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Terahertz polariton propagation in patterned materials

Nature Materials volume 1, pages 95–98 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Generation and control of pulsed terahertz-frequency radiation have received extensive attention, with applications in terahertz spectroscopy, imaging and ultrahigh-bandwidth electro-optic signal processing1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16. Terahertz ‘polaritonics’, in which terahertz lattice waves called phonon-polaritons are generated, manipulated and visualized with femtosecond optical pulses17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24, offers prospects for an integrated solid-state platform for terahertz signal generation and guidance. Here, we extend terahertz polaritonics methods to patterned structures. We demonstrate femtosecond laser fabrication of polaritonic waveguide structures in lithium tantalate and lithium niobate crystals, and illustrate polariton focusing into, and propagation within, the fabricated waveguide structures. We also demonstrate a 90° turn within a structure consisting of two waveguides and a reflecting face, as well as a structure consisting of splitting and recombining elements that can be used as a terahertz Mach–Zehnder interferometer25. The structures permit integrated terahertz signal generation, propagation through waveguide-based devices, and readout within a single solid-state platform.

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Figure 1: Optical microscope images of the waveguide structures. The machined areas from which material has been cut away appear as dark regions.
Figure 2: Polariton propagation through waveguide structures.
Figure 3: Polariton propagation through the interferometer structure shown in Fig. 1b a – f,
Figure 4: Two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations of the electromagnetic part of the polaritons in the interferometric structure.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the MRSEC programme of the National Science Foundation. T. F. acknowledges financial support from the Max Kade Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    Nikolay S. Stoyanov, David W. Ward, Thomas Feurer & Keith A. Nelson

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  1. Nikolay S. Stoyanov
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Correspondence to Keith A. Nelson.

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Stoyanov, N., Ward, D., Feurer, T. et al. Terahertz polariton propagation in patterned materials. Nature Mater 1, 95–98 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat725

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