Comparison of birefringent electric split-ring resonator and meanderline structures as quarter-wave plates at terahertz frequencies

We have fabricated a quarter-wave plate from a single layer of birefringent electric split-ring resonators (ELC). For comparison, an appropriately scaled double layer meanderline structure was fabricated. At the design frequency of 639 GHz, the ELC structure achieves 99.9% circular polarization while the meanderline achieves 99.6%. The meanderline displays a larger bandwidth of operation, attaining over 99% circular polarization from 615 - 743 GHz, while the ELC achieves 99% from 626 - 660 GHz. However, both are broad enough for use with CW sources making ELCs a more attractive choice due to the ease of fabrication. Both samples are free standing with a total thickness of 70 mu m for the meanderline structure and a mere 20 mu m for the ELC highlighting the large degree of birefringence exhibited with metamaterial structures. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America