Ultrafast All-Optical Switching of Germanium-Based Flexible Metaphotonic Devices

Color coded metadevices toward programmed terahertz switching

Terahertz modulators play a critical role in high-speed wireless communication, non-destructive imaging, and so on, which have attracted a large amount of research interest. Nevertheless, all-optical terahertz modulation, an ultrafast dynamical control approach, remains to be limited in terms of encoding and multifunction. Here we experimentally demonstrated an optical-programmed terahertz switching realized by combining optical metasurfaces with the terahertz metasurface, resulting in 2-bit dual-channel terahertz encoding. The terahertz metasurface, made up of semiconductor islands and artificial microstructures, enables effective all-optical programming by providing multiple frequency channels with ultrafast modulation at the nanosecond level. Meanwhile, optical metasurfaces covered in terahertz metasurface alter the spatial light field distribution to obtain color code. According to the time-domain coupled mode theory analysis, the energy dissipation modes in terahertz metasurface can be independently controlled by color excitation, which explains the principle of 2-bit encoding well. This work establishes a platform for all-optical programmed terahertz metadevices and may further advance the application of composite metasurface in terahertz manipulation.

Transient Loss-Induced Non-Hermitian Degeneracies for Ultrafast Terahertz Metadevices

Non-Hermitian degeneracies, also known as exceptional points (EPs), have attracted considerable attention due to their unique physical properties. In particular, metasurfaces related to EPs can open the way to unprecedented devices with functionalities such as unidirectional transmission and ultra-sensitive sensing. Herein, an active non-Hermitian metasurface with a loss-induced parity-time symmetry phase transition for ultrafast terahertz metadevices is demonstrated. Specifically, the eigenvalues of the non-Hermitian transmission matrix undergo a phase transition under optical excitation and are degenerate at EPs in parameter space, which is accompanied by the collapse of chiral transmission. Ultrafast EP modulation on a picosecond time scale can be realized through variations in the transient loss at a non-Hermitian metasurface pumped by pulsed excitation. Furthermore, by exploiting the physical characteristics of chiral transmission EPs, a switchable quarter-wave plate based on the photoactive metasurface is designed and experimentally verified and realized the corresponding function of polarization manipulation. This work opens promising possibilities for designing functional terahertz metadevices and fuses EP physics with active metasurfaces.

Full-Control and Switching of Optical Fano Resonance by Continuum State Engineering

Fano resonance, known for its unique asymmetric line shape, has gained significant attention in photonics, particularly in sensing applications. However, it remains difficult to achieve controllable Fano parameters with a simple geometric structure. Here, a novel approach of using a thin-film optical Fano resonator with a porous layer to generate entire spectral shapes from quasi-Lorentzian to Lorentzian to Fano is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The glancing angle deposition technique is utilized to create a polarization-dependent Fano resonator. By altering the linear polarization between s- and p-polarization, a switchable Fano device between quasi-Lorentz state and negative Fano state is demonstrated. This change in spectral shape is advantageous for detecting materials with a low-refractive index. A bio-particle sensing experiment is conducted that demonstrates an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and prediction accuracy. Finally, the challenge of optimizing the film-based Fano resonator due to intricate interplay among numerous parameters, including layer thicknesses, porosity, and materials selection, is addressed. The inverse design tool is developed based on a multilayer perceptron model that allows fast computation for all ranges of Fano parameters. The method provides improved accuracy of the mean validation factor (MVF = 0.07, q-q') compared to the conventional exhaustive enumeration method (MVF = 0.37).

Recent Advances in Metaphotonic Biosensors

Metaphotonic devices, which enable light manipulation at a subwavelength scale and enhance light-matter interactions, have been emerging as a critical pillar in biosensing. Researchers have been attracted to metaphotonic biosensors, as they solve the limitations of the existing bioanalytical techniques, including the sensitivity, selectivity, and detection limit. Here, we briefly introduce types of metasurfaces utilized in various metaphotonic biomolecular sensing domains such as refractometry, surface-enhanced fluorescence, vibrational spectroscopy, and chiral sensing. Further, we list the prevalent working mechanisms of those metaphotonic bio-detection schemes. Furthermore, we summarize the recent progress in chip integration for metaphotonic biosensing to enable innovative point-of-care devices in healthcare. Finally, we discuss the impediments in metaphotonic biosensing, such as its cost effectiveness and treatment for intricate biospecimens, and present a prospect for potential directions for materializing these device strategies, significantly influencing clinical diagnostics in health and safety.

Ultrafast Modulation of THz Waves Based on MoTe2-Covered Metasurface

The sixth generation (6G) communication will use the terahertz (THz) frequency band, which requires flexible regulation of THz waves. For the conventional metallic metasurface, its electromagnetic properties are hard to be changed once after being fabricated. To enrich the modulation of THz waves, we report an all-optically controlled reconfigurable electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) effect in the hybrid metasurface integrated with a 10-nm thick MoTe₂ film. The experimental results demonstrate that under the excitation of the 800 nm femtosecond laser pulse with pump fluence of 3200 μJ/cm², the modulation depth of THz transmission amplitude at the EIT window can reach 77%. Moreover, a group delay variation up to 4.6 ps is observed to indicate an actively tunable slow light behavior. The suppression and recovery of the EIT resonance can be accomplished within sub-nanoseconds, enabling an ultrafast THz photo-switching and providing a promising candidate for the on-chip devices of the upcoming 6G communication.

