Reflective and transmissive cross-polarization converter for terahertz wave in a switchable metamaterial

Utilizing the phase transition characteristic of vanadium dioxide, we present a metamaterial configuration to achieve both reflective and transmissive cross-polarization converters. When vanadium dioxide is metal, the design behaves as a reflective cross-polarization converter. It consists of metallic grating, topas spacer, and vanadium dioxide film. Polarization conversion ratio is more than 90% in the frequency range from 4.80 THz to 13.13 THz. When vanadium dioxide is insulator, the design behaves as a transmissive cross-polarization converter using cascaded metallic gratings with rotation angle . High-efficiency broadband cross-polarization wave conversion is achieved in the frequency band of 0.50-4.75 THz. The effects of oblique incidence on reflective and transmissive modes are studied on polarization conversion. The results tell that cross-polarization conversion is better when incident angle is in the range of -. The designed metamaterial may have a certain inspiration for the research of terahertz multifunctional polarization converter.

A sliced-3D approach to GPR FDTD modelling by optimising perfectly matched layers

Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) forward modeling is often used to gain a more quantitative understanding of the interactions between electromagnetic fields and targets. To undertake full 3D simulations the computational demands are challenging, so simulations are often undertaken in 2D where assumptions in the propagation of electromagnetic fields and source type can result in errors. We develop the concept of a sliced-3D simulation, wherein a thin slice of a 3D domain with strictly 2D geometry is used to minimize computational demands while obtaining synthetic waveforms that contain full 3D propagation effects. This approach requires optimization of perfectly matched layer (PML) boundary condition parameters so as to minimize the errors associated with the source being located close to the boundary, and as a result of grazing-incident angle wave conversion to evanescent energy. We explore the frequency dependence of PML parameters, and establish a relationship between complex frequency stretching parameters and effective wavelength. The resultant parameter choice is shown to minimize propagation errors in the context of a simple radioglaciological model, where 3D domains may be prohibitively large, and for a near-surface cross-borehole survey configuration, a case where full waveform inversion may typically be used.

A Review of Orbital Angular Momentum Vortex Beams Generation: From Traditional Methods to Metasurfaces

In this paper, we review the generation of vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum in the microwave domain. We firstly present the theory of Laguerre–Gaussian beams where it is demonstrated that they carry such type of momentum. We further provide an overview of the classical methods used to generate orbital angular momentum vortex beams, which rely on two main methods; plane wave to vortex wave conversion and direct generation using radiating antennas. Then, we present recent progress in the physics of metasurfaces devoted to the generation of vortex beams with a discussion about reflective and transmissive metasurfaces for plane wave to vortex wave conversion as well as methods to reduce the intrinsic divergence characteristics of vortex beams. Finally, we conclude on this rapidly developing research field.