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Design, Fabrication, and Experimental Characterization of Plasmonic Photoconductive Terahertz Emitters
Published on: July 8, 2013
Enhanced electromagnetic coupling between terahertz radiation and plasmons in a grating-gate transistor structure on
Vyacheslav V Popov1, Denis V Fateev, Olga V Polischuk
1Department of Electrical, Computer, and System Engineering and Center for Integrated Electronics, CII 9015, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, 12180 New York, USA. popov@soire.renet.ru
Optics Express
|August 20, 2010
Summary
Researchers enhanced terahertz radiation detection by using a membrane substrate and narrow-slit grating-gate. This novel approach significantly boosts detector responsivity through improved electromagnetic coupling.
Area of Science:
- Optoelectronics
- Terahertz technology
- Plasmonics
Background:
- Grating-gate plasmonic detectors are crucial for terahertz (THz) radiation sensing.
- Conventional detectors on bulk substrates suffer from limited electromagnetic coupling efficiency.
- Enhancing light-matter interaction is key to improving detector performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate methods for enhancing the electromagnetic coupling of grating-gate plasmonic detectors to THz radiation.
- To improve the responsivity of plasmonic detectors for THz sensing applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabricating a grating-gate plasmonic detector on a membrane substrate.
- Utilizing a narrow-slit grating-gate design to optimize electromagnetic field confinement.
- Comparing the performance of the membrane detector with a conventional detector on a bulk substrate.
Main Results:
- The membrane detector exhibited significantly enhanced electromagnetic coupling with THz radiation.
- A 50-fold increase in responsivity was observed for the membrane detector compared to the bulk detector.
- The narrow-slit grating-gate design effectively concentrated the electromagnetic field.
Conclusions:
- Placing grating-gate plasmonic detectors on membrane substrates with narrow-slit grating-gates considerably enhances electromagnetic coupling.
- This configuration leads to a substantial boost in detector responsivity, paving the way for more sensitive THz sensing.
- The findings offer a promising pathway for developing advanced THz detection technologies.