Reassessing Fano Resonance for Broadband, High-Efficiency, and Ultrafast Terahertz Wave Switching

Miniaturized ultrafast switchable optical components with high efficiency and broadband response are in high demand to the development of optical imaging, sensing, and high-speed communication. Sharp Fano-type resonance switched by active materials is one of the key concepts that underpins the control of light in metaoptics with high sensitivity. However, actuating such metasurfaces exhibits a long-standing trade-off between modulation depth and operational bandwidth. Here, the limitations are circumvented by theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and experimental realization of an achromatic Fano metasurface so that a high contrast of tunability with ultrafast switching rate over a broad range of frequency is achieved. By developing the physics of inter-mode coupling, the Fano metasurface is designed according to a complete phase diagram derived from coupled mode theory. Unlike conventional Fano metasurfaces, the cross-polarized inter-metaatoms coupling is discovered as a superior ability of high-efficiency broadband achromatic polarization conversion. To prove the ultrasensitive nature, a metadevice is constructed by incorporating a thin amorphous Ge layer with a weak photoconductivity perturbation. Transmission modulation over broadband frequency range from 0.6 to 1.1 THz is thus successfully realized, featuring its merits of modulation depth over 90% and On-Off-On switching cycle less than 10 ps.

Photoactive terahertz metasurfaces for ultrafast switchable sensing of colorectal cells

Metasurfaces with a strongly enhanced local field are envisioned as a powerful platform for ultrasensitive optical sensors to significantly amplify imperceptible differences between compatible bioanalytes. Through the use of phototunable silicon-based terahertz (THz) metasurfaces, we experimentally demonstrate ultrafast switchable sensing functions. It is found that the THz responses of the coupled-resonances in the metasurfaces shift from Lorentz-lattice mode to electromagnetism-induced transparency (EIT) mode under optical pumping within an ultrashort time of 32 ps, enabling an ultrafast sensitive sensor. For the Lorentz-lattice mode, the THz time-domain signal directly shows a highly sensitive response to detect tiny analytes without extra Fourier transformation as the mismatch between the two modes increases. Once the metasurfaces are switched to the EIT mode, the silicon-metal hybrid structure supports frequency-domain sensing ability due to strong field confinement with a sensitivity of 118.4 GHz/RIU. Both of the sensing configurations contribute to more subtle information and guarantee the accuracy of the sensor performance. Combined with the aforementioned advantages, the proposed metasurfaces have successfully identified colorectal cells between normal, adenoma, and cancer states in experiments. This work furnishes a new paradigm of constructing reliable and flexible metasurface sensors and can be extended to other optics applications.

Multifield-Controlled Terahertz Hybrid Metasurface for Switches and Logic Operations

Terahertz (THz) meta-devices are considered to be a promising framework for constructing integrated photonic circuitry, which is significant for processing the upsurge of data brought about by next-generation telecommunications. However, present active metasurfaces are typically restricted by a single external driving field, a single modulated frequency, fixed switching speed, and deficiency in logical operation functions which prevents devices from further practical applications. Here, to overcome these limitations, we propose a hybrid THz metasurface consisting of vanadium dioxide (VO₂) and germanium (Ge) that enables electrical and optical tuning methods individually or simultaneously and theoretically investigate its performance. Each of the two materials is arranged in the meta-atom to dominate the resonance strength of toroidal or magnetic dipoles. Controlled by either or both of the external excitations, the device can switch on or off at four different frequencies, possessing two temporal degrees of freedom in terms of manipulation when considering the nonvolatility of VO₂ and ultrafast photogenerated carriers of Ge. Furthermore, the "AND" and "OR" logic operations are respectively achieved at two adjacent frequency bands by weighing normalized transmission amplitude. This work may provide an auspicious paradigm of THz components, such as dynamic filters, multiband switches, and logical modulators, potentially promoting the design and implementation of multifunctional electro-optical devices in future THz computing and communication.

Thermal evaporated group IV Ge(Sn)-on-Si terahertz photoconductive antenna

We have experimentally demonstrated thermal evaporated group IV Ge_1-xSn_x-on-Si terahertz (THz) photoconductive antennas (PCA) pumped by an Er-doped femtosecond laser for broadband THz generation. The Ge_1-xSn_x THz PCAs, free from material epitaxial growth methods, can offer comparable material properties in photocarrier generation, transportation, recombination, and the collection as group III-V THz PCAs. At the optical pumping power of 90 mW and a bias voltage of 40V, the Ge_1-xSn_x THz PCAs have achieved a broadband spectrum over 1.5 THz with a 40 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This CMOS-compatible group IV THz source can be monolithically integrated on the Si photonic platform, paving the way toward THz system-on-chip (SoC) for many on-site applications in the non-destructive evaluation, biomedical imaging, and industrial inspections.

