Chevalier et al. (Science, 15 November 2019, p. 856-860) report mathematical formulas and a table predicting the threshold and the output power of terahertz molecular lasers based on various molecules. We show that these formulas are not coherent with the simple model used to describe this kind of laser, and that they largely overestimate the conversion efficiency. We suggest an alternative calculation.
Fano resonance is widely discussed in designing novel terahertz components, such as sensors, filters, modulators, and group delay modules. Usually, high quality (Q) factor and flexible tunability of Fano resonance are key requirements for these applications. Here, we present tunable terahertz Fano resonance with a Q factor of 2095 at 0.439 THz in coupled terahertz whispering-gallery-mode resonators (WGMRs). Coupling between a relatively low Q (578) quartz ring and a high Q (2095) silicon ring is employed to generate the Fano resonance. The resonant frequency of the Fano resonance can be active…
We recently demonstrated a widely tunable THz molecular laser and reported mathematical formulas and a table for comparing how various molecules would perform as such lasers (Chevalier et al., Science, 15 November 2019, p. 856-860). Here we correct the value of a single parameter used to calculate the table (see Erratum for Chevalier et al.), thereby eliminating the concerns raised by Lampin and Barbieri (Lampin et al., arXiv:2004.04422). We also show that our simplified model for the output THz power is a better approximation than the alternative one proposed in the technical comment.
Pulse shaping is important for communications, spectroscopy, and other applications that require high peak power and pulsed operation, such as radar systems. Unfortunately, pulse shaping remains largely elusive for terahertz (THz) frequencies. To address this void, a comprehensive study on the dispersion tunability properties of THz chirped pulses traveling through a dielectric-lined hollow-core waveguide loaded with a helical graphene ribbon is presented.
Controlling light polarization is one of the most essential routines in modern optical technology. Since the demonstration of optical pulse shaping by spatial light modulators and its potential in controlling the quantum reaction pathways, it paved the way for many applications as a coherent control of the photoionization process or as polarization shaping of terahertz (THz) pulses. Here, we evidenced efficient nonresonant and noncollinear $χ^{(2)}$-type light-matter interaction in femtosecond polarization-sensitive time-resolved optical measurements. Such nonlinear optical interaction of visi…
Recently, phase-change materials (PCMs) have drawn more attention due to the dynamically tunable optical properties. Here, we investigate the active control of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) analogue based on terahertz (THz) metamaterials integrated with vanadium oxide (VO2). Utilizing the insulator-to-metal transition of VO2, the amplitude of EIT peak can be actively modulated with a significant modulation depth. Meanwhile the group delay within the transparent window can also be dynamically tuned, achieving the active control of slow light effect. Furthermore, we also introdu…
Dynamic polarization control of light is essential for numerous applications ranging from enhanced imaging to materials characterization and identification. We present a reconfigurable terahertz metasurface quarter-waveplate consisting of electromechanically actuated micro-cantilever arrays. Our anisotropic metasurface enables tunable polarization conversion cantilever actuation. Specifically, voltage-based actuation provides mode selective control of the resonance frequency, enabling real-time tuning of the polarization state of the transmitted light. The polarization tunable metasurface has …
As we read this text, our eyes dynamically adjust the focal length to keep the line image in focus on the retina. Similarly, in many optics applications the focal length must be dynamically tunable. In the quest for compactness and tunability, flat lenses based on metasurfaces were introduced. However, their dynamic tunability is still limited because their functionality mostly relies upon fixed geometry. In contrast, we put forward an original concept of a tunable Optical Magnetic Lens (OML) that focuses photon beams using a subwavelength-thin layer of a magneto-optical material in a non-unif…
We theoretically investigate the interaction between the conductive graphene layer with the dual-spectral electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) metamaterial and achieve independent amplitude modulation of the transmission peaks in terahertz (THz) regime. The dual-spectral EIT resonance results from the strong near field coupling effects between the bright cut wire resonator (CWR) in the middle and two dark double-split ring resonators (DSRRs) on the two sides. By integrating monolayer graphene under the dark mode resonators, the two transmission peaks of the EIT resonance can exhibit …
An electrically tunable terahertz (THz) plasmonic device is designed and fabricated using liquid metals (eutectic gallium indium EGaIn) and shape memory alloy wires (Flexinol). The liquid metal is injected into the voids of a poly(dimethyl) siloxane (PDMS) microfluidic mold forming a periodic array of subwavelength apertures, while the wires are inserted into the elastomer below the metal plane. When a DC voltage is applied to the wires, they contract via Joule heating, reducing the aperture periodicity and blue-shifting the transmission resonances of the device. When the voltage is removed, t…
