Widely Tunable Terahertz Phase Modulation with Gate-Controlled Graphene Metasurfaces

Abstract

As the basis of a diverse set of photonic applications, such as hologram imaging, polarization, and wave front manipulation, the local phase control of electromagnetic waves is fundamental in photonic research. However, currently available bulky, passive, range-limited phase modulators pose an obstacle in photonic applications. Here, we propose a new mechanism to achieve a wide phase modulation range, with graphene used as a tunable loss to drive an underdamped to overdamped resonator transition. Based on this mechanism, we present widely tunable phase modulation in the terahertz regime, realized in gate-tuned ultrathin reflective graphene metasurfaces. A one-port resonator model, supported by full-wave simulations, explains the underlying physics of the discovered extreme phase modulation and indicates general strategies for designing tunable photonic devices. As an example, we demonstrate a gate-tunable terahertz (THz) polarization modulator with a graphene metasurface. Our findings establish the possibility for photonic applications based on active phase manipulation.