All-optical switching based on plasmon-induced Enhancement of Index of Refraction

In quantum optical Enhancement of Index of Refraction (EIR), coherence and quantum interference render the atomic systems to exhibit orders of magnitude higher susceptibilities with vanishing or even negative absorption at their resonances. Here we show the plasmonic analogue of the quantum optical EIR effect in an optical system and further implement this in a linear all-optical switching mechanism. We realize plasmon-induced EIR using a particular plasmonic metasurface consisting of a square array of L-shaped meta-molecules. In contrast to the conventional methods, this approach provides a scheme to modulate the amplitude of incident signals by coherent control of absorption without implementing gain materials or nonlinear processes. Therefore, light is controlled by applying ultra-low intensity at the extreme levels of spatiotemporal localization. In the pursuit of potential applications of linear all-optical switching devices, this scheme may introduce an effective tool for improving the modulation strength of optical modulators and switches through the amplification of input signals at ultra-low power.

Light-Driven Spintronic Heterostructures for Coded Terahertz Emission

The extraordinary proliferation of digital coding metasurfaces turns the real-time manipulation of electromagnetic (EM) waves into reality and promotes the programmable operation of multifunctional equipment. However, current studies are mainly involved in the modulation of the transmission process, and little attention has been given to the control of EM wave generation, especially in the terahertz (THz) band. Here, we conceptually propose and experimentally demonstrate coded terahertz emission, which integrates the efficient generation and control of THz waves across a wide frequency band. For validation, two types of stripe-patterned ferromagnetic heterostructures with opposite spin Hall angles were utilized as coding units. The two distinct states in each coding unit (with two polarization or phase states of 0° and 180°) can be characterized as "0" and "1" digits, which can be switched by manipulating the optical field distribution of the pump beam. Such an ability to realize simultaneous terahertz coding and terahertz emission is essential for meeting the increasingly demanding requirements of integration and miniaturization. Our work endows ferromagnetic heterostructures with controllable spatial characteristics and benefits their applications in wireless communications and holographic imaging.

Ultrafast metamaterial all-optical switching based on coherent modulation

We report a demonstration of an ultrafast all-optical switching with unique light control effects. The all-optical switching consists of a gold film with asymmetric split rings and a silica substrate. The device effectively controls the transmission and absorption of continuous pulses in the communication band (1200-1800 nm) and short pulses with a pulse duration of 80 fs by using the interaction of two coherent beams on nano-metamaterials with a thickness of only 50 nm. The metamaterial can achieve more than 90 % output control under continuous light irradiation. When the pulse duration is 80 fs, the switching contrast ratio is greater than 3 : 1 and the modulation bandwidth is greater than 12.5 THz. Switching time can be on the order of femtosecond. This paper provides a new structure for ultra-high speed optical data processing components in coherent networks.

Dual-Stimulus Control for Ultra-Wideband and Multidimensional Modulation in Terahertz Metasurfaces Comprising Graphene and Metal Halide Perovskites

Perovskites and graphene are receiving a meteoric rise in popularity in the field of active photonics because they exhibit excellent optoelectronic properties for dynamic manipulation of light-matter interactions. However, challenges still exist, such as the instability of perovskites under ambient conditions and the low Fermi level of graphene in experiments. These shortcomings limit the scope of applications when they are used alone in advanced optical devices. However, the combination of graphene and perovskites is still a promising route for efficient control of light-matter interactions. Here, we report a dual-optoelectronic metadevice fabricated by integrating terahertz metasurfaces with a sandwich complex composed of graphene, polyimide, and perovskites for ultra-wideband and multidimensional manipulation of higher-order Fano resonances. Owing to the photogenerated carriers and electrostatic doping effect, the dual optoelectronic metadevice showed different manipulation behavior at thermal imbalance (electrostatic doping state of the system). The modulation depth of the transmission amplitude reached 200%, the total resonant frequency shift was 800 GHz, and the tunable range of the resonant frequency was 68.8%. In addition, modulation of the maximum phase reached 346°. This work will inspire a new generation of metasurface-based optical devices that combine two active materials.

