Photo-reconfigurable and electrically switchable spatial terahertz wave modulator [Invited]

Abstract

Spatial terahertz wave modulators that can arbitrarily tailor the electromagnetic wavefront are in high demand in nondestructive inspections and high-capacity wireless communications. Here, we propose a liquid crystal integrated metadevice. It modulates the terahertz wave based on the adjustable electromagnetically induced transparency analog when spatially changing the environmental refractive index. The functions of the device can be arbitrarily programmed via photo-reorienting the directors of liquid crystals with a digital micromirror device-based exposing system. The thin liquid crystal layer can be further driven by an electric field, and thus the function can be rapidly switched. Amplitude modulation and the lens effect are demonstrated with modulation depths over 50% at 0.94 THz.