Dynamically controlling terahertz (THz) waves with an ultracompact device is highly desired, but previously realized tunable devices are bulky in size and/or exhibit limited light-tuning functionalities. Here, we experimentally demonstrate dynamic modulation on THz waves with a dielectric metasurface in mode-selective or mode-unselective manners through pumping the system at different optical wavelengths. Quasi-normal-mode theory reveals that the physics is governed by the spatial overlap between wave functions of resonant modes and regions inside resonators perturbed by pump laser excitation at different wavelengths. We further design/fabricate a dielectric metasurface and experimentally demonstrate that it can dynamically control the polarization state of incident THz waves, dictated by the strength and wavelength of the pumping light. We finally numerically demonstrate pump wavelength-controlled optical information encryption based on a carefully designed dielectric metasurface. Our studies reveal that pump light wavelength can be a new external knob to dynamically control THz waves, which may inspire many tunable metadevices with diversified functionalities.

Long-term optical data storage (ODS) technology is essential to break the bottleneck of high energy consumption for information storage in the current era of big data. Here, ODS with an ultralong lifetime of 2×10⁷ years is attained with single ultrafast laser pulse induced reduction of Eu³⁺ ions and tailoring of optical properties inside the Eu-doped aluminosilicate glasses. We demonstrate that the induced local modifications in the glass can stand against the temperature of up to 970 K and strong ultraviolet light irradiation with the power density of 100 kW/cm². Furthermore, the active ions of Eu²⁺ exhibit strong and broadband emission with the full width at half maximum reaching 190 nm, and the photoluminescence (PL) is flexibly tunable in the whole visible region by regulating the alkaline earth metal ions in the glasses. The developed technology and materials will be of great significance in photonic applications such as long-term ODS.Long-term optical data storage (ODS) technology is essential to break the bottleneck of high energy consumption for information storage in the current era of big data. Here, ODS with an ultralong lifetime of 2×10⁷ years is attained with single ultrafast laser pulse induced reduction of Eu³⁺ ions and tailoring of optical properties inside the Eu-doped aluminosilicate glasses. We demonstrate that the induced local modifications in the glass can stand against the temperature of up to 970 K and strong ultraviolet light irradiation with the power density of 100 kW/cm². Furthermore, the active ions of Eu²⁺ exhibit strong and broadband emission with the full width at half maximum reaching 190 nm, and the photoluminescence (PL) is flexibly tunable in the whole visible region by regulating the alkaline earth metal ions in the glasses. The developed technology and materials will be of great significance in photonic applications such as long-term ODS.

Plasmonic resonances empowered by bound states in the continuum (BICs) offer unprecedented opportunities to tailor light–matter interaction. However, excitation of high quality-factor (Q-factor) quasi-BICs is often limited to collimated light at specific polarization and incident directions, rendering challenges for unpolarized focused light. The major hurdle is the lack of robustness against weak spatial coherence and poor polarization of incident light. Here, addressing this limitation, we demonstrate sharp resonances in symmetric plasmonic metasurfaces by exploiting BICs in the parameter space, offering ultraweak angular dispersion effect and polarization-independent performance. Specifically, a high-Q (≈71) resonance with near-perfect absorption (>90%) is obtained for the input of unpolarized focused light covering wide incident angles (from 0° to 30°). Also, giant electric and magnetic field enhancement simultaneously occurs in quasi-BICs. These results provide a way to achieve efficient near-field enhancement using focused light produced by high numerical aperture objectives.