Geometric phase shaping of terahertz vortex beams

We propose a topological beam-shaping strategy of terahertz beams using geometric phase elements made of space-variant birefringent slabs. Quasi-monochromatic terahertz vortex beams are produced and characterized both in amplitude and phase from the reconstructed real-time two-dimensional imaging of the electric field. Nonseparable superpositions of such vortex beams are also obtained and characterized by two-dimensional polarimetric analysis. These results emphasize the versatility of the spin-orbit electromagnetic toolbox to prepare on-demand structured light endowed with polarization-controlled orbital angular momentum content in the terahertz domain, which should find many uses in future terahertz technologies.