Undulations of Smectic A Layers in Achiral Liquid Crystals Manifested as Stripe Textures

Self-assembly of organic molecules represents a fascinating playground to create various liquid crystalline nanostructures. In this Letter, we study layer undulations on micrometer scale in smectic A phases for achiral compounds, experimentally demonstrated as regular stripe patterns induced by thermal treatment. Undulations, including their anharmonic properties, are evaluated by means of polarimetric imaging and light diffraction experiments in cells with various thicknesses. The key role in stripe formation is played by high negative values of the thermal expansion coefficient.

Ultrafast Long-Distance Electron-Hole Plasma Expansion in GaAs Mediated by Stimulated Emission and Reabsorption of Photons

Electron-hole plasma expansion with velocities exceeding c/50 and lasting over 10 ps at 300 K was evidenced by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. This regime, in which the carriers are driven over >30  μm is governed by stimulated emission due to low-energy electron-hole pair recombination and reabsorption of the emitted photons outside the plasma volume. At low temperatures a speed of c/10 was observed in the regime where the excitation pulse spectrally overlaps with emitted photons, leading to strong coherent light-matter interaction and optical soliton propagation effects.

Terahertz charge transport dynamics in 3D graphene networks with localization and band regimes

Terahertz steady-state and time-resolved conductivity and permittivity spectra were measured in 3D graphene networks assembled in free-standing covalently cross-linked graphene aerogels. Investigation of a transition between reduced-graphene oxide and graphene controlled by means of high-temperature annealing allowed us to elucidate the role of defects in the charge carrier transport in the materials. The THz spectra reveal increasing conductivity and decreasing permittivity with frequency. This contrasts with the Drude- or Lorentz-like conductivity typically observed in various 2D graphene samples, suggesting a significant contribution of a relaxational mechanism to the conductivity in 3D graphene percolated networks. The charge transport in the graphene aerogels exhibits an interplay between the carrier hopping among localized states and a Drude contribution of conduction-band carriers. Upon photoexcitation, carriers are injected into the conduction band and their dynamics reveals picosecond lifetime and femtosecond dephasing time. Our findings provide important insight into the charge transport in complex graphene structures.

Terahertz Magnetic and Lattice Excitations in van der Waals Ferromagnet VI3

We use the synergy of infrared, terahertz, and Raman spectroscopies with DFT calculations to shed light on the magnetic and lattice properties of VI₃. The structural transition at T_S1 = 79 K is accompanied by a large splitting of polar phonon modes. Below T_S1, strong ferromagnetic fluctuations are observed. The variations of phonon frequencies at 55 K induced by magnetoelastic coupling enhanced by spin-orbit interaction indicate the proximity of long-range ferromagnetic order. Below T_C = 50 K, two Raman modes simultaneously appear and show dramatic softening in the narrow interval around the temperature T_S2 of the second structural transition associated with the order-order magnetic phase transition. Below T_S2, a magnon in the THz range appears in Raman spectra. The THz magnon observed in VI₃ indicates the application potential of 2D van der Waals ferromagnets in ultrafast THz spintronics, which has previously been considered the exclusive domain of antiferromagnets.

Improving security in terahertz wireless links using beam symmetry of vortex and Gaussian beams

We present an effective way to improve the security of a point-to-point terahertz wireless link on a physical layer supported by numerical calculations in the frame of Fourier optics. The improvement is based on original countermeasures which exploit three independent degrees of freedom of the carrier wave: its intensity and azimuthal and radial symmetry. When the transmission line is intercepted, the light beam is subject to changes in either of the three degrees of freedom. We propose a strategy to measure these changes and they are quantified by a single eavesdropping parameter that is shown to be correlated to the secrecy capacity of the transmission. Consequently, its excessive value serves as an indication of the beam interception. We consider the carrier wave in the form of Gaussian and vortex beams. Comparison between the two reveals that vortex beam ensures a even higher level of security.

