Structured Chiral Liquid Crystals on Metasurfaces for THz Polarization Control

This research focuses on terahertz (THz) polarization control using structured chiral liquid crystals integrated with metasurfaces. This range (0.1–10 THz) is important for spectroscopy, imaging, and communication systems, where efficient polarization control remains challenging. Metasurfaces are engineered 2D structures composed of subwavelength elements that enable precise control of electromagnetic waves, including phase, amplitude, and polarization, though their response is typically static. Liquid crystals are anisotropic media with birefringence, allowing dynamic light polarization control through molecular reorientation. Chiral liquid crystals exhibit optical activity and can host supramolecular structures such as torons, or 3D localized topological solitons. They introduce spatial anisotropy, leading to complex polarization transformations. The project combines these systems to study their interaction using THz time-domain spectroscopy and
numerical modeling.