Pancharatnam-Berry phase induced spin-selective transmission in herringbone dielectric metamaterials

Manipulating the polarisation of light is crucial for sensing and imaging applications. One such aspect in particular is selective transmission of one circular polarisation (spin) when light is transmitted through a medium or a device. However, most present methods of achieving this have relatively low efficiency and selectivity, whilst high selectivity examples rely on lossy and complex three-dimensional helical or multilayer structures. Here, we propose a dielectric metamaterial approach for achieving spin-selective transmission of electromagnetic waves, utilizing spin-controlled constructive or destructive interference between two Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phases in conjunction with propagative dynamic phase. The dielectric metamaterial, consisting of monolithic silicon herringbone structures, exhibits a broadband operation in the terahertz regime whilst obtaining a spin-selective efficiency upwards of 60%. Such a device is robust and is not easily degraded by errors in fabrication.
Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, Advanced Materials, first published: 14 September 2016