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    Bound states in the continuum enabled all-dielectric metasurfaces towards deep-nanoscale terahertz molecular fingerprinting

    Jie Wang1,2,3,*, Xiao Wang1,2,3, Maoxiong Zhao4, Hongwei Zhao1,2,3, Min Chen1,2,3, and Haixiao Deng1,†

    • *Contact author: wangj@sari.ac.cn
    • †Contact author: denghx@sari.ac.cn

    Phys. Rev. B 114, 125406 – Published 6 August, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/x8xw-9s19

    Abstract

    Terahertz spectroscopy provides unique access to molecular fingerprint regions, but suffers from weak light-matter interaction due to the dimension mismatch between the terahertz wavelength and the molecule. Here, an all-dielectric metasurface strategy inspired by bound states in the continuum (BICs) is proposed for nanoscale-level terahertz molecular sensing with tailored functionalities. Through the temporal coupled-mode theory, it reveals that the molecular signal can be enhanced by two efficient approaches: increasing the coupling coefficient μ, or decreasing the radiation rate γr. Using the lossless symmetry-broken quasi-BIC dimerized grating coupled with the α-lactose molecules as an example, it demonstrates the significant enhancement, yet with different trends for μ-tailoring and γr-tailoring sensing approaches. Further combined with the angle-multiplexed mechanism, the symmetry-broken quasi-BICs enable the retrieval of terahertz vibrational fingerprints from molecular layers as thin as 1 nm, with an enhancement factor of three orders of magnitude. This work not only reveals the powerful capability of BIC within an all-dielectric platform for nanoscale terahertz detection, pushing terahertz sensing into unprecedented deep-nano levels, but also opens new avenues for developing advanced terahertz photonic devices.

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