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Ilyakov I, Ponomaryov A, Reig DS, Murphy C, Mehew JD, de Oliveira TVAG, Prajapati GL, Arshad A, Deinert JC, Craciun MF, Russo S, Kovalev S, Tielrooij KJ. Ultrafast Tunable Terahertz-to-Visible Light Conversion through Thermal Radiation from Graphene Metamaterials. NANO LETTERS 2023; 23:3872-3878. [PMID: 37116109 PMCID: PMC10176577 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Several technologies, including photodetection, imaging, and data communication, could greatly benefit from the availability of fast and controllable conversion of terahertz (THz) light to visible light. Here, we demonstrate that the exceptional properties and dynamics of electronic heat in graphene allow for a THz-to-visible conversion, which is switchable at a sub-nanosecond time scale. We show a tunable on/off ratio of more than 30 for the emitted visible light, achieved through electrical gating using a gate voltage on the order of 1 V. We also demonstrate that a grating-graphene metamaterial leads to an increase in THz-induced emitted power in the visible range by 2 orders of magnitude. The experimental results are in agreement with a thermodynamic model that describes blackbody radiation from the electron system heated through intraband Drude absorption of THz light. These results provide a promising route toward novel functionalities of optoelectronic technologies in the THz regime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Ilyakov
- Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - Alexey Ponomaryov
- Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - David Saleta Reig
- Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), BIST and CSIC, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - Conor Murphy
- Centre for Graphene Science, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QF, U.K
| | - Jake Dudley Mehew
- Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), BIST and CSIC, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - Thales V A G de Oliveira
- Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - Gulloo Lal Prajapati
- Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - Atiqa Arshad
- Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - Jan-Christoph Deinert
- Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Saverio Russo
- Centre for Graphene Science, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QF, U.K
| | - Sergey Kovalev
- Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany
| | - Klaas-Jan Tielrooij
- Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), BIST and CSIC, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- Department of Applied Physics, TU Eindhoven, Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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Keller K, Rojas-Aedo R, Zhang H, Schweizer P, Allerbeck J, Brida D, Jariwala D, Maccaferri N. Ultrafast Thermionic Electron Injection Effects on Exciton Formation Dynamics at a van der Waals Semiconductor/Metal Interface. ACS PHOTONICS 2022; 9:2683-2690. [PMID: 35996365 PMCID: PMC9389617 DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.2c00394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Inorganic van der Waals bonded semiconductors such as transition metal dichalcogenides are the subject of intense research due to their electronic and optical properties which are promising for next-generation optoelectronic devices. In this context, understanding the carrier dynamics, as well as charge and energy transfer at the interface between metallic contacts and semiconductors, is crucial and yet quite unexplored. Here, we present an experimental study to measure the effect of mutual interaction between thermionically injected and directly excited carriers on the exciton formation dynamics in bulk WS2. By employing a pump-push-probe scheme, where a pump pulse induces thermionic injection of electrons from a gold substrate into the conduction band of the semiconductor, and another delayed push pulse that excites direct transitions in the WS2, we can isolate the two processes experimentally and thus correlate the mutual interaction with its effect on the ultrafast dynamics in WS2. The fast decay time constants extracted from the experiments show a decrease with an increasing ratio between the injected and directly excited charge carriers, thus disclosing the impact of thermionic electron injection on the exciton formation dynamics. Our findings might offer a new vibrant direction for the integration of photonics and electronics, especially in active and photodetection devices, and, more in general, in upcoming all-optical nanotechnologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kilian
R. Keller
- Department
of Physics and Materials Science, University
of Luxembourg, 162a Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Ricardo Rojas-Aedo
- Department
of Physics and Materials Science, University
of Luxembourg, 162a Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Huiqin Zhang
- Department
of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University
of Pennsylvania, 19104 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Pirmin Schweizer
- Department
of Physics and Materials Science, University
of Luxembourg, 162a Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Jonas Allerbeck
- Department
of Physics and Materials Science, University
of Luxembourg, 162a Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
- Nanotech@Surfaces
Laboratory, EMPA, Ueberlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Daniele Brida
- Department
of Physics and Materials Science, University
of Luxembourg, 162a Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Deep Jariwala
- Department
of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University
of Pennsylvania, 19104 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Nicolò Maccaferri
- Department
of Physics and Materials Science, University
of Luxembourg, 162a Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
- Department
of Physics, Umeå University, Linnaeus väg 24, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden
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