Entire Terahertz Research Articles

Multifunctional Yb3Si2C2 with High‐Performance Terahertz Shielding for Future 6G Communications

AbstractThe development of next‐generation 6G communications is anticipated to expand into extreme environments, necessitating superior terahertz (THz) electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. Herein, structural stability, electronic and optical properties of rare earth silicide carbide Yb3Si2C2 are investigated using first principles density functional calculations and semi‐classical Boltzmann transport theory. The calculation results show Yb3Si2C2 is determined to be experimentally synthesized with high temperature stability with a certain fluctuating C2 pair orientation. In addition, Yb3Si2C2 is identified as a soft, tough, and damage‐resistant ceramic with low shear deformation resistance and easy cleavage, ensuring its durability in irradiation environments. Due to the layered structure and excellent electrical conductivity, Yb3Si2C2 demonstrates high reflectivity and low transmittance for terahertz electromagnetic waves, along with 62% solar absorptivity and 33% IR emissivity. Remarkably, the total shielding effectiveness of Yb3Si2C2 with thicknesses of 5 µm and above follows the widely‐used Simon's formula. The average total shielding effectiveness of 5 µm‐thick and 10 µm‐thick Yb3Si2C2 across the entire THz region reaches 63 and 110 dB, respectively, which turns out to be the top compared to the results reported. Therefore, the multifunctional intrinsic properties of Yb3Si2C2 materials hold great promise for miniaturized, high‐performance terahertz EMI shielding, even in extreme environments.

Rydberg-Atom Terahertz Heterodyne Receiver with Ultrahigh Spectral Resolution

Abstract Terahertz heterodyne receivers with high sensitivity and spectral resolution are crucial for various applications. Here, we present a room-temperature atomic terahertz heterodyne receiver that achieves ultrahigh sensitivity and frequency resolution. At a signal frequency of 338.7 GHz, we obtain a sensitivity of 2.88 ± 0.09 μV⋅cm−1⋅Hz−1/2 for electric field measurements. The calibrated linear dynamical range spans approximately 89 dB, ranging from −110 dBV/cm to −21 dBV/cm. We demodulate a 400 symbol stream encoded in 4-state phase-shift keying, demonstrating excellent phase detection capability. By scanning the frequency of the local oscillator, we realize a terahertz spectrometer with Hz level frequency resolution. This resolution is more than two orders of magnitude higher than that of existing terahertz spectrometers. The demonstrated terahertz heterodyne receiver holds promising potential for working across the entire terahertz spectrum, significantly advancing its practical applications.

Ultra-broadband tunable terahertz metasurface absorber with multi-mode regulation based on artificial neural network

The multi-window tunable absorption of terahertz (THz) waves faces challenges such as a small tunable bandwidth, discontinuous tuning windows, and a complex design process. This study addresses these issues by employing inverse design based on artificial neural networks (ANN) to achieve an ultra-broadband tunable THz metasurface absorber (UTTMA). Leveraging the electrically tunable property of graphene and the phase transition property of vanadium dioxide (VO2), the UTTMA achieves multi-domain dynamic operation across a large frequency band. The design allows for arbitrary switching between multiple windows by transforming between graphene surface-localized plasmon resonance (LSPR), fundamental order surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) resonance, and graphene surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and second order SPP resonance. The tunable windows cover the range between 1.90 and 10.00 THz, encompassing four-fifths of the entire THz band, surpassing previously reported absorbers. The accuracy of the ANN inverse design is verified, and a systematic analysis of the optical performance of the UTTMA is conducted. These findings offer a viable and effective method for expanding the tunable bandwidth and simplifying the design process for THz metasurfaces.

A graphene-based THz selective absorber with absorptivity 95 % and wide-range electrical tunability

A growing adoption of Terahertz (THz) frequency across various applications is witnessed in the recent years. This specific frequency range is said to yield a breakthrough in high-speed electronics and communications, besides its significant role in the medical field regarding scanning and treatment. As frequency absorbers are one of the common blocks in the mentioned applications, they were the focus of many research work. In this paper, we present a theoretical model for a selective THz frequency absorber that has more than 90 % absorptivity and can reach 95 % and near unity absorptivity at some frequencies. The structure is based on monolayers of nanoribbons of graphene, MoS2, and phosphorene. The utilization of the surface plasmon oscillations of these two-dimensional (2D) materials, in addition to the impedance matching, is employed to achieve maximum absorptivity. The structure has an electrically tunable selective frequency from 1.3 THz to 10 THz that nearly covers the whole THz range, and a bandwidth ranging from 0.9 THz to 1.3 THz. Electrical tunability is done through varying the applied voltage on the MoS2/graphene heterostructure (0.2 V ∼ 5 V) based on the tunable conductivity of graphene. In addition to the voltage tunability of the design, the absorption frequency is also swept by varying the nanoribbons widths (20 nm ∼ 160 nm). The proposed design surpasses previous ones by its simple structure and high absorption through the entire THz range, besides its low cost of fabrication. The structure is ultrathin (∼10 nm) that it can fit in ultrathin electronics. It has a relatively small bandwidth compared to previous work, that represents the basis for narrowband absorbers. The structure is simulated using the finite element method (FEM) and verified using the transmission line circuit theory which demonstrated the validity of the structure for higher frequency ranges. The possibility of future synthesis is also discussed.

