Terahertz wire-grid circular polarizer tuned by lock-in detection method

We report the design, construction, and testing of a broadband-tunable terahertz circular polarizer, which we developed for our magneto-optical measurements using the far-infrared/THz laser source in the range of 0.25-7.5 THz. We present a thorough analysis of the lock-in amplifier signal generated by using a rotating analyzer with regard to setting the desired state of polarization. The phase-sensitive detection method is applied to a combination of a wire-grid polarizer and a parallel translation mirror providing a tunable retardance. The proposed technique is appropriate not only to free-standing grids but also to those deposited on transparent substrates which may introduce additional non-linear effects. The method is preferred when the distance between the mirror and the grid cannot be exactly determined, but the relative displacements are measured. The device enables switching between left- and right-handed polarization states on a time scale of a few seconds. Practical use of the circular polarizer is demonstrated by directly probing the far infra-red magneto-optical properties of the two-dimensional electron gas on the 458 μm laser line.