Terahertz Beam Steering with Phase Change Based Metasurfaces

We demonstrate dynamic control of beam steering applications by using a phase change material, VO₂, to form a 2-gap split ring resonators supported on a sapphire substrate. A combination of a series of terahertz meta-deflectors comprised of geometrically optimized 2-gap split ring resonators were employed to achieve a phase shift that covers a broad range of 0-2π. This device will operate in the linear cross-polarization regime within the 0.2-1 THz frequency band. The use of VO₂ allows for a dynamically controlled on/off state that manipulates the angle of deflection of the transmitted beam. The scheme could be exploited for developing novel highly efficient switchable THz polarization beam deflectors.