Ultra‐High Contrast Terahertz Modulation and Pixelated Display Based on VO 2 Metasurface

ABSTRACT The development of high‐performance, dynamically reconfigurable devices is important for advancing Terahertz (THz) technology. Vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ), a metal‐insulator transition oxide with a near‐room‐temperature critical point, is promising for infrared (IR) and THz modulation. However, achieving simultaneous high transmission in the ON state, deep suppression in the OFF state, and electrical programmability in a broadband THz device remains challenging. Here, we propose an electrically controlled VO 2 THz metasurface that overcomes these limitations. Our design yields an ultra‐high transmission switching ratio of 10 000 at 0.88 THz in simulation and a broad bandwidth from 0.2 to 1.3 THz (switching ratio >100). It maintains a high transmission of 0.85 in the insulating state while suppressing transmission to ∼10 −4 in the metallic state, corresponding to a modulation depth exceeding 99.9%. Based on the multiple THz transmission levels, we demonstrate a proof‐of‐concept reconfigurable pixelated display, which highlights the potential of our high‐contrast metasurface for THz spatial light modulation applications. By integrating our VO 2 metasurface with a Ni/Pt bilayer for electrical gating of spintronic THz emission, a compact, amplitude‐modulated THz source is fabricated. Our work establishes a robust platform for high‐performance, programmable THz devices, bridging the gap between static meta‐materials and dynamic photonic systems for imaging, communications, and integrated applications.

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Publication Details

Journal
Laser & Photonics Review
Published
2026-09-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/lpor.71913
Primary Topic
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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Ultra‐High Contrast Terahertz Modulation and Pixelated Display Based on VO 2 Metasurface

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Ultra‐High Contrast Terahertz Modulation and Pixelated Display Based on VO 2 Metasurface

Zhigao Sheng, Guobin Zhang, T. F. Zhou, Jinglin Zhu, Qiuping Huang, Chongwen Zou, Chang Wang, Bowen Sun, Zhihan Lin, Jianjun Li, Chengyu Li, Biwen Huang, Meiling Liu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The development of high‐performance, dynamically reconfigurable devices is important for advancing Terahertz (THz) technology. Vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ), a metal‐insulator transition oxide with a near‐room‐temperature critical point, is promising for infrared (IR) and THz modulation. However, achieving simultaneous high transmission in the ON state, deep suppression in the OFF state, and electrical programmability in a broadband THz device remains challenging. Here, we propose an electrically controlled VO 2 THz metasurface that overcomes these limitations. Our design yields an ultra‐high transmission switching ratio of 10 000 at 0.88 THz in simulation and a broad bandwidth from 0.2 to 1.3 THz (switching ratio >100). It maintains a high transmission of 0.85 in the insulating state while suppressing transmission to ∼10 −4 in the metallic state, corresponding to a modulation depth exceeding 99.9%. Based on the multiple THz transmission levels, we demonstrate a proof‐of‐concept reconfigurable pixelated display, which highlights the potential of our high‐contrast metasurface for THz spatial light modulation applications. By integrating our VO 2 metasurface with a Ni/Pt bilayer for electrical gating of spintronic THz emission, a compact, amplitude‐modulated THz source is fabricated. Our work establishes a robust platform for high‐performance, programmable THz devices, bridging the gap between static meta‐materials and dynamic photonic systems for imaging, communications, and integrated applications.

Laser & Photonics Review
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Hefei University (CN), High Magnetic Field Laboratory (CN), Hefei National Center for Physical Sciences at Nanoscale (CN), Hefei Material Science and Technology Center (CN), National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Key Research and Development Program of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 29%
Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
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