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Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science
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Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical and Photonic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 8780

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yuping Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Qingdao Key Laboratory of Terahertz Technology, College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Interests: terahertz; metasurface; absorber; dirac semi-metal; bound states in the continuum
Dr. Meng Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Qingdao Key Laboratory of Terahertz Technology, College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Interests: terahertz; metasurface; chirality; vanadium dioxide; terahertz time domain spectral system

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Terahertz (THz) metasurfaces, composed of subwavelength metallic or dielectric microstructural arrays with a deep-subwavelength thickness, behave as a novel platform for developing highly efficient and integrated THz functional devices. The development of THz metasurface devices has recently drawn a lot of attention in the fields of THz communication, sensing, display, holographic imaging, non-destructive testing, and electromagnetic cloaking. Various strategies have been proposed and realized to construct novel, efficient, intelligent, and integrable metasurfaces.

This Special Issue, titled “Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science”, aims to provide a unique international forum for researchers working in THz photonics research and metasurface device development to report their latest endeavors in advancing this field, including the amplitude, phase, and polarization manipulation of THz through the novel microstructural design, the use of various external excitations, and the use of two-dimensional active materials.

Prof. Dr. Yuping Zhang
Dr. Meng Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • terahertz
  • metasurfaces
  • light field manipulation
  • dynamic control
  • active medium

