Investigation of spectral properties and lateral confinement of THz waves on a metal-rod-array-based photonic crystal waveguide.

Terahertz (THz) waves laterally confined in a 1 mm-thick microstructured planar waveguide are demonstrated on a free-standing metal rod array (MRA), and one apparent rejection band of a transmission spectrum, resembling the bandgap of a photonic crystal, is found in 0.1-0.6 THz. The visibility of the photonic bandgap in the spectral width and power distinction can be manipulated by changing the MRA geometry parameters, including the rod diameter, the interspace between adjacent rods, and the propagation length based on the interactive MRA-layer number. THz transmission ratio enhanced by a large interactive length is verified in 30 MRA layers due to the longitudinally resonant guidance of transverse-magnetic-polarized waveguide modes along the MRA length, which is critical to the interspace width of adjacent rods and the metal coating of the rod surface. For an MRA with respective rod diameter and interspace dimensions of about 0.16 and 0.26 mm, the highest transmission of the guided resonant THz waves are performed at 0.505-0.512 THz frequency with strong confinement on the metal rod tips and a low scattering loss of 0.003 cm-1.

Terahertz artificial material based on integrated metal-rod-array for phase sensitive fluid detection.

A terahertz artificial material composed of metal rod array is experimentally investigated on its transmission spectral property and successfully incorporated into microfluidics as a miniaturized terahertz waveguide with an extended optical-path-length for label-free fluidic sensing. Theoretical and experimental characterizations of terahertz transmission spectra show that the wave guidance along the metal rod array originates from the resonance of transverse-electric-polarized waves within the metal rod slits. The extended optical path length along three layers of metal-rod-array enables terahertz waves sufficiently overlapping the fluid molecules embedded among the rods, leading to strongly enhanced phase change by approximately one order of magnitude compared with the blank metal-parallel-plate waveguide. Based on the enhanced phase sensitivity, three kinds of colorless liquid analytes, namely, acetone, methanol, and ethanol, with different dipole moments are identified in situ using the metal-rod-array-based microfluidic sensor. The detection limit in molecular amounts of a liquid analyte is experimentally demonstrated to be less than 0.1 mmol, corresponding to 2.7 µmol/mm2. The phase sensitive terahertz metal-rod-array-based sensor potentially has good adaptability in lab-chip technology for various practical applications, such as industrial toxic fluid detection and medical breath inspection.

Terahertz plasmonic waveguide based on metal rod arrays for nanofilm sensing.

A high-aspect-ratio metallic rod array is demonstrated to generate and propagate highly confined terahertz (THz) surface plasmonic waves under end-fire excitation. The transverse modal power distribution and spectral properties of the bound THz plasmonic wave are characterized in two metallic rod arrays with different periods and in two configurations with and without attaching a subwavelength superstrate. The integrated metallic rod array-based waveguide can be used to sense the various thin films deposited on the polypropylene superstrate based on the phase-sensitive mechanism. The sensor exhibits different phase detection sensitivities depending on the modal power immersed in the air gaps between the metallic rods. Deep-subwavelength SiO(2) and ZnO nanofilms with an optical path difference of 252 nm, which is equivalent to λ/3968 at 0.300 THz, are used as analytes to test the integrated plasmonic waveguide. Analysis of the refractive index and thickness of molecular membranes indicates that the metallic rod array-based THz waveguide can integrate various biochip platforms for minute molecular detection, which is extremely less than the coherent length of THz waves.

Hybrid terahertz plasmonic waveguide for sensing applications.

The suitability of a terahertz plasmonic sensor for sensing applications is successfully demonstrated using a hybrid planar waveguide composed of a subwavelength plastic ribbon waveguide and a diffraction metal grating. The subwavelength-confined terahertz plasmons on the hybrid waveguide resonantly reflect from the periodic metal structure under phase-matched conditions and perform resonant transmission dips. The resonant plasmonic frequencies are found to be strongly dependent on the refractive indices and thicknesses of analytes laid on the hybrid planar waveguide. Both plastic films with varying thicknesses and granular analytes in different quantities are successfully identified according to the spectral shifts of resonant dips. An optimal refractive index sensitivity of 261 GHz per refractive index unit is achieved. Within localized and enhanced terahertz plasmonic fields, the minimum detectable optical path difference can be reduced to 2.7 µm corresponding to λ/289, and the minimum detectable amount of analytes in powdered form reaches 17.3 nano-mole/mm(2). The sensing technique can be used to detect particles in a chemical reaction or monitor pollutants.

Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy of pure aluminum with high temporal resolution.

