A composite plasmonic slab based on double-layer metallic gratings and a dielectric film is experimentally and numerically demonstrated in terahertz (THz) regions, which can support two resonance modes and then form a broad bandgap (40%). As compared to the double-layer metal grating, the dielectric film in composite THz slabs significantly enhances the transmission of the transverse magnetic (TM) mode. Electric field vector proved that the low-frequency resonance mode originates from the symmetric plasmonic mode and the high-frequency resonance mode is induced by the hybrid mode of plasmonic and dielectric modes. The inherently near field coupling between metal gratings and dielectric film has been analyzed by changing the structural parameters. We further demonstrate that by tuning the metallic grating width, the plasmonic bandgap can be manipulated. These results suggest that this composite plasmonic slab has great potential for use as a filter, polarizer, and sensor in THz regions.
A highly unusual pattern of strong multiple resonances for bulk electromagnetic waves is predicted and analysed numerically in thick periodic holographic gratings in a slab with the mean permittivity that is larger than that of the surrounding media. This pattern is shown to exist in the geometry of grazing-angle scattering (GAS), that is when the scattered wave (+1 diffracted order) in the slab propagates almost parallel to the slab (grating) boundaries. The predicted resonances are demonstrated to be unrelated to resonant generation of the conventional guided modes of the slab. Their physica…
We computationally study a subwavelength dielectric grating structure, show that slab waveguide modes can be used to obtain broadband high reflectivity, and analyze how slab waveguide modes influence reflection. A structure showing interference between Fabry-Perot modes, slab waveguide modes, and waveguide array modes is designed with ultra-broadband high reflectivity. Owing to the coupling of guided modes, the region with reflectivity R > 0.99 has an ultra-high bandwidth ( Δf/f > 30%). The incident-angle region with R > 0.99 extends over a range greater than 40°. Moreover, an asymmetric waveg…
What we believe to be a new type of resonant coupling of an incident bulk wave into guided modes of a slab with a thick holographic grating is shown to occur in the presence of strong frequency detunings of the Bragg condition. This happens through the reflection of the strongly noneigen +1 diffracted order with the slab-grating boundaries, the resultant reflected waves forming a guided slab mode. Rigorous coupled-wave analysis is used for the numerical analysis of the predicted resonant effects. Possible applications include enhanced options for the design of multiplexing and demultiplexing s…
The recent development of the terahertz waveguide makes it an excellent platform for integrating many intriguing functionalities, which offers tremendous potential to build compact and robust terahertz systems. In the context of next-generation high-speed communication links at the terahertz band, engineering the dispersion and birefringence of terahertz waves is essential. Here, we experimentally demonstrate subwavelength birefringent waveguide gratings based on the low-loss cyclic olefin copolymer exploiting micro-machining fabrication techniques. Asymmetric cross-section and periodic-struct…
The fundamental optical effects that are at basis of giant reflection band and anomalous negative transmission in a self-sustained rectangular dielectric grating slab in P polarization and for incidence angle not very far from the Brewster's angle of the equivalent slab, are investigated. Notice, that the self sustained dielectric grating slab is the simplest system that, due to the Bragg diffraction, can show both the former optical effects. A systematic study of its optical response is performed by an analytical exact solution of the Maxwell equations for a general incidence geometry. At var…
We have developed terahertz frequency quantum cascade lasers that exploit a double-periodicity distributed feedback grating to control the emission frequency and the output beam direction independently. The spatial refractive index modulation of the gratings necessary to provide optical feedback at a fixed frequency and, simultaneously, a far-field emission pattern centered at controlled angles, was designed through use of an appropriate wavevector scattering model. Single mode THz emission at angles tuned by design between 0° and 50° was realized, leading to an original phase-matching approac…
Photonic crystal slabs have been widely used in nanophotonics for light confinement, dispersion engineering, nonlinearity enhancement, and other unusual effects arising from their structural periodicity. Sub-micron device sizes and mode volumes are routine for silicon-based photonic crystal slabs, however spectrally they are limited to operate in the near infrared. Here, we show that two single-layer graphene sheets allow silicon photonic crystal slabs with submicron periodicity to operate in the terahertz regime, with an extreme 100x wavelength reduction and excellent out-of-plane confinement…