Terahertz electrical writing speed in an antiferromagnetic memory

The speed of writing of state-of-the-art ferromagnetic memories is physically limited by an intrinsic gigahertz threshold. Recently, realization of memory devices based on antiferromagnets, in which spin directions periodically alternate from one atomic lattice site to the next has moved research in an alternative direction. We experimentally demonstrate at room temperature that the speed of reversible electrical writing in a memory device can be scaled up to terahertz using an antiferromagnet. A current-induced spin-torque mechanism is responsible for the switching in our memory devices throughout the 12-order-of-magnitude range of writing speeds from hertz to terahertz. Our work opens the path toward the development of memory-logic technology reaching the elusive terahertz band.

Bulk magnetic terahertz metamaterials based on dielectric microspheres

Rigid metamaterials were prepared by embedding TiO₂ microspheres into polyethylene. These structures exhibit a series of Mie resonances where the lowest-frequency one is associated with a strong dispersion in the effective magnetic permeability. Using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy, we experimentally demonstrated the magnetic nature of the observed resonance. The presented approach shows a way for low-cost massive fabrication of mechanically stable terahertz metamaterials based on dielectric microresonators.

Self-referenced ultra-broadband transient terahertz spectroscopy using air-photonics

Terahertz (THz) air-photonics employs nonlinear interactions of ultrashort laser pulses in air to generate and detect THz pulses. As air is virtually non-dispersive, the optical-THz phase matching condition is automatically met, thus permitting the generation and detection of ultra-broadband THz pulses covering the entire THz spectral range without any gaps. Air-photonics naturally offers unique opportunities for ultra-broadband transient THz spectroscopy, yet many critical challenges inherent to this technique must first be resolved. Here, we present explicit guidelines for ultra-broadband transient THz spectroscopy with air-photonics, including a novel method for self-referenced signal acquisition minimizing the phase error, and the numerically-accurate approach to the transient reflectance data analysis.

Long-range and high-speed electronic spin-transport at a GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor interface

Spin-valves or spin-transistors in magnetic memories and logic elements are examples of structures whose functionality depends crucially on the length and time-scales at which spin-information is transferred through the device. In our work we employ spatially resolved optical pump-and-probe technique to investigate these fundamental spin-transport parameters in a model semiconductor system. We demonstrate that in an undoped GaAs/AlGaAs layer, spins are detected at distances reaching more than ten microns at times as short as nanoseconds. We have achieved this unprecedented combination of long-range and high-speed electronic spin-transport by simultaneously suppressing mechanisms that limit the spin life-time and the mobility of carriers. By exploring a series of structures we demonstrate that the GaAs/AlGaAs interface can provide superior spin-transport characteristics whether deposited directly on the substrate or embedded in complex semiconductor heterostructures. We confirm our conclusions by complementing the optical experiments with dc and terahertz photo-conductivity measurements.

Transition between metamaterial and photonic-crystal behavior in arrays of dielectric rods

Using finite-difference time-domain simulations, we study the interactions of electromagnetic radiation with a square array of dielectric rods parallel to the electric vector. We observe the electric and magnetic Mie resonances which induce intervals of negative effective permittivity and permeability and which contribute to the formation of the photonic band gaps. Owing to the interplay of these phenomena, a narrow spectral range with a negative refractive index can occur. However, this requires the filling fraction of the dielectric to fall into a well defined interval of values and its permittivity to exceed a minimum of about 50. We discuss these phenomena from the perspective of both photonic crystal and metamaterial concepts.

Near-field probing of Mie resonances in single TiO2 microspheres at terahertz frequencies

We show experimentally that poly-crystalline TiO2 spheres, 20-30 μm in diameter, exhibit a magnetic dipole Mie resonance in the terahertz (THz) frequency band (1.0-1.6 THz) with a narrow line-width (<40 GHz). We detect and investigate the magnetic dipole and electric dipole resonances in single high-permittivity TiO2 microspheres, using a near-field probe with a sub-wavelength (~λ/50) size aperture and THz time-domain spectroscopy technique. The Mie resonance signatures are observed in the electric field amplitude and phase spectra, as well as in the electric field distribution near the microspheres. The narrow line-width and the sub-wavelength size (λ/10) make the TiO2 microspheres excellent candidates for realizing low-loss THz metamaterials.

