Abstract-Review of terahertz photoconductive antenna technology

Nathan M. Burford,  Magda O. El-Shenawee,

https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Optical-Engineering/volume-56/issue-01/010901/Review-of-terahertz-photoconductive-antenna-technology/10.1117/1.OE.56.1.010901.full

Photoconductive antennas (PCAs) have been extensively utilized for the generation and detection of both pulsed broadband and single frequency continuous wave terahertz (THz) band radiation. These devices form the basis of many THz imaging and spectroscopy systems, which have demonstrated promising applications in various industries and research fields. The development of THz PCA technology through the last 30 years is reviewed. The key modalities of improving device performance are identified, and literature is reviewed to summarize the progress made in these areas. The goal of this review is to provide a collection of all relevant literature to bring researchers up to date on the current state and remaining challenges of THz PCA technology.

Abstract-Boosting Terahertz Photoconductive Antenna Performance with Optimised Plasmonic Nanostructures

Sergey Lepeshov, Andrei Gorodetsky, Alexander Krasnok, Nikita Toropov, Tigran A. Vartanyan, Pavel Belov, Andrea Alú, Edik U. Rafailov,

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-25013-7


Advanced nanophotonics penetrates into other areas of science and technology, ranging from applied physics to biology, which results in many fascinating cross-disciplinary applications. It has been recently demonstrated that suitably engineered light-matter interactions at the nanoscale can overcome the limitations of today’s terahertz (THz) photoconductive antennas, making them one step closer to many practical implications. Here, we push forward this concept by comprehensive numerical optimization and experimental investigation of a log-periodic THz photoconductive antenna coupled to a silver nanoantenna array. We shed light on the operation principles of the resulting hybrid THz antenna, providing an approach to boost its performance. By tailoring the size of silver nanoantennas and their arrangement, we obtain an enhancement of optical-to-THz conversion efficiency 2-fold larger compared with previously reported results for similar structures, and the strongest enhancement is around 1 THz, a frequency range barely achievable by other compact THz sources. We also propose a cost-effective fabrication procedure to realize such hybrid THz antennas with optimized plasmonic nanostructures via thermal dewetting process, which does not require any post processing and makes the proposed solution very attractive for applications.

Abstract-Sensitivity of terahertz photoconductive antenna based on multilayer structure grown on different substrate crystallographic orientation

 V.R. Bilyk, A.M. Buryakov, K.A. Brekhov,  D.I. Khusyainov,  E.D. Mishina, G.B. Galiev,  S.S. Pushkarev,  E.A. Klimov,

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8247407/

Experimentally demonstrated difference of THz detection efficiency by the photoconductive antennas based on low-temperature GaAs films grown on different oriented substrate. Crystallographic orientation of films influence to efficiency on the terahertz detection was shown.