Optically Controlled Ultrafast Terahertz Metadevices with Ultralow Pump Threshold

Arming metasurface with active materials furnishes a feasible solution to dynamically control over terahertz (THz) waves, which is extremely significant for the realization of upcoming sixth generation telecommunications. However, the present active materials are mainly limited to single external driving field, hindering the capability of metasurface for flexible manipulation of THz waves. Besides, less attention has been paid to the energy question how to significantly reduce the pump threshold for achieving the desired function. Here, a germanium (Ge) hybrid Fano metasurface under dual-stimulus control is experimentally demonstrated. Photoexcitation of Ge thin film enables 100% modulation depth of Fano resonance and ultrafast switching time within 10 ps. By adding current-bias, the pump threshold to modulate the metasurface is greatly reduced from 1600 to 200 µJ cm^-2 . Different from the optical modulation independent of film thickness, it is found that the current function is in proportion with the thickness of Ge thin film. Moreover, it is demonstrated that compared to the single optical-stimulus, the THz amplitude modulation is increased by 56.3% under dual-stimulus function. This work naturally improves the flexibility and practicality of Ge-based metadevice and inspires more innovations to boost the development of switchable sensing, lasing spacer, and nonlinear systems.

UV-LED projection photolithography for high-resolution functional photonic components

The advancement of micro- and nanostructuring techniques in optics is driven by the demand for continuous miniaturization and the high geometrical accuracy of photonic devices and integrated systems. Here, UV-LED projection photolithography is demonstrated as a simple and low-cost approach for rapid generation of two-dimensional optical micro- and nanostructures with high resolution and accuracy using standard optics only. The developed system enables the projection of structure patterns onto a substrate with 1000-fold demagnification. Photonic devices, e.g., waveguides and microring resonators, on rigid or flexible substrates with varied geometrical complexity and overall structure dimensions from the nanometer to centimeter scale were successfully prepared. In particular, high-resolution gratings with feature sizes down to 150 nm and periods as small as 400 nm were realized for the first time by this approach. Waveguides made of doped laser active materials were fabricated, and their spontaneous emission was detected. The demonstrated superior performance of the developed approach may find wide applications in photonics, plasmonics, and optical materials science, among others.

Active Control of Nanodielectric-Induced THz Quasi-BIC in Flexible Metasurfaces: A Platform for Modulation and Sensing

A bound state in the continuum (BIC) is a nonradiating state of light embedded in the continuum of propagating modes providing drastic enhancement of the electromagnetic field and its localization at micro-nanoscale. However, access to such modes in the far-field requires symmetry breaking. Here, it is demonstrated that a nanometric dielectric or semiconductor layer, 1000 times thinner than the resonant wavelength (λ/1000), induces a dynamically controllable quasi-bound state in the continuum (QBIC) with ultrahigh quality factor in a symmetric metallic metasurface at terahertz frequencies. Photoexcitation of nanostrips of germanium activates ultrafast switching of a QBIC resonance with 200% transmission intensity modulation and complete recovery within 7 ps on a low-loss flexible substrate. The nanostrips also form microchannels that provide an opportunity for BIC-based refractive index sensing. An optimization model is presented for (switchable) QBIC resonances of metamaterial arrays of planar symmetric resonators modified with any (active) dielectric for inverse metamaterial design that can serve as an enabling platform for active micro-nanophotonic devices.

Optically controlled ultrafast terahertz switching in wafer scale PtSe2 thin films

In this study, we have reported a newly ultrafast optically modulated terahertz (THz) switch based on the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) material platinum diselenide (${{\rm PtSe}_2}$) with different thicknesses. The high-quality ${{\rm PtSe}_2}$ thin films with centimeter scale are fabricated on sapphire substrate by the chemical vapor deposition method. The optical pump and THz probe (OPTP) spectroscopy reveals that the THz response of the thin films is as fast as ${\sim} 2.0 \; {\rm ps}$ after photoexcitation of a 780 nm pulse. Interestingly, we found that the THz response time of the ${{\rm PtSe}_2}$ semimetal phase is faster than that of the semiconducting phase. In addition, the THz response time becomes faster when increasing the film thickness for the semimetal phase ${{\rm PtSe}_2}$, while for the semiconducting phase, the response time becomes slower with film thickness. Moreover, degenerate optical pump and optical probe spectroscopy (OPOP) demonstrated that the ultrafast photoinduced negative absorption (photoinduced bleaching) occurs after photoexcitation of 780 nm, and the subsequent recovery consists of two relaxation processes: the fast component with more than 85% of weight has a lifetime of ${\sim}{1.5}\;{\rm ps}$ for semiconducting-phase films and less than 1 ps for the semimetal phase, similar to the response time obtained from OPTP measurement. The slow component with less than 15% of weight has a lifetime of a few hundred picoseconds. The subpicosecond response time observed in both OPTP and OPOP is ascribed to the carrier trapping by defect states, and the slow relaxation process appearing in OPOP arises from the defect state relevant relaxation that is insensitive to the THz photoconductivity due to the frozen carrier mobility in defect states. Our experimental results demonstrate a new application of TMD materials such as ${{\rm PtSe}_2}$ in THz technology, for instance, the design and fabrication of THz modulators and THz switches.