In this paper, a new structure is proposed which is expected to realize dual-band electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like effect in terahertz spectrum. It can be regarded as a metamaterial of grating-like elements composed of dual-band U-shaped resonators. The near-field coupling between bright modes can produce EIT-like effect. After optimizing the parameters, our numerical simulated results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. The EIT-like effect can significantly reduce the group speed near the transparent window, may gain more significant potential applications …
A new type of tilted-pulse-front pumped terahertz (THz) source has been demonstrated, which is based on a lithium niobate plane-parallel slab with an echelon structure on its input surface. Single-cycle pulses of 1 microjoule energy and 0.30 THz central frequency have been generated with 0.05% efficiency from such a source. One order-of-magnitude increase in efficiency is expected by pumping a cryogenically cooled echelon of increased size and thickness with a Ti:sapphire laser. The use of a plane-parallel nonlinear optical crystal slab enables straightforward scaling to high THz pulse energie…
High absorption in a wide frequency band has attracted considerable interest since their potential applications in frequency spectrum imaging systems and anti-radar cloaking. In this paper, a polarization-independent, ultra-broadband and omnidirectional terahertz absorber is proposed, fabricated and evaluated. It is experimentally demonstrated that an over 95% absorption can be obtained in the frequency range of 0.75~2.41 THz. Attributing to the multi-frequency destructive interference between the layers and the impedance-matching condition of the grating, five successive absorption peaks at 0…
The generation of induced radiation in volume resonator formed by metal threads is considered. It is shown that using of such volume diffraction grating allows increasing of lasing efficiency in terahertz range. The requirements on beam and grating parameters are obtained.
We theoretically investigate the terahertz dielectric response of a semiconductor slab hosting an infrared photoinduced grating. The periodic structure is due to the charge carries photo-excited by the interference of two tilted infrared plane waves so that the grating depth and period can be tuned by modifying the beam intensities and incidence angles, respectively. In the case where the grating period is much smaller than the terahertz wavelength, we numerically evaluate the ordinary and extraordinary component of the effective permittivity tensor by resorting to electromagnetic full-wave si…
We propose a graphene-on-grating nanostructure to enable second-order spatial differentiation computation in terahertz (THz) region. The differentiation operation is based on the interference between the direct reflected field and the leakage of two excited surface plasmon polaritons counter-propagating along the graphene sheet. With the spatial coupled-mode theory, we derive out that the requirement for the second-order spatial differentiation is the critical coupling condition. We numerically demonstrate such an analog computation with Gaussian beams. It shows that the spatial bandwidth of t…
Emerging technology based on artificial materials containing metallic structures has raised the prospect for unprecedented control of terahertz waves through components like filters, absorbers and polarizers. The functionality of these devices is static by the very nature of their metallic or polaritonic composition, although some degree of tunability can be achieved by incorporating electrically biased semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate a photonic structure by projecting the optical image of a metal mask onto a thin GaAs substrate using a femtosecond pulsed laser source. We show that the re…
Electrically independent terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are optically coupled in a Y configuration. Dual frequency, electronically switchable emission is achieved in one QCL using an aperiodic grating, designed using computer-generated hologram techniques, incorporated directly into the QCL waveguide by focussed ion beam milling. Multi-moded emission around 2.9 THz is inhibited, lasing instead occurring at switchable grating-selected frequencies of 2.88 and 2.92 THz. This photonic control and switching behaviour is selectively and reversibly transferred to the second, unmodified…
We consider propagating bound states in the continuum in dielectric gratings. The gratings consist of a slab with ridges periodically arranged ether on top or on the both sides of the slab. Based on the Fourier modal approach we recover the leaky zones above the line of light to identify the geometries of the gratings supporting Bloch bound states propagating in the direction perpendicular to the ridges. Most importantly, it is demonstrated that if a two-side grating possesses either mirror or glide symmetry the Bloch bound states are stable to variation of parameters as far as the above symme…
We have developed theory for the interaction of THz radiation with a sub-wavelength metallic grating. The structure of electric fields of the electromagnetic wave under the metallic grating has been studied in the near-field zone. Spatial distributions of the electric field components and the electric energy density have been obtained for the transmitted wave through the grating. An effect of strong local enhancement of the electric field has been detected. Spatial dependences of the polarization of the transmitted wave has been analyzed for the near-field zone.
