Litcius/Paper detail

3D-Printed Linear-Polarization Multiplexed Metasurface for Independent Terahertz Focusing and Orbital Angular Momentum Beam Generation

Dexian Yan, Zheng Wang, Xiangjun Li, L. Zhang, Jining Li

2026IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics6 citationsDOI

Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a dual-linear-polarization multiplexed metasurface capable of independently generating point-focused and focused orbital angular momentum (OAM) terahertz beams at 140 GHz. The metasurface consists of polymer-based birefringent meta-atoms fabricated via high-resolution 3D printing, enabling full 0–2<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pi$</tex-math></inline-formula> transmission phase control for both orthogonal polarizations through independent geometric parameter tuning. For y-polarized incidence, the device achieves a focal length of 82 mm with a high efficiency of 50.71%. For x-polarized incidence, it produces an focused OAM beam with a topological charge of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell$</tex-math></inline-formula> = –2 and a focal length of 115 mm, maintaining an efficiency of 54.61%. The measured focal positions, beam profiles, and phase structures exhibit strong agreement with full-wave simulations, with only minor deviations attributed to fabrication and measurement constraints. Compared with previously reported designs, the proposed all-resin structure offers simplified fabrication, single-layer multifunctional implementation, and high phase-control accuracy. This work demonstrates a scalable and low-cost strategy for multifunctional terahertz beam shaping and multiplexing, with promising applications in terahertz imaging, communication, and sensing.

Topics & Concepts

Terahertz radiationPhysicsOpticsMultiplexingAngular momentumBeam (structure)Orbital angular momentum multiplexingOptoelectronicsTerahertz gapTerahertz metamaterialsPhase matchingLaser beamsLight beamOrbital angular momentum of lightOptical pumpingTerahertz spectroscopy and technologyFrequency conversionInfraredReflection (computer programming)Physical opticsMaterials scienceMetamaterials and Metasurfaces ApplicationsPlasmonic and Surface Plasmon ResearchAdvanced Antenna and Metasurface Technologies