Active polarization-independent plasmon-induced transparency metasurface with suppressed magnetic attenuation

A tunable polarization-independent plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) metasurface based on connected half-ring and split-ring resonators is proposed to working in the terahertz band. We analyze the PIT effect in metasurfaces comprising of ring resonator and split ring resonator. Due to the magnetic attenuation caused by the reverse current between the two resonators, the relative position of the ring resonator and the split-ring resonator greatly affects the strength of the PIT effect. Magnetic attenuation weakens the dark mode of the split ring resonator. Through simulation and experiment, it is found that connecting the ring resonator and split-ring resonator can avoid magnetic attenuation and achieve a stronger PIT window. Furthermore, the fourfold rotation structure of the connected half-ring and split-ring resonator on silicon substrate achieves an optically controlled polarization-independent PIT effect. The design would provide significant guidance in multifunctional active devices, such as modulators and switches in terahertz communication.

Bifunctional Spatiotemporal Metasurfaces for Incident Angle-Tunable and Ultrafast Optically Switchable Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

Advances in tunable metamaterials/metasurfaces facilitates their utilization in novel optical components, and lead to many breakthroughs in light tailoring by giving birth to diverse spatiotemporal dynamics. In the ascendant field of terahertz (THz) photonics, the ultrafast modulation is the fundamental process of technological advancements in high-speed wireless communications, sensing, and imaging. However, the current research efforts have been mainly devoted to studies of single functionality under the control of one stimulus, which has plateaued in terms of innovative new features. Here, building on the incident angle-induced C₂ symmetry breaking of split ring pairs, we experimentally demonstrate extremely versatile, ultrafast THz switching behaviors at continuously alterable resonant states. The direction-controlled resonance hybridization provides another excellent degree of routing freedom, owing to its robustness, simplicity, and wide tunability. By leveraging such virtues, single LC mode and EIT-like resonance under normal and oblique incidence conditions are both effectively switched-off by means of photon injection. Considering the ultrashort lifetime of free carriers in MoSe₂ crystal, the corresponding transient dynamics show an ultrafast recovery time within 700 ps. The strategy proposed here is a viable pathway for multidimensional THz wave manipulation, which gears up a crucial step for diversified functionalities in deployable metaphotonic devices.

Enhanced terahertz modulation using a plasmonic perfect absorber based on black phosphorus

In this paper, we design a plasmonic perfect absorber based on black phosphorus (BP) with enhanced terahertz modulation. By tuning the chemical potential (μ_c) of BP, the modulation depth can reach up to 95%. The influence of geometric size and bandgap of BP on reflection spectra is also investigated. Moreover, the effect of the incident angle on the reflectance is discussed with different values of μ_c. Our results show that the plasmonic nanoslit mode contributes to the enhancement of the modulation effect. This simple periodical structure provides a potential route to design a tunable plasmonic BP-based modulator in the THz range.

Optical control of terahertz plasmon-induced transparency based on hybrid CsPbBr3 quantum dot metasurfaces

Incorporating photosensitive material into structured metamaterials explores opportunities for dynamical operation across the terahertz functional devices, enabled by the efficient interaction between light and matter. In this work, the CsPbBr₃ quantum dots are incorporated into the metasurfaces, realizing the active control of the plasmon-induced transparency. In the experiment, the normalized modulation depth of transparency effect is up to 74%. Rigorous numerical and theoretical simulations verify that the variation of dynamic physical process is associated with the charge storage capacity in the capacitive metasurface. An observed phase advance and group delay indicate the hybrid metasurface is useful for slow light application. In addition, the simple process provides a convenient way for the development of terahertz functional devices.

Ultrafast modulation of the spectral filtering properties of a THz metasurface

We demonstrate ultrafast tuning of a plasmonic spectral filter at terahertz (THz) frequencies. The device is made of periodically spaced gold crosses deposited on the surface of an undoped silicon wafer in which transient free carriers can be optically injected with a femtosecond resonant pulse. We demonstrate the concept by measuring the transmission spectrum of a notch filter using time-domain THz spectroscopy. Proper synchronization of the THz probe and visible excitation pulses leads to an enhanced transmission at the resonance by more than two orders of magnitude. Finite-difference time-domain simulations, which are in agreement with the experimental results, show that the underlying mechanisms responsible for the resonance blueshift and linewidth broadening can be attributed to the photoinduced change in dielectric properties of the substrate. This is supported by the numerically simulated field distribution and reflection/transmission coefficients. The device can be used in future pulse shaping and ultrafast switching experiments.

Pump-Color Selective Control of Ultrafast All-Optical Switching Dynamics in Metaphotonic Devices

Incorporating active materials into metamaterials is expected to yield exciting advancements in the unprecedented versatility of dynamically controlling optical properties, which sheds new light on the future optoelectronics. The exploration of emerging semiconductors into terahertz (THz) meta-atoms potentially allows achieving ultrafast nanodevices driven by various applications, such as biomedical sensing/imaging, ultrawide-band communications and security scanners. However, ultrafast optical switching of THz radiation is currently limited to a single level of tuning speed, which is a main hurdle to achieve multifunctionalities. Here, a hybrid metadevice which can realize the pump-wavelength controlled ultrafast switching response by the functionalization of double photoactive layers is demonstrated experimentally. A whole cycle of electromagnetically induced transparency switching with a half-recovery state changes from 0.78 ns to 8.8 ps as pump wavelength varies from near infrared to near ultraviolet regions. The observed pump-color selective switching speed changing from nanosecond scale to picosecond scale is ascribed to the wavelength-dependent penetration length of Ge and the contrasting defect states between noncrystalline Ge and epitaxial Si layers. It is believed that the schemes regarding pump-color controllable ultrafast switching behavior introduced here can inspire more innovations across the field of ultrafast photonics and can boost the reconfigurable metamaterial applications.

