LAUSR

Surface electromagnetic waves are the main carriers of the highly localized in-plane signal in planar antennas and photonic devices. However, the polarization degree of freedom is generally absent for surface waves as far as it is still a challenge to excite the surface waves with a necessary polarization state. In this letter, for the first time, we propose a method to excite the surface waves of arbitrary polarization using the self-complementary metasurfaces obeying Babinet's duality principle. Namely, we demonstrate the excitation of surface waves with (i) linear horizontal and vertical, (ii) linear diagonal, (iii) right- and left-handed circular, and (iv) elliptical polarizations covering, in principle, a whole Poincare sphere of polarization states. Finally, we analyze the impact of substrate on the efficiency of polarization-demanded surface waves excitation. The results obtained may find the numerous applications in planar photonic and flat optical polarization devices.