The dotTHz Project: A Standard Data Format for Terahertz Time-Domain Data

From investigating molecular vibrations to observing galaxies, terahertz technology has found extensive applications in research and development over the past three decades. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and imaging have experienced significant growth and now dominate spectral observations ranging from 0.1 to 10 THz. However, the lack of standardised protocols for data processing, dissemination, and archiving poses challenges in collaborating and sharing terahertz data between research groups. To tackle these challenges, we present the dotTHz project, which introduces a standardised terahertz data format and the associated open-source tools for processing of dotTHz files. The dotTHz project aims to facilitate seamless data processing and analysis by providing a common framework. All software components are released under the MIT licence through GitHub repositories to encourage widespread adoption, modification, and collaboration. We invite the terahertz community to actively contribute to the dotTHz project, fostering the development of additional tools that encompass a greater breadth and depth of functionality. By working together, we can establish a comprehensive suite of resources that benefit the entire terahertz community.

Tunable multi-cycle terahertz pulse generation from a spintronic emitter

We demonstrate that a spintronic terahertz (THz) emitter can be driven by a chirped-pulse beating scheme to generate narrowband THz pulses, with continuous tuning of the frequency and linewidth by simply adjusting the laser chirp and/or the time delay between chirped pulses. As supported by model calculations, temporal shaping of the drive laser pulses can be exploited to manipulate the ultrafast demagnetization dynamics in the thin-film emitter, modulating the spin-polarized current in the ferromagnetic layer to access multi-cycle THz emission. Using a regenerative amplifier laser system with 50 fs transform-limited pulses chirped to 6 ps, we demonstrate narrowband THz generation over a frequency range from 0.4 to 2.3 THz, in addition to linewidths down to 40 GHz using 12 ps chirped pulses. Our proof-of-concept results pave the way to future narrowband THz sources with subgigahertz linewidth and center frequencies continuously tunable from 0.1 to 30 THz. By combining with the advantageous properties of spintronic THz emitters, from straightforward implementation to flexible polarization control, these sources open up opportunities for narrowband applications over the entire THz spectral range.

Method for designing ultra-wideband absorbers based on water-filled Fabry-Perot cavity with continuously varying cavity length.

Broadband and efficient terahertz (THz) absorbers are crucial for various applications in sensing, imaging, detecting, and modulation. Although recent studies have reported a series of THz metamaterials for enhanced absorption, achieving high absorption across the entire ultrabroad terahertz band remains challenging. We propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, method to design ultra-wideband terahertz absorbers using a water-filled Fabry-Perot cavity with continuously varying cavity length. Our design achieves over 90% absorption across an ultrabroad terahertz band ranging from 0.26 to 30 THz. Furthermore, the design method can be extended to the visible, infrared, and microwave regimes. We believe that our method will inspire further studies and applications of ultra-wideband absorbers.

Design of Quasi-Shaped spectroscopy based optical sensor for the detection of alcohol

In this research, an entirely novel optical sensor for alcohol detection based on quasi-shaped spectroscopy is offered. A quasi shape with a tightly bonded structure in the cladding region and a hexahedron core region makes up the recommended design, which has a remarkable sensitivity of about 91.35%, 92.55%, and 90.40%and low confinement losses (CLs) of 5.44 × 10−08 dB/m, 6.75 × 10−08 dB/m, and 5.85 × 10−08 dB/m for detecting alcohol like ethanol (n = 1.354), butanol (n = 1.3993), and propanol(n = 1.384), at 1 THz. The numerical aperture, the effective area, and the V-parameter have all been identified and assessed. The 0.8THz to 3 THz operational wavelength range is stated. In the COMSOL Multiphysics (Version 5.6) environment, the properties of these suggested alcohol sensors are numerically examined utilizing the FEM (finite element method) with full vectors. In contrast to other efforts, the proposed sensor, which consists of a quasi-lattice PCF with a perfectly matched layer (PML) of a circular air hole shape and TOPAS as the background material, aims to improve sensitivity response. The proposed sensor might be crucial in the alcohol detection process due to its superior sensitivity response, a single mode of operation across the entire operational terahertz range, and shallow confinement loss. So, this PCF can proficiently be pragmatic in many biological sensing and other THz technology domains.

