Superfocusing of terahertz wave through spoof surface plasmons

Opt Express. 2018 Sep 3;26(18):22722-22732. doi: 10.1364/OE.26.022722.

Abstract

In this paper, we propose and numerically demonstrate a new way to realize superfocusing of terahertz waves via the spoof surface plasmons (SSP). With the assist of a modified subwavelength metallic grating, a near-field rapid oscillation can be formed, originating from the Fabry-Perot resonances due to the reflection of SSP waves at terminations. We show that the field pattern of oscillation on textured metallic surface can be engineered by adjusting groove width and grating number. This produces a desired modulation of phase and amplitude for the radiationless electromagnetic interference (REI) focusing. The effective focusing depth through the corrugated metal is evaluated by the full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) beamwidth. At the situation of third-order Fabry-Perot resonance, the FWMH reaches up to 0.069λ at a distance of 0.1λ, improving the beamwidth by more than 540% compared with a single slit. The FWHM is optimized to 0.06λ as the order of Fabry-Perot resonance becomes seven, leading to the superfocusing metric of 1.67. On the basis of this, we further show the focusing ability can be held on the ultra-thin metallic grating. Two-dimensional subwavelength focusing behavior is also numerically verified. Our study may extend the working distance of sensing and super-resolution imaging devices at terahertz frequency.