We present a design of a one dimensional dielectric waveguide that can trap a broad band light pulse with different frequency component stored at different positions, effectively forming a "trapped rainbow"[1]. The spectrum of the rainbow covers the whole visible range. To do this, we first show that the dispersion of a $\text{SiO}_2$ waveguide with a Si grating placed on top can be engineered by the design parameter of the grating. Specifically, guided modes with zero group velocity(frozen modes) can be realized. Negative Goos-Hänchen shift along the surface of the grating is responsible for …
We theoretically consider infrared-driven hyperbolic metamaterials able to spatially filtering terahertz radiation. The metamaterial is a slab made of alternating semiconductor and dielectric layers whose homogenized uniaxial response, at terahertz frequencies, shows principal permittivities of different signs. The gap provided by metamaterial hyperbolic dispersion allows the slab to stop spatial frequencies within a bandwidth tunable by changing the infrared radiation intensity. We numerically prove the device functionality by resorting to full wave simulation coupled to the dynamics of charg…
We predict the enhanced transmissivity of modulated slabs of layered superconductors for terahertz radiation due to the diffraction of the incident wave and the resonance excitation of the eigenmodes. The electromagnetic field is transferred from the irradiated side of a slab of layered superconductor to the other one by excited waveguide modes (WGMs) which do not decay deep into the slab, contrary to metals, where the enhanced light transmission is caused by the excitation of the evanescent surface waves. We show that a series of resonance peaks (with $T \sim 1$) can be observed in the depend…
High input intensities are usually required to efficiently excite optical nonlinear effects in ultrathin structures. This problem is particularly critical at terahertz (THz) frequencies because high input power THz sources are not available. The demonstration of enhanced nonlinear effects at THz frequencies is particularly important since these nonlinear mechanisms promise to play a significant role in the development and design of new reconfigurable planar THz nonlinear devices. In this work, we present a novel class of ultrathin nonlinear hybrid planar THz devices based on graphene-covered p…
We consider plane waves propagating in quadratic nonlinear slab waveguides with nonlinear quasi-phase-matching gratings. We predict analytically and verify numerically the complete gain spectrum for transverse modulational instability, including hitherto undescribed higher order gain bands.
A one-dimensional photonic-crystal (PC) cavity with nanoholes is proposed for extremely enhancing the THz electric fields by utilizing the electromagnetic (EM) boundary conditions, where both slot effect (for the perpendicular component of the electric displacement field) and anti-slot effect (for the parallel component of the electric field) contribute to the considerable field enhancement. The EM energy density can be enhanced in the high refractive index material by a factor of (εh/εl)^2, where εh and εl are the permittivities of the high and low refractive index materials, respectively. Co…
Plasmonic gratings constitute a paradigmatic instance of the wide range of applications enabled by plasmonics. While subwavelength metal gratings find applications in optical biosensing and photovoltaics, atomically thin gratings achieved by periodically doping a graphene monolayer perform as metasurfaces for the control of terahertz radiation. In this paper we show how these two instances of plasmonic gratings inherit their spectral properties from an underlying slab with translational symmetry.We develop an analytical formalism to accurately derive the mode spectrum of the gratings that prov…
Ultrashort electron bunches are useful for applications like ultrafast imaging and coherent radiation production. Currently, however, the shortest achievable bunches, at attosecond time scales, have only been realized in the single or very few electron regime, limited by Coulomb repulsion and electron energy spread. Using ab initio simulations and theoretical analysis, we show that highly-charged bunches are achievable by subjecting relativistic (few MeV-scale) electrons to a superposition of terahertz and optical pulses. Using realistic electron bunches and laser pulse parameters which are wi…
Symmetry and reciprocity constraints on polarization state of the field diffracted by gratings of quasi-planar particles are considered. It is shown that the optical activity effects observed recently in arrays of quasi-planar plasmonic particles on a dielectric substrate are due to the reflection of the field at the air-dielectric slab interface and are proportional to this reflection coefficient.