We report on a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) system with a very high temporal resolution, using femtosecond and picosecond pulse laser excitation of pure aluminum (Al). By using a 140 fs Ti:Sapphire laser in an ultrafast optical Kerr gate (OKG), we demonstrate LIBS sampling with a sub-ps time resolution (0.8 ± 0.08 ps) in a 14 ns window. The width of the gating window in this system was as narrow as 0.8 ps, owing to the inclusion of a carbon disulfide (CS(2)) cell, which has a fast response and a large nonlinear coefficient. Furthermore, when using a 100 ps pulsed Nd:YAG laser and a fast photomultiplier tube (PMT) we demonstrate a LIBS system with a nanosecond time resolution (2.20 ± 0.08 ns) in a microsecond window. With this sort of temporal resolution, a non-continuous decay in the Al signal could be observed. After 50 ns decay of the first peak, the second peak at 230 ns is started to perform. Experimental results with such short temporal windows in LIBS, in both nanosecond and microsecond ranges, are important for fast temporal evolution measurements and observations of early continuum emission in materials.

Subwavelength confined terahertz waves on planar waveguides using metallic gratings.

A terahertz plasmonic waveguide is experimentally demonstrated using a plastic ribbon waveguide integrated with a diffraction metal grating to approach subwavelength-scaled confinement and long-distance delivery. Appropriately adjusting the metal-thickness and the periodical slit width of a grating greatly improves both guiding ability and field confinement in the hybrid waveguide structure. The measured lateral decay length of the bound terahertz surface waves on the hybrid waveguide can be reduced to less than λ/4 after propagating a waveguide of around 50mm-long in length. The subwavelength-confined field is potentially advantageous to biomolecular sensing or membrane detection because of the long interaction length between the THz field and analytes.

Terahertz refractive index sensors using dielectric pipe waveguides.

A dielectric pipe waveguide is successfully demonstrated as a terahertz refractive index sensor for powder and liquid-vapor sensing. Without additional engineered structures, a simple pipe waveguide can act as a terahertz resonator based on anti-resonant reflecting guidance, forming multiple resonant transmission-dips. Loading various powders in the ring-cladding or inserting different vapors into the hollow core of the pipe waveguide leads to a significant shift of resonant frequency, and the spectral shift is related to the refractive-index change. The proven detection limit of molecular density could be reduced to 1.6nano-mole/mm3 and the highest sensitivity is demonstrated at around 22.2GHz/refractive-index-unit (RIU), which is comparable to the best THz molecular sensor [Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 171113 (2009)].

Sub-micron absolute distance measurements in sub-millisecond times with dual free-running femtosecond Er fiber-lasers.

We demonstrate a simplified dual-comb LIDAR setup for precision absolute ranging that can achieve a ranging precision of 2 µm in 140 µs acquisition time. With averaging, the precision drops below 1 µm at 0.8 ms and below 200 nm at 20 ms. The system can measure the distance to multiple targets with negligible dead zones and a ranging ambiguity of 1 meter. The system is much simpler than a previous coherent dual-comb LIDAR because the two combs are replaced by free-running, saturable-absorber-based femtosecond Er fiber lasers, rather than tightly phase-locked combs, with the entire time base provided by a single 10-digit frequency counter. Despite the simpler design, the system provides a factor of three improved performance over the previous coherent dual comb LIDAR system.

Application of metal-clad antiresonant reflecting hollow waveguides to tunable terahertz notch filter.

A novel tunable terahertz notch filter is demonstrated using antiresonant reflecting hollow waveguides with movable metal layers outside dielectric claddings. Based on the Fabry-Pérot resonance of the dielectric cladding, multiple deep notches are observed in a broad THz transmission spectrum. Continuous shift of notch frequencies is for the first time experimentally observed by lateral translation of metal layers from dielectric claddings. The measured maximum frequency-tuning-range approached 60GHz, equaling to 50% of the bandwidth of every passband, and a 20dB rejection notch-depth with a linewidth as narrow as 6GHz at frequency of around 0.2THz was also achieved. Numerical simulations match the measurements and verify the spectral-tuning mechanism.

Modal characteristics of antiresonant reflecting pipe waveguides for terahertz waveguiding.

Modal characteristics of the THz pipe waveguide, which is a thin pipe consisting of a large air core and a thin dielectric layer with uniform but low index, are investigated. Modal indices and attenuation constants are calculated for various core diameters, cladding thicknesses, and cladding refractive indices. Numerical results reveal that the guiding mechanism of the leaky core modes, which transmit most of the power in the air-core region, is that of the antiresonant reflecting guiding. Moreover, modal patterns including modal intensity distributions and electric field vector distributions are shown for the fundamental and higher order modes. Experiments using time-domain spectroscopy with PMMA pipes also confirm the antiresonant reflecting guiding mechanism.

Subwavelength film sensing based on terahertz anti-resonant reflecting hollow waveguides.

A simple dielectric hollow-tube has been experimentally demonstrated at terahertz range for bio-molecular layer sensing based on the anti-resonant reflecting wave-guidance mechanism. We experimentally study the dependence of thin-film detection sensitivity on the optical geometrical parameters of tubes, different thicknesses and tube wall refractive indices, and on different resonant frequencies. A polypropylene hollow-tube with optimized sensitivity of 0.003 mm/µm is used to sense a subwavelength-thick (λ/225) carboxypolymethylene molecular overlayer on the tube's inner surface, and the minimum detectable quantity of molecules could be down to 1.22 picomole/mm(2). A double-layered Fabry-Pérot model is proposed for calculating the overlayer thicknesses, which agrees well with the experimental results.

