for classical and quantum applications. Here, we theoretically demonstrate a generalized strategy for generating FPBs based on the spin decoupling mechanism. Silicon metasurfaces with high degrees of freedom allow the proposed design to generate vector beams carrying arbitrary topological charges in a broadband terahertz (THz) frequency range. By adopting a purely phase-based modulation approach, the single-layer polarization-multiplexed metasurface can act as a bridge between the conventional Poincaré sphere (PS) and the higher-order Poincaré sphere (HOPS), preserving the corresponding mapping relations. Benefiting from the independence of the on-demand tailored helical phases, we further evaluate the coaxial evolutionary behavior of FPBs, generating structured THz fields with incremental topological charges. It is foreseeable that this work will provide an efficient meta-platform for the generation of broadband THz structured fields and facilitate their application in information encryption and quantum scientific information.