Generating terahertz perfect optical vortex beams by diffractive elements

High-throughput terahertz imaging: progress and challenges

Many exciting terahertz imaging applications, such as non-destructive evaluation, biomedical diagnosis, and security screening, have been historically limited in practical usage due to the raster-scanning requirement of imaging systems, which impose very low imaging speeds. However, recent advancements in terahertz imaging systems have greatly increased the imaging throughput and brought the promising potential of terahertz radiation from research laboratories closer to real-world applications. Here, we review the development of terahertz imaging technologies from both hardware and computational imaging perspectives. We introduce and compare different types of hardware enabling frequency-domain and time-domain imaging using various thermal, photon, and field image sensor arrays. We discuss how different imaging hardware and computational imaging algorithms provide opportunities for capturing time-of-flight, spectroscopic, phase, and intensity image data at high throughputs. Furthermore, the new prospects and challenges for the development of future high-throughput terahertz imaging systems are briefly introduced.

Numerical Simulation of Integrated Generation and Shaping of Airy and Bessel Vortex Beams Based on All-Dielectric Metasurface

Integrating multiple independent functions into a single optical component is one of the most important topics in research on photoelectric systems. In this paper, we propose a multifunctional all-dielectric metasurface that can achieve a variety of non-diffractive beams depending on the polarization state of the incident light. Using the anisotropic TiO₂ rectangular column as the unit structure, the three functions of generating polygonal Bessel vortex beams under left-handed circularly polarized incidence, Airy vortex beams under right-handed circularly polarized incidence and polygonal Airy vortex-like beams under linearly polarized incidence are realized. In addition, the number of polygonal beam sides and the position of focal plane can be adjusted. The device could facilitate further developments in scaling complex integrated optical systems and fabricating efficient multifunctional components.

Scattering characteristics of a terahertz Bessel vortex beam by 3D dielectric-coated targets

In order to explore the application of terahertz (THz) vortex beams in 3D dielectric-coated target detection and imaging, scattering characteristics of a THz Bessel vortex beam by 3D dielectric-coated conducting targets are investigated in terms of the combination of planewave angular spectrum expansion and a physics optics method in this paper. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified by comparing with the results of FEKO software. The scattering characteristics of a THz Bessel vortex beam by several typical 3D dielectric-coated targets are analyzed in detail. The effects of the beam parameters (topological charge, half-cone angle, incident angle and frequency) are discussed. The results show that with an increase of topological charge, the magnitude of the radar cross section (RCS) decreases, and the maximum value moves away from the incident direction gradually; the distribution of the RCS does not keep symmetry as the incident angle increases, and the corresponding orbital angular momentum state distribution of the far-scattered field is distorted remarkably.

Generation of perfect optical vortex arrays by an optical pen

Recently, perfect optical vortexes (POVs) have attracted substantial attention, because they have an orbital angular momentum (OAM) and the beam diameter is independent of the topological charges. There are numerous innovative results that have been found by modulating the POV optical field. However, methods for controlling the arbitrary parameters of POV are lacking. In this paper, we use the optical pen to overcome this problem. The optical pen is a high-precision optical field modulation method construction based on the relationship between the optical path difference and phase. Based on this method, we have achieved POV arrays with controllable arbitrary parameters in free space, including the spatial position, numbers, topological charges, beam diameter, and amplitude. This work can be applied not only in the fields of optical tweezers, particle manipulation, and super-resolution microscopic imaging, but also will promote the development of optical communication, quantum information coding, and so on.

Generation of perfect optical vortex by Laguerre-Gauss beams with a high-order radial index

Perfect optical vortex (POV) beams have attracted extensive attention because they have the advantage of a radial profile that is independent of orbital angular momentum. To date, it is usually obtained by means of the Fourier transform performed by a lens on Bessel beams. We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that POV can be generated by performing the Fourier transform on Laguerre-Gauss beams with a high-order radial index. Furthermore, we derive an analytical expression for the increase in vortex radius, which is beneficial to compensate for the influence of the radius change in actual experiments. Our results may shed new light for a variety of research utilizing POV.

3D Printed Sub-Terahertz All-Dielectric Lens for Arbitrary Manipulation of Quasi-Nondiffractive Orbital Angular Momentum Waves

Terahertz (THz) vortex waves carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) hold great potential in dealing with the capacity crunch in wireless high-speed communication systems. Nevertheless, it is quite a challenge for the widespread applications of OAM in the THz regime due to the beam divergence and stringent alignment requirement. To address this issue, an all-dielectric lens (ADL) is proposed for the arbitrary manipulation of quasi-nondiffractive THz OAM waves (QTOWs). On the basis of the concept of the optical conical lens and the multivorticity metasurface, the beam number, the topological charge (TC), and the deflection angle as well as the nondiffractive depth of the generated THz OAM waves are controllable. For proof-of-concept, two ADLs are 3D printed to create single and dual deflected QTOWs, respectively. Remarkably, measured by a THz imaging camera, the desired QTOWs with high mode purity are observed in predesigned directions with a nondiffractive depth predefined theoretically. The proposed designs and experiments, for the first time, verified that the QTOWs could be achieved with a nondiffractive range of 55.58λ_g (λ_g = wavelength at 140 GHz) and large deflection angles of 30° and 45°.

The Magic of Optics-An Overview of Recent Advanced Terahertz Diffractive Optical Elements

Diffractive optical elements are well known for being not only flat but also lightweight, and are characterised by low attenuation. In different spectral ranges, they provide better efficiency than commonly used refractive lenses. An overview of the recently invented terahertz optical structures based on diffraction design is presented. The basic concepts of structure design together with various functioning of such elements are described. The methods for structure optimization are analysed and the new approach of using neural network is shown. The paper illustrates the variety of structures created by diffractive design and highlights optimization methods. Each structure has a particular complex transmittance that corresponds to the designed phase map. This precise control over the incident radiation phase changes is limited to the design wavelength. However, there are many ways to overcome this inconvenience allowing for broadband functioning.

Measuring the topological charge of terahertz vortex beams with a focal hyperbolic lens

An efficient method is proposed to measure the topological charge (TC) of terahertz (THz) vortex beams with a focal hyperbolic (FH) lens at 0.1 THz. The FH lens is designed and fabricated by 3D printing. The diffraction fringes acquired in the focal plane of the FH lens can judge the number and sign of the TC. Furthermore, after the horizontal or vertical measurement curve is recorded by rotating the FH lens to a suitable angle, the TC value can then be simply and effectively identified. The TC value of the experiment measurement reaches 5. The experiment results are in excellent accord with the simulation.