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 8648 KiB  
Article
The Study of Soliton Mode-Locked and Bound States in Erbium-Doped Fiber Lasers Based on Cr2S3 Saturable Absorbers
by Dong Li, Ruizhan Zhai, Yongjing Wu, Minzhe Liu, Kun Zhao, Qi Yang, Youwei Dong, Xiaoying Li, Xiaoyang Wu and Zhongqing Jia
Materials 2025, 18(4), 864; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040864 - 16 Feb 2025
Viewed by 454
Abstract
Femtosecond fiber lasers are widely utilized across various fields and also serve as an ideal platform for studying soliton dynamics. Bound-state solitons, as a significant soliton dynamic phenomenon, attract widespread attention and research interest because of their potential applications in high-speed optical communication, [...] Read more.
Femtosecond fiber lasers are widely utilized across various fields and also serve as an ideal platform for studying soliton dynamics. Bound-state solitons, as a significant soliton dynamic phenomenon, attract widespread attention and research interest because of their potential applications in high-speed optical communication, all-optical information storage, quantum computing, optical switching, and high-resolution spectroscopy. We investigate the effects of pump power variations on the formation of mode-locked solitons and bound-state solitons in a femtosecond fiber laser with a Cr2S3 saturable absorber (SA) through numerical simulations while observing the transition, formation, and break-up process of bound soliton pulses. By optimizing the cavity structure and adjusting the net dispersion, the mode-locked soliton is obtained based on this SA. This is the narrowest solitons produced by this SA to date, exhibiting the smallest time-bandwidth product. Moreover, stable double-bound solitons and unique (2 + 1) triple-bound solitons are successfully obtained. The diverse bound-state solitons not only demonstrate the excellent nonlinear absorption properties of Cr2S3 as a saturable absorber but also expand the scope of applications for Cr2S3 saturable absorbers in fiber lasers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science)
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12 pages, 9780 KiB  
Article
A Dual-Bandpass Frequency Selective Absorber with Wide-Angle Oblique Incidence
by Yong-Xing Che, Qiang Sun, Xue-Mei Du and Yong-Ling Ban
Materials 2025, 18(3), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18030473 - 21 Jan 2025
Viewed by 688
Abstract
This study proposes a frequency-selective absorber (FSA) with dual passbands and wide-angle oblique incidence. The design consists of a circuit analog (CA) sheet and a dual-bandpass frequency selective surface (FSS) sheet, both embedded in dielectric slabs separated by a foam spacer. The CA [...] Read more.
This study proposes a frequency-selective absorber (FSA) with dual passbands and wide-angle oblique incidence. The design consists of a circuit analog (CA) sheet and a dual-bandpass frequency selective surface (FSS) sheet, both embedded in dielectric slabs separated by a foam spacer. The CA sheet unit cell is based on a tripole loaded with multiple shorted transmission lines and lumped resistors. In this way, the performance of the CA sheet is equivalent to a resistive sheet in a low-frequency band and a transparent sheet in two high-frequency bands. By comprehensively designing the CA sheet and the dual-bandpass FSS sheet, we created an FSA structure that exhibits microwave absorption in the band from 2.6 GHz to 9.2 GHz with a reflectivity lower than −10 dB. It also possesses transmission in the 12.2–15.1 GHz and 30.6–31.5 GHz bands, with a transmittance greater than −3 dB in both. In addition, the FSA structure provides a stable transmission response of up to 60° of oblique incidence and absorption performance of up to 45° of oblique incidence in TE and TM polarization. A 400 × 400 mm flat FSA sample was fabricated, was measured, and is discussed. The experimental results are consistent with the simulation results, proving that the proposed FSA design holds great potential for applications in dual-frequency low-scattering radomes with high curvature and multi-directional electromagnetic interference suppression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science)
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13 pages, 2482 KiB  
Article
Optical and Geometrical Properties from Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy Data
by George Youssef, Nha Uyen T. Huynh and Somer Nacy
Materials 2024, 17(23), 5854; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17235854 - 29 Nov 2024
Viewed by 804
Abstract
Terahertz waves are nondestructive and non-ionizing to synthetic and natural materials, including polymeric and biological materials. As a result, terahertz-based spectroscopy has emerged as a suitable technique to uncover fundamental molecular mechanisms and material properties in this electromagnetic spectrum regime. In terahertz time-domain [...] Read more.
Terahertz waves are nondestructive and non-ionizing to synthetic and natural materials, including polymeric and biological materials. As a result, terahertz-based spectroscopy has emerged as a suitable technique to uncover fundamental molecular mechanisms and material properties in this electromagnetic spectrum regime. In terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS), the material’s optical properties are resolved using the raw time-domain signals collected from the sample and air reference data depending on accurate prior knowledge of the sample geometry. Alternatively, different spectral analysis algorithms can extract the complex index of refraction of optically thick or optically thin samples without specific thickness knowledge. A THz-TDS signal without apparent Fabry–Pérot oscillations is commonly associated with optically thin samples, whereas the terahertz signal of optically thick samples exhibits distinct Fabry–Pérot oscillations. While several extraction algorithms have been reported a priori, the steps from reducing the time-domain signal to calculating the complex index of refraction and resolving the correct thickness can be daunting and intimidating while obscuring important steps. Therefore, the objective is to decipher, demystify, and demonstrate the extraction algorithms for Fabry–Pérot-absent and -present terahertz signals for various polymers with different molecular structure classifications and nonlinear optical crystal zinc telluride. The experimental results were in good agreement with previously published values while elucidating the contributions of the molecular structure to the stability of the algorithms. Finally, the necessary condition for manifesting Fabry–Pérot oscillations was delineated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science)
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15 pages, 14562 KiB  
Article
Multiple Broadband Infrared Topological Photonic Crystal Valley States Based on Liquid Crystals
by Jinying Zhang, Bingnan Wang, Rui Wang, Jiacheng Wang, Xinye Wang and Yexiaotong Zhang
Materials 2024, 17(21), 5212; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17215212 - 25 Oct 2024
Viewed by 818
Abstract
Spectral tunable technology has to meet the requirements of strong robustness and wide spectral range. We propose a method for the transmission and manipulation of infrared topological photonic crystal valley states based on tunable refractive index method that exhibits broad-spectrum and multi-band characteristics, [...] Read more.
Spectral tunable technology has to meet the requirements of strong robustness and wide spectral range. We propose a method for the transmission and manipulation of infrared topological photonic crystal valley states based on tunable refractive index method that exhibits broad-spectrum and multi-band characteristics, along with a tunable emission angle. With this structure, different rotational directions of vortex light sources can independently excite the K valley and K′ valley within the frequency band ranging from 75.64 THz to 99.61 THz. At frequencies from 142.60 THz to 171.12 THz, it is possible to simultaneously excite both the K valley and K′ valley. The dual refractive index tunable design allows for the adjustment of the emission angle at a fixed frequency, enabling control over the independent excitation of either a single K valley or K′ valley, as well as their simultaneous excitation. This capability has significant implications for photonic computation and tunable filtering, offering enhanced operational flexibility and expanded functionality for future optical communications and integrated optical circuits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science)
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17 pages, 1881 KiB  
Article
Bimodal Absorber Frequencies Shift Induced by the Coupling of Bright and Dark Modes
by Yun Chen, Jiangbo Hu, Shan Yin, Wentao Zhang and Wei Huang
Materials 2024, 17(13), 3379; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17133379 - 8 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1246
Abstract
In this paper, we demonstrate that the absorption frequencies of the bimodal absorber shift with the coupling strength of the bright and dark modes. The coupling between the bright mode and the dark mode can acquire electromagnetically induced transparency, we obtain the analytical [...] Read more.
In this paper, we demonstrate that the absorption frequencies of the bimodal absorber shift with the coupling strength of the bright and dark modes. The coupling between the bright mode and the dark mode can acquire electromagnetically induced transparency, we obtain the analytical relationship between the absorbing frequencies, the resonant frequencies, losses of the bright mode and dark mode, and the coupling strength between two modes by combining the coupled mode theory with the interference theory. As the coupling strength between the bright mode and the dark mode decreases, the two absorption peaks gradually move closer to each other, inversely, they will move away from each other. The simulation employs three distinct metasurface structures with coupling of the bright and dark modes, thereby verifying the generality of the theoretical findings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science)
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11 pages, 9036 KiB  
Article
Tunable C4-Symmetry-Broken Metasurfaces Based on Phase Transition of Vanadium Dioxide (VO2)
by Yuting Zhang, Xiaoyuan Hao, Xueguang Lu, Meng Liu, Wanxia Huang, Cheng Zhang, Wei Huang, Yi Xu and Wentao Zhang
Materials 2024, 17(6), 1293; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17061293 - 11 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1372
Abstract
Coupling is a ubiquitous phenomenon observed in various systems, which profoundly alters the original oscillation state of resonant systems and leads to the unique optical properties of metasurfaces. In this study, we introduce a terahertz (THz) tunable coupling metasurface characterized by a four-fold [...] Read more.
Coupling is a ubiquitous phenomenon observed in various systems, which profoundly alters the original oscillation state of resonant systems and leads to the unique optical properties of metasurfaces. In this study, we introduce a terahertz (THz) tunable coupling metasurface characterized by a four-fold rotation (C4) symmetry-breaking structural array achieved through the incorporation of vanadium dioxide (VO2). This disruption of the C4 symmetry results in dynamically controlled electromagnetic interactions and couplings between excitation modes. The coupling between new resonant modes modifies the peak of electromagnetic-induced transparency (EIT) within the C4 symmetric metasurfaces, simulating the mutual interference process between modes. Additionally, breaking the C4 symmetry enhances the mirror asymmetry, and imparts distinct chiral properties in the far-field during the experimental process. This research demonstrates promising applications in diverse fields, including biological monitoring, light modulation, sensing, and nonlinear enhancement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science)
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Review

