Abstract: | We propose a switchable THz metamaterial that can be switched between two functions of half-wave plate and quarter-wave plate.The two switchable functions can be simply achieved by inserting a VO_2 film in the metamaterial design.Finite-difference time-domain(FDTD) simulation results show that the proposed metamaterial can convert x-polarized incident wave to y-polarized reflected wave when VO_2 is at metal phase,and convert x-polarized wave to circularly polarized wave when VO_2 is at insulator phase.The metamaterial performs well in the two functions,i.e.,the same broad working frequency band and near perfect polarization conversion.The switching effect originates from the switchable Fabry-Perot cavity length induced by the phase change of VO_2.We believe that our findings provide a reference in designing switchable metamaterials. |