Sub-terahertz scanning near-field optical microscope using a quartz tuning fork based probe.

We report a sub-terahertz scattering-type scanning near-field microscope (sub-THz s-SNOM) which uses a 6 mm long metallic tip driven by a quartz tuning fork as the near-field probe. Under continuous-wave illumination by a 94 GHz Gunn diode oscillator, terahertz near-field images are obtained by demodulating the scattered wave at both the fundamental and the second harmonic of the tuning fork oscillation frequency together with the atomic-force-microscope (AFM) image. The terahertz near-field image of a gold grating with a period of 2.3 µm obtained at the fundamental modulation frequency agrees well with the AFM image. The experimental relationship between the signal demodulated at the fundamental frequency and the tip-sample distance is well fitted with the coupled dipole model indicating that the scattered signal from the long probe is mainly contributed by the near-field interaction between the tip and the sample. This near-filed probe scheme using quartz tuning fork can adjust the tip length flexibly to match the wavelength over the entire terahertz frequency range and allows for operation in cryogenic environment.

Lightwave-driven electron emission for polarity-sensitive terahertz beam profiling

The full exploitation of advanced light sources in the terahertz (THz) frequency range requires versatile experimental tools to fully characterize the spatial, temporal, and spectral shapes of the THz electric field. Several techniques for passive THz beam profiling exist that offer information about the temporally integrated intensity. Thus, any information about the electric field itself is lost. Here, we show that a UV–visible light emission produced via a lightwave-driven field emission from single-layer metasurfaces can be used to visualize the peak electric field distribution of THz beams in real time. Our technique is scalable up to frequencies approaching the plasma frequency of the metal used for the metasurface. Uniquely, our device is sensitive to the absolute polarity of the THz lightwave. These findings demonstrate a general pathway to designing metamaterial-based field-sensitive optical detectors suitable for the entire THz and IR spectral region.

Terahertz beam array generated by focusing two-color-laser pulses into air with a microlens array

Terahertz (THz) radiation from a plasma filament array generated by focusing two-color laser pulses into the ambient air with a microlens array combining a lens is investigated. We observed a linear dependence of far-field collected THz radiation on the number of filaments and separated THz bunches that are less than 1 mm in diameter. These results indicate that the individual plasma filaments contribute incoherently to the entire THz output, which is demonstrated further with our simulation. Furthermore, the dependence of THz output on laser energy shows that the total energy of the THz beam array has not yet reached its saturation point under the conditions of current pump laser energy in our lab, indicating that it is still possible to further improve the THz output by further increasing the pump laser energy. This THz beam array may possibly be used in micro- or sub-millimeter multi-samples for THz imaging or as a stimuli array source for more scientific research in the future.

An in-plane photoelectric effect in two-dimensional electron systems for terahertz detection.

Many mid- and far-infrared semiconductor photodetectors rely on a photonic response, when the photon energy is large enough to excite and extract electrons due to optical transitions. Toward the terahertz range with photon energies of a few milli–electron volts, classical mechanisms are used instead. This is the case in two-dimensional electron systems, where terahertz detection is dominated by plasmonic mixing and by scattering-based thermal phenomena. Here, we report on the observation of a quantum, collision-free phenomenon that yields a giant photoresponse at terahertz frequencies (1.9 THz), more than 10-fold as large as expected from plasmonic mixing. We artificially create an electrically tunable potential step within a degenerate two-dimensional electron gas. When exposed to terahertz radiation, electrons absorb photons and generate a large photocurrent under zero source-drain bias. The observed phenomenon, which we call the “in-plane photoelectric effect,” provides an opportunity for efficient direct detection across the entire terahertz range.