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31 pages, 11191 KiB  
Review
Terahertz Metasurfaces Exploiting the Phase Transition of Vanadium Dioxide
by Meng Liu, Ruxue Wei, Jasmine Taplin and Weili Zhang
Materials 2023, 16(22), 7106; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16227106 - 9 Nov 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2811
Abstract
Artificially designed modulators that enable a wealth of freedom in manipulating the terahertz (THz) waves at will are an essential component in THz sources and their widespread applications. Dynamically controlled metasurfaces, being multifunctional, ultrafast, integrable, broadband, high contrasting, and scalable on the operating [...] Read more.
Artificially designed modulators that enable a wealth of freedom in manipulating the terahertz (THz) waves at will are an essential component in THz sources and their widespread applications. Dynamically controlled metasurfaces, being multifunctional, ultrafast, integrable, broadband, high contrasting, and scalable on the operating wavelength, are critical in developing state-of-the-art THz modulators. Recently, external stimuli-triggered THz metasurfaces integrated with functional media have been extensively explored. The vanadium dioxide (VO2)-based hybrid metasurfaces, as a unique path toward active meta-devices, feature an insulator–metal phase transition under the excitation of heat, electricity, and light, etc. During the phase transition, the optical and electrical properties of the VO2 film undergo a massive modification with either a boosted or dropped conductivity by more than four orders of magnitude. Being benefited from the phase transition effect, the electromagnetic response of the VO2-based metasufaces can be actively controlled by applying external excitation. In this review, we present recent advances in dynamically controlled THz metasurfaces exploiting the VO2 phase transition categorized according to the external stimuli. THz time-domain spectroscopy is introduced as an indispensable platform in the studies of functional VO2 films. In each type of external excitation, four design strategies are employed to realize external stimuli-triggered VO2-based THz metasurfaces, including switching the transreflective operation mode, controlling the dielectric environment of metallic microstructures, tailoring the equivalent resonant microstructures, and modifying the electromagnetic properties of the VO2 unit cells. The microstructures’ design and electromagnetic responses of the resulting active metasurfaces have been systematically demonstrated, with a particular focus on the critical role of the VO2 films in the dynamic modulation processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Terahertz Materials and Technologies in Materials Science)
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