Open AccessSub-wavelength tight-focusing of terahertz waves by polarization-independent high-numerical-aperture dielectric metalens
Author(s) -
Hao Chen,
Zhixiang Wu,
Zeyu Li,
Zhenfei Luo,
Xue Jiang,
Zhongquan Wen,
Li-Guo Zhu,
Xun Zhou,
Hua Li,
Zhengguo Shang,
Zhihai Zhang,
Kun Zhang,
Gaofeng Liang,
Senlin Jiang,
Liang-Hui Du,
Gang Chen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.26.029817
Subject(s) - optics , terahertz radiation , numerical aperture , polarization (electrochemistry) , wavelength , materials science , diffraction , optoelectronics , dielectric , physics , chemistry
A focusing device is one of the key elements for terahertz applications, including homeland security, medicine, industrial inspection, and other fields. Sub-wavelength tight-focusing of terahertz waves is attractive for microscopy and spectroscopy. Flat optical lenses based on metasurfaces have shown potential in diffraction-limit focusing and advantages of ultrathin thickness and lightweight for large-aperture optics. However previously reported THz metalenses suffered from either polarization-dependency or small numerical aperture (NA), which greatly limits their focusing performance. In this paper, to achieve high-NA and polarization-free operation, we proposed a polarization-independent dielectric metasurface with a sub-wavelength period of 0.4λ. A planar terahertz lens based on such metasurface was designed for a wavelength of λ = 118.8 μm with a focal length of 100λ, a radius of 300λ, and a high NA of 0.95, which was fabricated with a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The experimental results demonstrate a tight focal spot with sub-wavelength full widths at half-maxima of 0.45λ and 0.61λ in the x and y directions, respectively, on the focal plane. In the x direction, the size of 0.45λ is even smaller than the diffraction limit 0.526λ (0.5λ/NA). Such a metalens is favorable for sub-wavelength tight-focusing terahertz waves with different polarizations, due to its polarization independence. The metalens has potential applications in THz imaging, spectroscopy, information processing, and communications, among others.