High Order Magnetic and Electric Resonant Modes of Split Ring Resonator Metasurface Arrays for Strong Enhancement of Mid-Infrared Photodetection

Integration of photonic nanostructures with optoelectrical semiconductors offers great potential of developing high sensitivity and multifunctional photodetectors enabled by enhanced light-matter interactions. Split ring resonator (SRR) array which resonates at different resonant modes, including fundamental magnetic mode (m₀), high order magnetic mode (m₁), and electric (e) mode has been investigated because of the high potential for different applications. In this work, we study photodetection enhancement of these resonant modes of U-shape SRR arrays in the mid-infrared (2-5 μm) range and report, for the first time, the strong enhancement of photodetection by superimposition of m₁ and e modes in an integrated photodetector consisting of a U-shape SRR array and an InAsSb-based heterojunction photodiode. We observe that the m₁ mode in the SRR array shows the strongest enhancement of photocurrent, sequentially followed by the e and m₀ modes. Using superimposed m₁ and e modes, about an order of enhancement in room temperature detectivity (to about 2.0 × 10¹⁰ Jones) is achieved under zero-power-supply without sacrificing the response speed. In addition, polarization-resolved photoresponse between m₁ and e modes and tunable enhancement of photoresponse are also demonstrated. The remarkable enhancement makes mid-infrared photodetection possible to operate at room temperature.

Rotated fourfold U-shape metasurface for polarization-insensitive strong enhancement of mid-infrared photodetection

Metasurface with thin planar resonant elements offers great capability in manipulating electromagnetic waves and their interaction with semiconductors. Split-ring resonator (SRR), as the basic building block, has been extensively investigated for myriad applications owing to its multiple electric and magnetic resonant modes. In this work, we report a rotated fourfold U-shape SRR metasurface for polarization-insensitive strong enhancement of mid-infrared photodetection. The integrated photodetector consists of a rotated fourfold SRR array and an InAsSb based heterojunction photodiode. A photosensitivity enhancement factor as high as 11 has been achieved by adoption of superimposed high order magnetic and electric resonant modes in the SRR metasurface. This work provides a promising pathway for exploring high performance polarization-insensitive photodetection in different electromagnetic wave ranges.

Strengthening Fano resonance on gold nanoplates with gold nanospheres

Plasmonic Fano resonance has attracted extensive attention due to its many applications, including plasmonic sensing, electromagnetically induced transparency, light trapping and stopping, due to its narrow linewidth and asymmetric spectral shape. However, many metal nanostructures are designed with complex geometries to generate Fano resonance and few of them can support a deep Fano dip. Herein we report on the strengthening of the Fano resonance on silicon-supported Au nanoplates through the formation of (Au nanosphere)-(Au nanoplate) heterodimers. The deposition of the Au nanosphere on the top can greatly strengthen the substrate-induced Fano resonance of the Au nanoplate with a deep dip. We also observe that the replacement of the Au nanosphere with a Au nanocube can suppress the excitation of the Fano resonance in the heterodimer. When the sharp corners and edges of the nanocubes gradually become rounded, the Fano resonance appears again with increasing asymmetry. Both the dip depth and wavelength of the Fano resonance can be independently tailored by varying the nanosphere diameter and the nanoplate thickness, respectively. We believe that our results provide an attractive and facile platform for modulating Fano dips and constructing Fano resonance-based devices.

Solution-Processed Lead Iodide for Ultrafast All-Optical Switching of Terahertz Photonic Devices

Solution-processed lead iodide (PbI₂ ) governs the charge transport characteristics in the hybrid metal halide perovskites. Besides being a precursor in enhancing the performance of perovskite solar cells, PbI₂ alone offers remarkable optical and ultrasensitive photoresponsive properties that remain largely unexplored. Here, the photophysics and the ultrafast carrier dynamics of the solution processed PbI₂ thin film is probed experimentally. A PbI₂ integrated metamaterial photonic device with switchable picosecond time response at extremely low photoexcitation fluences is demonstrated. Further, findings show strongly confined terahertz field induced tailoring of sensitivity and switching time of the metamaterial resonances for different thicknesses of PbI₂ thin film. The approach has two far reaching consequences: the first lead-iodide-based ultrafast photonic device and resonantly confined electromagnetic field tailored transient nonequilibrium dynamics of PbI₂ which could also be applied to a broad range of semiconductors for designing on-chip, ultrafast, all-optical switchable photonic devices.

