Published in

Optica, Optica, 5(8), p. 760, 2021

DOI: 10.1364/optica.422826

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Giant terahertz polarization rotation in ultrathin films of aligned carbon nanotubes

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

For easy manipulation of polarization states of light for applications in communications, imaging, and information processing, an efficient mechanism is desired for rotating light polarization with a minimum interaction length. Here, we report giant polarization rotations for terahertz (THz) electromagnetic waves in ultrathin ( ∼ 45 n m ), high-density films of aligned carbon nanotubes. We observed polarization rotations of up to ∼ 20 ∘ and ∼ 110 ∘ for transmitted and reflected THz pulses, respectively. The amount of polarization rotation was a sensitive function of the angle between the incident THz polarization and the nanotube alignment direction, exhibiting a “magic” angle at which the total rotation through transmission and reflection becomes exactly 90°. Our model quantitatively explains these giant rotations as a result of extremely anisotropic optical constants, demonstrating that aligned carbon nanotubes promise ultrathin, broadband, and tunable THz polarization devices.