This invention discloses a photoelectrically tunable and dynamically switchable
waveplate based on
semiconductor metamaterials. Addressing the shortcomings of existing single-field modulation or simple superposition of multiple fields in doped semiconductors, such as high loss and poor coordination, this invention proposes a deep photoelectric-electrical synergistic modulation
mechanism based on intrinsic semiconductors. The
waveplate includes a substrate and a periodic array of
intrinsic semiconductor cuboids formed thereon, with
electrode structures at both ends. During modulation, a pump light is used as a pre-excitation condition to excite free carriers in the initially high-resistivity
intrinsic semiconductor; simultaneously, a modulation
voltage is applied to drive the nonlinear reconstruction of the
spatial distribution and concentration of photogenerated carriers. Through the
interlocking mechanism of the photoelectric dual fields, the effective
dielectric constant and
optical anisotropy of the cuboid units in the orthogonal directions are dynamically adjusted, thereby achieving efficient switching between multiple-dimensional polarization states, such as linear and
circular polarization. This invention avoids the ohmic loss introduced by
doping and has the advantages of compact structure, rich modulation dimensions, and high precision, making it suitable for fields such as
optical communication and
polarization imaging.