Summary
International Symposium on Nonlinear Theory and Its Applications
2022
Session Number:A5L-C
Session:
Number:A5L-C-01
Passive Optical-to-Terahertz Wavelength Conversion Without Using Nonlinear Optical Phenomena
Mona Jarrahi,
pp.164-164
Publication Date:12/12/2022
Online ISSN:2188-5079
Summary:
We demonstrate passive optical-to-terahertz conversion through plasmon-coupled surface states. When excited with an optical pump beam, photogenerated carriers in a photo-absorbing substrate are swept to an array of terahertz radiating nanoantennas by a surface-state-induced built-in electric field formed between the nanoantennas and substrate. The nanoantennas are used to couple optically-excited surface waves to the interface region where the built-in electric field is maximized to provide high optical-to-terahertz conversion efficiencies. We have used this scheme to develop a fiber-coupled bias-free terahertz source that provides more than a 110 dB dynamic range over a 5 THz bandwidth.