by ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems
edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan

Oleg Kameshkov in the lab. Credit: ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems

When physicists at the ARC Centre for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) needed a key component for their terahertz experiments, they ran into a frustrating problem¡ªthey needed tiny optical devices, known as wire-grid polarizers, but these cost thousands of dollars each.

"We were doing experiments in the terahertz frequency range and figured that some of the components¡ªparticularly polarizers¡ªwere extremely expensive," says Professor Ilya Shadrivov from TMOS at The Australian National University. He is the co-author of a new study published in Optics and Laser Technology.

"So we looked at how they were made and thought, surely there's a way to make them cheaper and faster."

Polarizers are essential for controlling terahertz light, which underpins technology that helps see inside or through opaque materials like clothes and packaging¡ªwithout the cellular damage caused by X-rays.

While polarizers are expected to underpin future communications beyond 6G, they are already widely used in spectroscopy, imaging and materials research.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on these polarizers, the researchers asked if they could simply make one themselves.

Using an ordinary sheet of aluminum kitchen foil and a nanosecond laser with precisely controlled pulses, the team found it could carve a delicate metal grid directly from the foil in as little as 15 seconds¡ªwithout cleanrooms, specialized fabrication facilities or even the decades-old wire-winding techniques that conventional devices require.

Schematics of the fabrication platforms used for strategy 1, direct substrate-free laser ablation (a), and strategy 2, laser micromachining with temporary substrate support followed by release (b). Panel (c) shows an example of a fabricated polarizer. Credit: Optics & Laser Technology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.optlastec.2026.116035

Born in the tank

The idea for the technology was conceived during a TMOS internal 'Shark Tank' competition last year, where researchers were challenged to pitch ideas with commercial potential.

"We started thinking about what we could do that might actually become a product," Shadrivov says.

The device design was led by doctoral student Oleg Kameshkov, and the fabrication was done by Dr. Vladlen Shvedov, both also at TMOS at The Australian National University.

"This was just our first experiment with the simplest material, which we then followed with more industry-grade materials, including tungsten," Kameshkov says.

"We took just your kitchen aluminum foil and made our polarizer out of it. It costs almost nothing."

Replacing an ancient method

The technology came to light when the team discovered exactly how to control the laser parameters. The process is delicate: with too much energy, the microscopic wires buckle. With too little, the foil isn't cut.

After months of experimentation, the team found a sweet spot that let it carve microscopic metal grids without destroying them.

The result is a freestanding polarizer¡ªwith no supporting glass or plastic substrate underneath it¡ªthat can be manufactured in seconds rather than through complex, multistep fabrication processes.

The researchers also developed techniques to create large devices from a range of metals in one to two minutes.

Conventional manufacturing often relies on either sophisticated lithography carried out in expensive cleanrooms or precision machines that wind microscopic tungsten wires one by one.

Kameshkov compares the process to manufacturing old incandescent light bulbs.

"People wind incredibly fine tungsten wire inside those bulbs," he says.

"It's very similar to how many polarizers are still made today."

Both approaches¡ªthe lithography and the winding¡ªare costly and difficult to scale.

Like bread

While wire-grid polarizers might seem unfamiliar to the average person, they are fundamental building blocks for any scientist working with terahertz waves.

Kameshkov compares them to bread.

"If you don't want to be hungry, the basic food you eat is bread," he says.

"Polarizers are like that for scientists. They're a very basic element for measurements¡ªfor everything."

Only the beginning

Although cheap and easy to process, aluminum foil isn't robust enough for commercial products.

The team is now experimenting with stronger materials such as tungsten and copper, aiming to find a sweet spot between manufacturing cost, durability and performance.

"We solved the fabrication problems," Kameshkov says.

"Now we're trying to find the trade-off between mechanical stability and the optical properties of the polarizer."

Shadrivov says the team's ambitions go beyond producing a cheaper version of today's devices.

"Usually, if you want something that performs better, you expect it to cost more," he says.

"But here we're hoping to make something that's not only cheaper¡ªbut performs even better than what is available commercially."

More information
Oleg Kameshkov et al, High-speed laser micromachining for fabrication of large-scale freestanding terahertz wire-grid polarizers, Optics & Laser Technology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.optlastec.2026.116035