Enhanced terahertz third-harmonic generation by bound states in the continuum in graphene grating-like metamaterial

Abstract

Non-linear metamaterials hold great promise for enhanced terahertz harmonic generation. Here, we numerically investigate enhanced terahertz third-harmonic generation (THG) by exploiting the symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum (BICs) in graphene grating-like metamaterial. By symmetry breaking of metamaterials, BICs transform into quasi-BICs. The high Q-factor and strong localized field enhancement is achieved at quasi-BICs, leading to a boosted THG process with low incident intensity of fundamental frequency. The THG conversion efficiency reaches 3.1% at an incident intensity of 100 kW/cm2. The remarkably enhanced non-linear optical process in the proposed non-linear metamaterial constitutes an outstanding platform for on-chip terahertz non-linear conversion applications.