Geometric phase shaping of terahertz vortex beams.

We propose a topological beam-shaping strategy of terahertz (THz) beams using geometric phase elements made of space-variant birefringent slabs. Quasi-monochromatic THz vortex beams are produced and characterized both in amplitude and phase from the reconstructed real-time two-dimensional imaging of the electric field. Nonseparable superpositions of such vortex beams are also obtained and characterized by two-dimensional polarimetric analysis.

Surface-polymer stabilized liquid crystals with dual-frequency control.

Dual-frequency control liquid crystal (LC) and thin reactive mesogen (RM) films, cast on internal surfaces of cell substrate, are used to build surface polymer stabilized structures. Electric field of high frequency is used to orient the LC molecules by the negative dielectric torque prior to the photopolymerization of RM films. Electro-optic characterization results show that the contrasts of light scatter modulation and polarization dependence are noticeably improved by the dual-frequency control.