Terahertz Chiral Metamaterials Enabled by Textile Manufacturing

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Metamaterials
• Terahertz (THz) Wave Technology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Developing effective terahertz (THz) polarization components is crucial for THz wave photonics.
• Existing THz polarization devices often require complex, micrometer-scale fabrication techniques.
• Natural materials lack strong interactions with THz radiation, hindering device development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel, easily fabricated chiral metamaterial for THz polarization control.
• To explore the use of textile manufacturing for creating THz metadevices.
• To achieve strong chiroptical responses at THz frequencies.

Main Methods:

• A two-step textile manufacturing approach was employed.
• Microhelical strings were created through yarn twisting.
• Chiral metamaterials were fabricated using these microstructures.

Main Results:

• Chiral metamaterials exhibiting strong chiroptical responses at THz frequencies were successfully fabricated.
• Chiral-selective transmission and pronounced optical activity were experimentally verified.
• The THz properties originated directly from the yarn-twisting enabled microhelical strings.

Conclusions:

• Textile manufacturing offers a scalable and cost-effective method for creating THz metamaterials.
• This approach bypasses the need for traditional microfabrication techniques for THz polarization control.
• The integration of meta-atom design and textile technology promises new metadevices for comprehensive THz radiation manipulation.