Monolithic Superconducting Emitter of Tunable Circularly Polarized Terahertz Radiation

We propose an approach to controlling the polarization of terahertz (THz) radiation from intrinsic Josephson-junction stacks in a single crystalline high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. Monolithic control of the surface high-frequency current distributions in the truncated square mesa structure allows us to modulate the polarization of the emitted terahertz wave as a result of two orthogonal fundamental modes excited inside the mesa. Highly polarized circular terahertz waves with a degree of circular polarization of more than 99% can be generated using an electrically controlled method. The intuitive results obtained from the numerical simulation based on the conventional antenna theory are consistent with the observed emission characteristics.