In this paper, a broadband tunable polarization converter based on graphene metasurfaces is proposed. This polarization converter works in the terahertz (THz) frequency region, using the advantage of graphene characteristics to have a tunable frequency response. The designed graphene-shaped periodic structure on top of the substrate is utilized to convert the incident wave polarization to the desired target in a flexible operational band in the THz frequencies. The polarization conversion ratio is more than 0.85 in a wide range of frequencies in the THz band from 4.86 to 8.42 THz (the fraction…
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…
We propose an approach to control the polarization of terahertz (THz) radiation from intrinsic Josephson-junction stacks in single crystalline high-temperature superconductor $Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+δ}$. By monolithically controlling the surface current distributions in the truncated square mesa structure, we can modulate the polarization of the emitted THz wave as a result of two orthogonal fundamental modes excited inside the mesa. Highly polarized circular terahertz waves with a degree of circular polarization of more than 99% can be generated using an electrically controlled method. The emitte…
Spectral purity of any millimeter wave (mmW) source is of the utmost interest in low-noise applications. Optical synthesis via photomixing is an attractive source for such mmWs, which usually involves expensive spectrally pure lasers with narrow linewidths approaching monochromaticity due to their inherent fabrication costs or specifications. Here, we report an alternative option for enhancing the spectral purity of inexpensive semiconductor diode lasers via a self-injection locking technique through corresponding Stokes waves from a fiber Brillouin cavity exhibiting greatly improved phase noi…
We report experimental observation of electrically-tunable coherent perfect absorption (CPA) of terahertz (THz) radiation in graphene. We develop a reflection-type tunable THz cavity formed by a large-area graphene layer, a metallic reflective electrode and an electrolytic medium in between. Ionic gating in the THz cavity allows us to tune the Fermi energy of graphene up to 1eV and to achieve critical coupling condition at 2.8 THz with absorption of 99%. With the enhanced THz absorption, we were able to measure the Fermi energy dependence of the transport scattering time of highly doped graphe…
It is commonly believed that weak light-matter interactions in low-mobility graphene dramatically limits tunability of graphene-based optoelectronic devices, such as tunable absorbers or switches. In this paper, we develop and use a simple circuit model to understand absorption in graphene sheets. In particular, we show that light interacts weakly also with very high-mobility graphene sheets and propose systematic design means to overcome these problems. The results have allowed us to demonstrate in the terahertz band that perfect absorption with excellent electrical tunability can be achieved…
The next generation of wireless networks is expected to tap into the terahertz (0.1--10 THz) band to satisfy the extreme latency and bandwidth density requirements of future applications. However, the development of systems in this band is challenging as THz waves confront severe spreading and penetration losses, as well as molecular absorption, which leads to strong line-of-sight requirements through highly directive antennas. Recently, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have been proposed to address issues derived from non-line-of-sight propagation, among other impairments, by redire…
We report on the engineering of broadband quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) emitting at Terahertz (THz) frequencies, which exploit a heterogeneous active region scheme and have a current density dynamic range (Jdr) of 3.2, significantly larger than the state of the art, over a 1.3 THz bandwidth. We demonstrate that the devised broadband lasers operate as THz optical frequency comb synthesizers in continuous wave, with a maximum optical output power of 4 mW (0.73 mW in the comb regime). Measurement of the intermode beatnote map reveals a clear dispersion-compensated frequency comb regime extending …
In this paper, a photonic crystal containing graphene and metamaterial layers is investigated. The absorption spectrum of the structure in the terahertz range is obtained using the transfer matrix method. The results show that by adding a Si, SiO2 or metamaterial layer between two graphene layers, the terahertz absorption increases significantly. The results also reveal that in wide range of physical parameters, the approximately complete absorption occurs. Furthermore, the results indicate that the structure with metamaterial layer has the highest absorption performance.
Acquiring full control over a large number of diffraction orders can be strongly attractive in the case of realizing multifunctional devices such as multichannel reflectors. Recently, the concept of metagrating has been introduced which enables obtaining the desired diffraction pattern through a sparse periodic array of engineered scatterers. In this letter, for the first time, a tunable all-graphene multichannel meta-reflector is proposed for operating at terahertz (THz) frequencies. In the supercell level, the designed metagrating is composed of three graphene ribbons of different controllab…