A Flexible and Ultra‐Wideband Terahertz Wave Absorber Based on Pyramid‐Shaped Carbon Nanotube Array via Femtosecond‐Laser Microprocessing and Two‐Step Transfer Technique

AbstractHigh and uniform absorption capabilities of terahertz (THz) waves in an ultra‐broadband range is desirable for many THz functional devices. Nowadays, it is still challenging to fabricate flexible THz absorbers with a uniformly high absorptance across the entire THz band merely based on traditional bulk materials. Engineered metamaterials absorbers utilize impedance matching to reduce the surface reflection at a single frequency, and can achieve near‐unity power absorption within a relatively narrow bandwidth. In this work, a fabrication strategy combining a femtosecond‐laser microprocessing process and a two‐step‐transfer technique is demonstrated for the realization of vertically‐aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) arrays with pyramid‐shaped unit cells for THz wave absorptions. To transfer the structured VACNT array from the silicon to the flexible PDMS/Cu/PET substrate, the temperature and pressure dependences of the transfer process are systematically investigated. The fabricated THz absorber demonstrates an average power absorptance over 98.9% from 0.1 to 2.5 THz, and can function well in bended states and after 300 times bending cycles. The proposed fabrication strategy is expected to be used for the patterning of VACNTs and other nanomaterials, and advance the development of novel THz devices for various applications.

Fractal loaded planar Super Wide Band four element MIMO antenna for THz applications

In this paper, a compact Super Wide Band (SWB) four element multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna having an overall dimension of 125 μm×125μm is presented for application in Terahertz (THz) frequency spectrum. This SWB MIMO antenna configuration consists of orthogonally placed four coplanar waveguide (CPW) fed half elliptical patch antennas with connected ground planes. Three types of fractal curves are suitably applied on this MIMO configuration to obtain enhanced impedance bandwidth and good isolation between antenna elements. The proposed design exhibits an impedance bandwidth (S11≤ −10 dB) from 0.72 THz to 10 THz (ratio impedance bandwidth 13.89:1) and an isolation more than 20 dB between all four antenna elements is obtained over the entire band of operation. Stable radiation characteristics with moderate amount of gain are also observed The other MIMO performance parameters like Envelop Correlation Coefficient (ECC), Diversity Gain (DG), Channel Capacity Loss (CCL) and Total Active Reflection Coefficient (TARC) are also within acceptable limit over the entire THz frequency of operation. The proposed design consists of more number of antenna elements with relatively smaller physical dimension compared to the existing SWB MIMO antenna designs available in literature in THz frequency range. Therefore, this proposed MIMO antenna design can be used for THz applications in future beyond the fifth generation (B5G) technology.

Origin of Terahertz Soft-Mode Nonlinearities in Ferroelectric Perovskites

Soft modes are intimately linked to structural instabilities and are key for the understanding of phase transitions. The soft modes in ferroelectrics, for example, map directly the polar order parameter of a crystal lattice. Driving these modes into the nonlinear, frequency-changing regime with intense terahertz (THz) light fields is an efficient way to alter the lattice and, with it, the physical properties. However, recent studies show that the THz electric-field amplitudes triggering a nonlinear soft-mode response are surprisingly low, which raises the question on the microscopic picture behind the origin of this nonlinear response. Here, we use linear and two-dimensional terahertz (2D THz) spectroscopy to unravel the origin of the soft-mode nonlinearities in a strain-engineered epitaxial ferroelectric SrTiO3 thin film. We find that the linear dielectric function of this mode is quantitatively incompatible with pure ionic or pure electronic motions. Instead, 2D THz spectroscopy reveals a pronounced coupling of electronic and ionic-displacement dipoles. Hence, the soft mode is a hybrid mode of lattice (ionic) motions and electronic interband transitions. We confirm this conclusion with model calculations based on a simplified pseudopotential concept of the electronic band structure. It reveals that the entire THz nonlinearity is caused by the off-resonant nonlinear response of the electronic interband transitions of the lattice-electronic hybrid mode. With this work, we provide fundamental insights into the microscopic processes that govern the softness that any material assumes near a ferroic phase transition. This knowledge will allow us to gain an efficient all-optical control over the associated large nonlinear effects.Received 14 September 2020Revised 20 January 2021Accepted 12 March 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.11.021023Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasDielectric propertiesElectric polarizationElectronic excitation & ionizationElectronic transitionsFerroelectricityLight-matter interactionNonlinear opticsPhononsStrong electromagnetic field effectsUltrafast phenomenaTechniquesTerahertz time-domain spectroscopyUltrafast pump-probe spectroscopyCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied PhysicsNonlinear DynamicsAtomic, Molecular & Optical

Terahertz spectroscopy of diabetic and non-diabetic human blood plasma pellets.

