Terahertz Full-Set Multi-Bit Logic Operations with High-Dimensional Multiplexed Surface Plasmonic Vortices.

Abstract

On-chip photonic logic operations are emerging as a leading candidate for post-Moore's computing and the terahertz (THz) band is crucial for next-generation integrated applications. However, THz on-chip Boolean logic gates still lack a universal paradigm for multifunctionality and reconfigurability, which is largely limited by the inadequate multiplexing and dynamic modulation capabilities. Here, we demonstrate a reconfigurable liquid crystal-integrated plasmonic metasurface for THz full-set logic operations. A three-level coherent synthesis strategy is first established to customize spatiotemporal-frequency-spin multiplexed surface plasmonic vortices. Furthermore, a spatio-temporal encoding mechanism is incorporated to support flexible surface field manipulations and reconstruct multi-input-output mappings for complex logic operations. With dual-pixel and quad-level encodings, this device delivers active control of vortex mode superposition and suppression, yielding up to 64 distinct nearfield states with a maximum contrast ratio of 20 dB. Surpassing conventional on-chip logic devices, this platform executes multi-bit logic operations up to 7-bit inputs and 2¹²⁸ full-set schemes, which enable parallel encryption and logic computing across multiple on-chip nodes. This work paves the way for THz ultra-compact on-chip photonic links, advancing high-density data communication and massive data processing applications.