Tunable broadband terahertz wave plate based on one-dimensional superconductor-dielectric photonic crystals

摘要

The reflection phase difference between transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) waves in a one-dimensional superconductor-dielectric photonic crystal is studied by the transfer matrix method. The simulation results indicate that wide frequency regions exist within the terahertz range, in which the reflection phase differences can remain constant for a fixed incident angle and can vary continuously from 0 to pi (or 0 to -pi) by increasing the incident angle. The shift and the number of such wide frequency regions can be manipulated through changing the thickness of the dielectric layers. The influences of temperature and the normal conducting electrons on the properties of the reflection phase difference are also numerically investigated. Based on these properties, a continuously tunable broadband terahertz wave plate can be designed.