In this study, we theoretically and numerically investigate the resonant modes and reflectance of an optical grating consisting of a wavy dielectric slab by applying the spectral element method. The presence of the wavy shape transforms the waveguide modes into leaky resonant modes. A few resonant modes with specific longitudinal wave number have infinitely large Q factor, while the other resonant modes have finite Q factor. For the leaky resonant mode with zero longitudinal wave number, the Q factor is inversely proportional to the amplitude of the wavy shape. An array of multiple low-Q wavy …
A rigorous coupled-wave analysis of birefringent holographic gratings with periodically-modulated dielectric tensor along an in-plane direction and tensor variations in the thickness direction
We propose a microscopic theory of terahertz (THz) radiation generation on metal gratings under the action of femtosecond laser pulses. In contrast to previous models, only low-frequency currents inside the metal are considered without involving electron emission. The presented model is based on plasmon-enhanced thermal effects and explains the resonant character of optical-to-THz conversion giving an adequate estimation for the full signal energy. Numerical modeling reproduces specific experimental features like delayed character of THz response and low conversion efficiency when the grating …
We present an electrically switchable graphene terahertz (THz) modulator with a tunable-by-design optical bandwidth and we exploit it to compensate the cavity dispersion of a quantum cascade laser (QCL). Electrostatic gating is achieved by a metal-grating used as a gate electrode, with an HfO2/AlOx gate dielectric on top. This is patterned on a polyimide layer, which acts as a quarter wave resonance cavity, coupled with an Au reflector underneath. We get 90% modulation depth of the intensity, combined with a 20 kHz electrical bandwidth in the 1.9 _ 2.7 THz range. We then integrate our modulato…
Nonlinear optics is an increasingly important field for scientific and technological applications, owing to its relevance and potential for optical and optoelectronic technologies. Currently, there is an active search for suitable nonlinear material systems with efficient conversion and small material footprint. Ideally, the material system should allow for chip-integration and room-temperature operation. Two-dimensional materials are highly interesting in this regard. Particularly promising is graphene, which has demonstrated an exceptionally large nonlinearity in the terahertz regime. Yet, t…
We report narrowband transmission filtering based on zero-contrast grating (ZCG) reflectors at normal incidence. Computational results show that the filtering is realized through symmetry-protected modes coupling. The guided modes introduced by the slab layer make the filter frequencies flexible to modify. The rectangular structure of the filter allows simple fabrication and integration into optical systems. The quality factor of the filters could exceed 106. Owing to the low refraction index dispersion of the semiconductor and their scale-invariant operations, these filters can be applied in …
The tremendous applications of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and imaging require THz sources in different parameters. We propose a novel scheme to generate single-cycle powerful THz pulses by ultrashort intense laser pulses incident obliquely on a tenuous plasma slab of few THz wavelengths in thickness. This is made possible by driving a large amplitude electron plasma wave in the plasma slab, thus producing a net transient current at the plasma surfaces. Theory and simulations show that such a THz source is capable of providing megawatt power and field strength of MV/cm, which may open up new …
We study the polarization properties of light emitted by quantum dots that are embedded in chiral photonic crystal structures made of achiral planar GaAs waveguides. A modification of the electromagnetic mode structure due to the chiral grating fabricated by partial etching of the wave\-guide layer has been shown to result in a high circular polarization degree $ρ_c$ of the quantum dot emission in the absence of external magnetic field. The physical nature of the phenomenon can be understood in terms of the reciprocity principle taking into account the structural symmetry. At the resonance wav…
We present simple yet extremely accurate coupled-wave models describing the formation of bound states in the continuum (BICs) in 1D-periodic guided-mode resonant gratings (GMRGs) consisting of a slab waveguide layer with a binary grating attached to one or both of its interfaces. Using these models, we obtain simple closed-form expressions predicting the locations of the BICs and quasi-BICs in the $ω$-$k_x$ parameter space. We study two mechanisms of the BIC formation: coupling between two counter-propagating guided modes and coupling between a guided mode and a Fabry-Pérot mode. The BIC condi…
We consider bound states in the continuum (BICs) in low-contrast dielectric gratings (DGs). It is demonstrated that the BICs originate from the reduced guided modes on the effective dielectric slab with the permittivity equal to the average permittivity of the DG. In case of isolated resonances the positions of BICs can be found from two-wave dispersion relationships for guided leaky modes. In the case of the degeneracy between the two families of leaky modes the system exhibits an avoided crossing of resonances. In the spectral vicinity of the avoided crossing the transmittance as well as the…