.Significance: The creation of fundamentally new approaches to storing various biomaterial and estimation parameters, without irreversible loss of any biomaterial, is a pressing challenge in clinical practice. We present a technology for studying samples of diabetic and non-diabetic human blood plasma in the terahertz (THz) frequency range.Aim: The main idea of our study is to propose a method for diagnosis and storing the samples of diabetic and non-diabetic human blood plasma and to study these samples in the THz frequency range.Approach: Venous blood from patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and conditionally healthy participants was collected. To limit the impact of water in the THz spectra, lyophilization of liquid samples and their pressing into a pellet were performed. These pellets were analyzed using THz time-domain spectroscopy. The differentiation between the THz spectral data was conducted using multivariate statistics to classify non-diabetic and diabetic groups’ spectra.Results: We present the density-normalized absorption and refractive index for diabetic and non-diabetic pellets in the range 0.2 to 1.4 THz. Over the entire THz frequency range, the normalized index of refraction of diabetes pellets exceeds this indicator of non-diabetic pellet on average by 9% to 12%. The non-diabetic and diabetic groups of the THz spectra are spatially separated in the principal component space.Conclusion: We illustrate the potential ability in clinical medicine to construct a predictive rule by supervised learning algorithms after collecting enough experimental data.

Broadband high-resolution terahertz single-pixel imaging.

We report a simple single-pixel imaging system with a low mean squared error in the entire terahertz frequency region (3-13 THz) that employs a thin metallic ring with a series of directly perforated random masks and a subpixel mask digitization technique. This imaging system produces high pixel resolution reconstructed images, up to 1200 × 1200 pixels, and imaging area of 32 × 32 mm2. It can be extended to develop advanced imaging systems in the near-ultraviolet to terahertz region.

Broadband terahertz transmissive quarter-wave metasurface

Polarization conversion devices are key components in spectroscopy and wireless communications systems. Conventional terahertz waveplates made of natural birefringent materials typically suffer from low efficiency, narrow bandwidth, and substantial thickness. To overcome the limitations associated with conventional waveplates, a terahertz quarter-wave metasurface with enhanced efficiency and wide bandwidth is proposed. The transmissive quarter-wave metasurface is rigorously designed based on an extended semi-analytical approach employing network analysis and genetic algorithm. Simulation results suggest that the design can achieve linear-to-circular polarization conversion with a 3-dB axial ratio relative bandwidth of 53.3%, spanning 205 GHz–354 GHz. The measurement results confirm that the proposed design enables a 3-dB axial ratio from 205 GHz to at least 340 GHz with a total efficiency beyond 70.2%, where the upper frequency bound is limited by the available experimental facility. This quarter-wave metasurface can cover an entire terahertz electronics band and can be scaled to cover other nearby bands under the same convention, which are technologically significant for future portable systems.

Large Mode Area Photonic Crystal Fiber with Low Dispersion and Confinement Loss for Terahertz Wave Guiding

A photonic crystal fiber (PCF) made of the cyclic-olefin copolymer (COC) with low dispersion and confinement loss, large-mode-area, and single-mode transmission for terahertz wave guiding is described. The characteristics of the PCF in the terahertz range are simulated and analyzed by the full-vector finite element method (FEM). The effects of the structural parameters on the performance of the terahertz PCF are also investigated. The effective mode field area of the PCF is as large as 1.22084 × 107 μm2 at a wavelength of 1,000 μm and a flat dispersion of 0.07669 ± 0.33258 ps/nm/km is obtained. A much lower confinement loss of 6.0253 × 10-16 dB/m is achieved. The single mode transmission over the entire terahertz wave band is described.

Integrated, Portable, Tunable, and Coherent Terahertz Sources and Sensitive Detectors Based on Layered Superconductors

Current compact emitter and receiver technologies are generally inefficient and impractical at terahertz (THz) frequencies between 0.1 and 10 THz. Hence, a gap exists between mature microwave and developed optical technologies. On-chip, integrated broadly tunable and powerful quantum sources that coherently radiate THz waves between 0.1 and 11 THz (potentially extendable to 15 THz) and with potential output power of >1 mW can be achieved based on quantum tunneling of electron pairs across the stack of intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) naturally present in a single crystal of the layered high- ${T}_{c}$ superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O $_{8+\delta}$ (BSCCO). Such devices have been found to be especially promising solid-state THz sources capable of bridging the entire THz gap, as their wide-frequency tunability range is superior to that obtained from their semiconducting-based rivals, either single resonant-tunneling diodes (RTDs) or THz-quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). Due to the unique electrodynamics of BSCCO, they can also be operated as switching current detectors, paving the way for the realization of on-chip THz-integrated circuits for applications in ultrahigh-speed telecommunications, quantum information, on-chip spectroscopy, and nondestructive sensing, testing, and imaging. This article reviews the history and recent advances in THz sources and detectors based on IJJs with a focus on the application of IJJ THz devices in THz spectroscopy and various types of THz imaging systems such as reflection, transmission, and computed tomography. We show that compact IJJ THz devices with sub-centimeter-sized modules are easy to use in many applications, as they can be regarded as pocket quantum THz torches.