Abstract-Gbps terahertz external modulator based on a composite metamaterial with a double-channel heterostructure

Yaxin Zhang , Shen Qiao , Shixiong Liang , Zhenhua Wu , Ziqiang Yang , Zhihong Feng , Han Sun , Yucong Zhou , Linlin Sun , Zhi Chen , Xianbing Zou , Bo Zhang , Jianhao Hu , Shaoqian Li ,Qin Chen , Ling Li , Gaiqi Xu , Yuncheng Zhao , and Shenggang Liu

Nano Lett., Just Accepted Manuscript

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00869

Publication Date (Web): April 28, 2015

Copyright © 2015 American Chemical Society

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00869

The past few decades have witnessed a substantial increase in terahertz (THz) research. Utilizing THz waves to transmit communication and imaging data has created a high demand for phase and amplitude modulation. However, current active THz devices, including modulators and switches, still cannot meet THz system demands. Double-channel heterostructures, an alternative semiconductor system, can support nano-scale two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) with high carrier concentration and mobility and provide a new way to develop active THz devices. In this article, we present a composite metamaterial structure that combines an equivalent collective dipolar array with a double-channel heterostructure to obtain an effective, ultra-fast and all-electronic grid-controlled THz modulator. Electrical control allows for resonant mode conversion between two different dipolar resonances in the active device, which significantly improves the modulation speed and depth. This THz modulator is the first to achieve a 1-GHz modulation speed and 85% modulation depth during real-time dynamic tests. Moreover, a 1.19-rad phase shift was realized. A wireless free-space-modulation THz communication system based on this external THz modulator was tested using 0.2-Gbps eye patterns. Therefore, this active composite metamaterial modulator provides a basis for the development of effective and ultra-fast dynamic devices for THz wireless communication and imaging systems.