Charge carrier mobility in poly[methyl(phenyl)silylene] studied by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy and molecular modelling

Time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy and combination of quantum chemistry modeling and molecular dynamics simulations were used for the determination of charge carrier mobility in poly[methyl(phenyl)silylene]. Using time-resolved THz spectroscopy we established the on-chain charge carrier drift mobility in PMPSi as 0.02 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). This value is low due to the formation of polarons: the hole is self-trapped in a potential formed by local chain distortion and the transient THz conductivity spectra show signatures of its oscillations within this potential well. This view is supported by the agreement between experimental and calculated values of the on-chain charge carrier mobility.

Systematic study of Mn-doping trends in optical properties of (Ga,Mn)As

We report on a systematic study of optical properties of (Ga,Mn)As epilayers spanning the wide range of accessible Mn(Ga) dopings. The material synthesis was optimized for each nominal Mn doping in order to obtain films which are as close as possible to uniform uncompensated (Ga,Mn)As mixed crystals. We observe a broad maximum in the mid-infrared absorption spectra whose position exhibits a prevailing blueshift for increasing Mn doping. In the visible range, a peak in the magnetic circular dichroism also shifts with increasing Mn doping. The results are consistent with the description of ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As based on the microscopic valence band theory. They also imply that opposite trends seen previously in the optical data on a limited number of samples are not generic and cannot serve as an experimental basis for postulating the impurity band model of ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As.

Broad-band dielectric spectroscopy and ferroelectric soft-mode response in the Ba(0.6)Sr(0.4)TiO(3) solid solution

Ceramic Ba(0.6)Sr(0.4)TiO(3) (BST-0.6) samples were studied in the broad spectral range of 10(6)-10(14) Hz by using several dielectric techniques in between 20 and 800 K. The dominant dielectric dispersion mechanism in the paraelectric phase was shown to be of strongly anharmonic soft-phonon origin. The whole soft-mode response in the vicinity of the ferroelectric transition was shown to consist of two coupled overdamped THz excitations, which show classical features of a coupled soft and central mode, known from many ferroelectric crystals with a dynamics near the displacive and order-disorder crossover. Similar behaviour has been recently revealed and theoretically simulated in pure BaTiO(3) (see Ponomareva et al 2008 Phys. Rev. B 77 012102 and Hlinka et al 2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 101 167402). Also for the BST system, this feature was confirmed by the theory based on molecular dynamics simulations with an effective first-principles Hamiltonian. In all the ferroelectric phases, additional relaxation dispersion appeared in the GHz range, assigned to ferroelectric domain-wall dynamics. The microwave losses were analysed from the point of view of applications. The paraelectric losses above 1 GHz are comparable with those in single crystals and appear to be of intrinsic multi-phonon origin. The ceramic BST system is therefore well suited for applications in the whole microwave range.

High tunability of the soft mode in strained SrTiO(3)/DyScO(3) multilayers

SrTiO(3)/DyScO(3) epitaxial multilayers with variable number and thickness (10-100 nm) of bilayers deposited on DyScO(3) substrates were investigated by means of time-domain terahertz spectroscopy at room temperature. A tensile strain develops in the SrTiO(3) films and shifts the eigenfrequency of the ferroelectric soft mode down by ∼25-45 cm(-1) with respect to the value found for single crystals. In all films the soft mode strongly hardens upon the electrical bias and a linear coupling to a silent excitation of relaxation type at 10 cm(-1) is observed. We show that the change in the THz and sub-THz response of the layers with an increasing field is determined solely by the soft mode eigenfrequency and we propose a phenomenological model describing the origin of the tunability and the peculiar properties of the ferroelectric soft mode in the terahertz spectral range.