Vanadium dioxide based broadband THz metamaterial absorbers with high tunability: simulation study

With their unprecedented flexibility in manipulating electromagnetic waves, metamaterials provide a pathway to structural materials that can fill the so-called "THz gap". It has been reported that vanadium dioxide (VO₂) experiences a three orders of magnitude increase in THz electrical conductivity when it undergoes an insulator-to-metal transition. Here, we propose a VO₂ based THz metamaterial absorber exhibiting broadband absorptivity that arises from the multiple resonances supported by a delicately balanced doubly periodic array of VO₂ structures and numerically demonstrate that the corresponding absorption behavior is highly dependent on the VO₂'s THz electrical properties. Considering the phase transition induced dramatic change in VO₂'s material property, the proposed metamaterial absorbers have the potential for strong modulation and switching of broadband THz radiation.

Switching plasmonic Fano resonance in gold nanosphere-nanoplate heterodimers

The interference between spectrally overlapping superradiant and subradiant plasmon resonances generates plasmonic Fano resonance, which allows for attractive applications such as electromagnetically induced transparency, light trapping, and refractometric sensing with high figures of merit. The active switching of plasmonic Fano resonance holds great promise in modulating optical signals, dynamically harvesting light energy, and constructing switchable plasmonic sensors. However, structures enabling the active control of plasmonic Fano resonance have rarely been achieved because of the fabrication complexity and cost. Herein we report on the realization of active plasmonic Fano resonance switching on Au nanosphere-nanoplate heterodimers. The active switching is enabled by varying the refractive index of a layer of polyaniline that fills in the gap between the Au nanosphere and the Au nanoplate. A reversible spectral shift of 20 nm is observed on the individual heterodimers during switching. The maximal spectral shift decreases as the interparticle gap distance is enlarged, showing a strong dependence of the spectral shift on the local electric field intensity enhancement in the gap region. This trend agrees with the predicted dependence of the refractive index sensitivity on the local field intensity enhancement. Our results provide insights into the development of plasmonic structures supporting actively switchable Fano resonances, which can lead to new technological applications, such as switchable cloaking and display, dynamic coding of optical signals, color sorting and filtering. The Au heterodimers with polyaniline in the gap can also be applied for the sensing of local environmental parameters such as pH values and heavy metal ions.

From Single-Dimensional to Multidimensional Manipulation of Optical Waves with Metasurfaces

Metasurfaces, 2D artificial arrays of subwavelength elements, have attracted great interest from the optical scientific community in recent years because they provide versatile possibilities for the manipulation of optical waves and promise an effective way for miniaturization and integration of optical devices. In the past decade, the main efforts were focused on the realization of single-dimensional (amplitude, frequency, polarization, or phase) manipulation of optical waves. Compared to the metasurfaces with single-dimensional manipulation, metasurfaces with multidimensional manipulation of optical waves show significant advantages in many practical application areas, such as optical holograms, sub-diffraction imaging, and the design of integrated multifunctional optical devices. Nowadays, with the rapid development of nanofabrication techniques, the research of metasurfaces has been inevitably developed from single-dimensional manipulation toward multidimensional manipulation of optical waves, which greatly boosts the application of metasurfaces and further paves the way for arbitrary design of optical devices. Herein, the recent advances in metasurfaces are briefly reviewed and classified from the viewpoint of different dimensional manipulations of optical waves. Single-dimensional manipulation and 2D manipulation of optical waves with metasurfaces are discussed systematically. In conclusion, an outlook and perspectives on the challenges and future prospects in these rapidly growing research areas are provided.

Amplitude modulation of anomalously reflected terahertz beams using all-optical active Pancharatnam-Berry coding metasurfaces

Pancharatnam-Berry (P-B) metasurfaces introduce geometric phases to circularly polarized electromagnetic waves through geometric rotation of the unit cells, thereby converting spin angular momentum (SAM) to orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons and achieving flexible modulation of spin-polarized waves. It is highly desirable for dynamically tunable P-B metasurfaces to be actively applied. Here, combining double split-ring resonators (DSRRs) with photosensitive semiconductor germanium (Ge), we propose three types of all-optical active Pancharatnam-Berry coding metasurface for dynamic amplitude modulation of spin waves and vortex beams in the terahertz band. Coupled with signal processing methods such as the convolution operation, optical active P-B coding metasurfaces show a strong regulation effect on terahertz beams. This opens up a broad path for coding metasurface applications such as high-speed wireless terahertz communications.