A terahertz plastic wire based evanescent field sensor for high sensitivity liquid detection.

A highly sensitive detection method based on the evanescent wave of a terahertz subwavelength plastic wire was demonstrated for liquid sensing. Terahertz power spreading outside the wire core makes the waveguide dispersion sensitive to the cladding index variation, resulting in a considerable deviation of waveguide dispersion. Two liquids with transparent appearances, water and alcohol, are easily distinguished based on the waveguide dispersion, which is consistent with theoretical predictions. A melamine alcohol solution with various concentrations is identified successfully, and the detection limit is up to 20ppm, i.e. equivalent to the index variation on the order of 0.01.

Semi-automatic, octave-spanning optical frequency counter.

This work presents and demonstrates a semi-automatic optical frequency counter with octave-spanning counting capability using two fiber laser combs operated at different repetition rates. Monochromators are utilized to provide an approximate frequency of the laser under measurement to determine the mode number difference between the two laser combs. The exact mode number of the beating comb line is obtained from the mode number difference and the measured beat frequencies. The entire measurement process, except the frequency stabilization of the laser combs and the optimization of the beat signal-to-noise ratio, is controlled by a computer running a semi-automatic optical frequency counter.

Wireless audio and burst communication link with directly modulated THz photoconductive antenna.

We demonstrate transmission of audio and burst signals through a prototype THz analog communication link employing laser-gated low-temperature-grown GaAs dipole antenna as THz emitter and receiver. The transmission distance is about 100 cm. By using a direct voltage modulation format, we successfully demodulated a burst signal with a rising time of 41 micros. The corresponding modulating bandwidth achieved was 23 kHz in this first experiment. Noise analysis reveals a 10% power fluctuation in the received signal with on-off extinction ratio of greater than 1000. The transmission of a six-channel analog and burst audio signal with least distortion is also demonstrated. We further demonstrate the fidelity of the transmission of a melody through the THz link with and without any amplification.

Ultrabroadband terahertz field detection by proton-bombarded InP photoconductive antennas.

Photoconductive (PC) antennas fabricated on InP bombarded with 180 keV protons of different dosages (InP:H+) all exhibit a useful bandwidth of about 30 THz, comparable to that of the LT-GaAs PC antenna. The peak signal current of the best InP: H+ device (dosage of 10;15 ions/cm;2) is slightly higher than that of the LT-GaAs one, while the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the former is about half of that of the latter due to lower resistivity. This suggests that InP: H+ can be a good substrate for THz PC antennas with proper annealing and/or implantation recipe.

Improved broadband and quasi-omnidirectional anti-reflection properties with biomimetic silicon nanostructures.

Nature routinely produces nanostructured surfaces with useful properties, such as the self-cleaning lotus leaf, the colour of the butterfly wing, the photoreceptor in brittlestar and the anti-reflection observed in the moth eye. Scientists and engineers have been able to mimic some of these natural structures in the laboratory and in real-world applications. Here, we report a simple aperiodic array of silicon nanotips on a 6-inch wafer with a sub-wavelength structure that can suppress the reflection of light at a range of wavelengths from the ultraviolet, through the visible part of the spectrum, to the terahertz region. Reflection is suppressed for a wide range of angles of incidence and for both s- and p-polarized light. The antireflection properties of the silicon result from changes in the refractive index caused by variations in the height of the silicon nanotips, and can be simulated with models that have been used to explain the low reflection from moth eyes. The improved anti-reflection properties of the surfaces could have applications in renewable energy and electro-optical devices for the military.

Piezoelectric-transducer-based optoelectronic frequency synchronizer for control of pulse delay in a femtosecond passively mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser.

We propose a piezoelectric transducer-(PZT-) based optoelectronic frequency synchronizer to control simultaneously change in the repetition rate, the relative pulse delay, and the phase noise of a passively mode-locked femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser with an intracavity saturable Bragg reflector absorber with respect to an electronic frequency reference. An optoelectronic phase-locked-loop-based PZT feedback controller with a proportional, integral, and differential (PID) circuit and a tunable voltage regulator is designed to achieve frequency synchronization, phase-noise suppression, and delay-time tuning. When the controlling voltage is tuned from -2.6 to 2.6 V, the maximum pulse-delay range, tuning slope, and tuning resolution of the laser pulse-train are 11.3 ns, 2.3 ps/mV, and 1.2 ps, respectively. Setting the gain constant of the PID circuit at 10 or larger causes the delay-time tuning function to be linearly proportional to the controlling voltage. In the delay-time tuning mode the uncorrelated single-side-band phase-noise density of the frequency-synchronized laser is approximately -120 dBc/Hz at an offset frequency of 5 kHz, which is only 7 dBc/Hz higher than that of the electrical frequency reference. The proposed system also supports linear,continuous switching,and programmable control of the delay time of Ti:sapphire laser pulses when they are frequency synchronized to external reference clocks.