Study on mode properties of GaAs based hybrid plasmonic terahertz waveguide

Abstract

Abstract The Terahertz (THz) field is emerging with the goal of addressing the critical challenges associated with achieving high data rates and rapid communication. In this study, a hybrid plasmonic THz waveguide has been designed and analyzed operating in 2.5-3.5 THz frequency range. The waveguide is constructed using GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) as the high refractive index core, surrounded by AlAs (Aluminium Arsenide), Ag (Silver) and placed on an HDPE (high-density polyethylene) substrate. Graphene is strategically positioned between HDPE layer to enhance light confinement. The mode properties of the designed waveguide that have been simulated using multiphysics simulations of finite element method shows unique characteristics. The observations of the simulated results at 2.5 to 3.5 THz, shows the effective refractive index of 3.79, effective mode area of 1.88 mm2, birefringence of 0.2, dispersion of 0.10 ps/THz/cm, mode field diameter of 15.8 mm, beat length of 123 mm, confinement loss 1.79 x 10-9 mm-1 has been obtained. These features make the proposed waveguide suitable for applications in photonic integrated circuits for THz communications.