Experimental Demonstration of Ultrafast THz Modulation in a Graphene-Based Thin Film Absorber through Negative Photoinduced Conductivity

We present an experimental demonstration and interpretation of an ultrafast optically tunable, graphene-based thin film absorption modulator for operation in the THz regime. The graphene-based component consists of a uniform CVD-grown graphene sheet stacked on an SU-8 dielectric substrate that is grounded by a metallic ground plate. The structure shows enhanced absorption originating from constructive interference of the impinging and reflected waves at the absorbing graphene sheet. The modulation of this absorption, which is demonstrated via a THz time-domain spectroscopy setup, is achieved by applying an optical pump signal, which modifies the conductivity of the graphene sheet. We report an ultrafast (on the order of few ps) absorption modulation on the order of 40% upon photoexcitation. Our results provide evidence that the optical pump excitation results in the degradation of the graphene THz conductivity, which is connected with the generation of hot carriers, the increase of the electronic temperature, and the dominant increase of the scattering rate over the carrier concentration as found in highly doped samples.

Chalcogenide Phase Change Material for Active Terahertz Photonics

The strikingly contrasting optical properties of various phases of chalcogenide phase change materials (PCM) has recently led to the development of novel photonic devices such as all-optical non-von Neumann memory, nanopixel displays, color rendering, and reconfigurable nanoplasmonics. However, the exploration of chalcogenide photonics is currently limited to optical and infrared frequencies. Here, a phase change material integrated terahertz metamaterial for multilevel nonvolatile resonance switching with spatial and temporal selectivity is demonstrated. By controlling the crystalline proportion of the PCM film, multilevel, non-volatile, terahertz resonance switching states with long retention time at zero hold power are realized. Spatially selective reconfiguration at sub-metamaterial scale is shown by delivering electrical stimulus locally through designer interconnect architecture. The PCM metamaterial also features ultrafast optical modulation of terahertz resonances with tunable switching speed based on the crystalline order of the PCM film. The multilevel nonvolatile, spatially selective, and temporally tunable PCM metamaterial will provide a pathway toward development of novel and disruptive terahertz technologies including spatio-temporal terahertz modulators for high speed wireless communication, neuromorphic photonics, and machine-learning metamaterials.

Terahertz electric field modulated mode coupling in graphene-metal hybrid metamaterials

Taking advantage of the tunable conductivity of graphene under high terahertz (THz) electric field, a graphene-metal hybrid metamaterial consisting of an array of three adjoined orthogonally oriented split-ring resonators (SRRs) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated to show a maximum modulation depth of 23% in transmission when the THz peak field reaches 305 kV/cm. The transmission of the sample is dominated by the antisymmetric and symmetric resonant modes originating from the strong magneto-inductive and conductive coupling among the three SRRs, respectively. Numerical simulations and model calculations based on a coupled oscillator theory were performed to explain the modulation process. It is found that the graphene coating impairs the resonances by increasing the damping of the modes and decreasing the coupling between the SRRs whereas the strong THz field restores the resonances by decreasing the conductivity of graphene.

Reconfigurable MEMS Fano metasurfaces with multiple-input-output states for logic operations at terahertz frequencies

A broad range of dynamic metasurfaces has been developed for manipulating the intensity, phase and wavefront of electromagnetic radiation from microwaves to optical frequencies. However, most of these metasurfaces operate in single-input-output state. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a reconfigurable MEMS Fano resonant metasurface possessing multiple-input-output (MIO) states that performs logic operations with two independently controlled electrical inputs and an optical readout at terahertz frequencies. The far-field behaviour of Fano resonance exhibits XOR and XNOR operations, while the near-field resonant confinement enables the NAND operation. The MIO configuration resembling hysteresis-type closed-loop behaviour is realized through inducing electromechanically tuneable out-of-plane anisotropy in the near-field coupling of constituent resonator structures. The XOR metamaterial gate possesses potential applications in cryptographically secured terahertz wireless communication networks. Furthermore, the MIO features could lay the foundation for the realization of programmable and randomly accessible metamaterials with enhanced electro-optical performance across terahertz, infrared and optical frequencies.

Terahertz rare-earth orthoferrite metamaterials by 3-D direct writing technology

Terahertz (THz) radiation excites electronic and optical modes of many materials, and controlling interaction of these materials with THz pulses provides a fascinating avenue to achieve unprecedented functionalities in return. Here, woodpile-structured rare-earth orthoferrite metamaterials built with 3-D direct ink writing technology are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Polarization-independent THz refraction and switching of resonances by varying the number of layers in the structure, as well as the structural parameters and specimen support angle are achieved. Such all-rare-earth-orthoferrite dielectric metamaterials are easy to fabricate and can be very promising in developing efficient and low cost THz functional metadevices.

Universal behaviour of high-Q Fano resonances in metamaterials: terahertz to near-infrared regime

The observation of Fano resonance phenomena is universal across several branches of physics. Photonics is one of the most important areas of physics that mainly deals with the control of light propagation and localization through its interaction with natural and artificially engineered media. In an era of miniaturization, manipulation of light at micro-nanoscales has assumed unprecedented significance due to its potential to satisfy the mankind with disruptive future technologies. In this work, we present our study on the universality of high quality factor Fano resonances in planar metamaterials across terahertz and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The narrow linewidth asymmetric Fano resonant metamaterials have tremendous potential to find applications in micro-nanoscale flat lasers, sensors, and ultra-resolution spectrometers.