We present a computational study of terahertz optical properties of a grating-coupled plasmonic structure based on micrometer-thin InSb layers. We find two strong absorption resonances that we interpret as standing surface plasmon modes and investigate their dispersion relations, dependence on InSb thickness, and the spatial distribution of the electric field. The observed surface plasmon modes are well described by a simple theory of the air/InSb/air trilayer. The plasmonic response of the grating/InSb structure is highly sensitive to the dielectric environment and the presence of an analyte …
Terahertz (THz) band is considered as the next frontier in wireless communications. The emerging THz multiplexing techniques are expected to dramatically increase the information capacity of THz communications far beyond a single channel limit. In this work, we explore the THz frequency-division multiplexing modality enabled by novel add-drop multiplexer (ADM) design. Based on modular two-wire plasmonic waveguides fabricated using additive manufacturing and metallization techniques, we demonstrate four-port THz ADMs containing grating-loaded side couplers for operation at ~140 GHz carrier freq…
We present quasi-analytical solutions (QANS) of hybrid platform (HP) comprising metallic grating (MG) and stacked-dielectric layers for terahertz (THz) radiation. The QANS are validated by finite difference time domain simulation. It is found that the Wood anomalies induce the high-order spoof surface plasmon resonances in the HP. The QANS are applied to optimize new perfect absorber for THz sensing of large-area thin film with ultrahigh figure of merit reaching fifth order of magnitude for the film thickness 0.0001p (p: MG period). The first-order Wood's anomaly of the insulator layer and the…
Strong coupling between light and matter occurs when the two interact strongly enough to form new hybrid modes called polaritons. Here we report on the strong coupling of both the electric and magnetic degrees of freedom to an ultrafast terahertz (THz) frequency electromagnetic wave. In our system, optical phonons in a slab of ferroelectric lithium niobate (LiNbO$_3$) are strongly coupled to a THz electric field to form phonon-polaritons, which are simultaneously strongly coupled to magnons in an adjacent slab of canted antiferromagnetic erbium orthoferrite (ErFeO$_3$) via the THz magnetic fie…
During the last decade, new unusual physical phenomena in studies on the optics of dielectric mesoscale particles of arbitrary three dimensional shape and gratings with Mie size parameter q ~ 10 have been discovered. The report provides a brief overview of these phenomena from optics to terahertz, plasmonic and acoustic . We also discuss different particle configurations (isolated or interacting, Janus) and draw a brief overview of the possible applications of such mesoscale structures, in connection with field enhancement, nanoparticles manipulation and super resolution imaging. The presence …
This letter proposes a 50:50 TE terahertz (THz) power splitter based on digitized metamaterials. The device is optimized using particle swarm optimization algorithm. The structure of the digitized metamaterials contains circular air holes in silicon slab which are deposited on silicon dioxide substrate. The optimized structure shows insertion loss (IL) of less than 3.9 dB over the frequency range of 0.9-1.1 THz. The proposed device has the footprint of 400 $\times$ 350 $μ$m$^2$. The proposed device has excellent merits such as compactness, efficient, all-dielectric, and compatible with CMOS fa…
We closely study the local amplifications of visible light on a thin dielectric slab presenting a sub-wavelength array of small, rectangular, bottom-closed holes. The high-quality Fabry-Perot resonances of eigen modes which vertically oscillate, and their corresponding near-field maps, especially inside the voids, are numerically quantified with RCWA and analytically interpreted through a quasi-exact modal expansion. This last method gives explicit opto-geometrical rules allowing to finely understand the general trends in 1D and 2D. In more advanced examples, we show that multi-cavity and/or s…
Using a canonical pump-probe experimental technique, we studied the terahertz (THz) waves generation and detection via optical rectification and mixing in Czochralski-grown periodically poled Mg:Y:LiNbO3 (PPLN) crystals. THz waves with frequencies at 1.37 THz and 0.68 THz as well as 1.8 THz were obtained for PPLN with nonlinear grating periods of 0.03 and 0.06 mm, respectively. A general theoretical model was developed by considering the dispersion and damping of low frequency phonon-polariton mode. Our results show that THz waves are generated in forward and backward directions via pumping pu…
We calculate the Casimir-Lifshitz pressure in a system consisting of two different 1D dielectric lamellar gratings having two different temperatures and immersed in an environment having a third temperature. The calculation of the pressure is based on the knowledge of the scattering operators, deduced using the Fourier Modal Method. The behavior of the pressure is characterized in detail as a function of the three temperatures of the system as well as the geometrical parameters of the two gratings. We show that the interplay between non-equilibrium effects and geometrical periodicity offers a …
