| Citation: | SHEN Yan-chun, HE Zhen-wu, LUO Zhuo-bin, PAN Guan-quan, ZHAN Pei-yi, WEI Dong-shan, ZHAO Yi-liang. A highly efficient terahertz amplitude modulator based on the phase transition of MoS2[J]. Chinese Optics. doi: 10.3724/CO.EN-2026-0023
|
Terahertz (THz) wave modulation via metasurfaces exhibits considerable applications in THz communications, imaging, and detection. In this study, a molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) metasurface is proposed to realize THz amplitude modulation at very low trigger voltages. The unit micro-nanostructure is characterized by a broken “H” shape linked by a MoS2 layer. Simulation results indicate that the electrical control of the phase transition at the “H” junction can enable substantial amplitude modulation at 0.58 THz with a modulation rate of 98% and a low insertion loss of 20%. The modulation mechanism is elucidated by analyzing the electric field distributions at different structural positions and the diffraction patterns before and after the phase transition. To verify the design, electrical measurements in experiment are carried out on a MoS2 layer with the same thickness of 2 μm and the resistivity of the measured MoS2 layer varied by nearly six orders of magnitude with a minor change of the low trigger voltage from 0 to ±1 V, validating the feasibility of the interfacial metasurface control. This study is anticipated to offer a novel method for THz amplitude modulation, and promote the practical development of THz modulation devices.
| [1] |
GOPALAN P, SENSALE-RODRIGUEZ B. 2D materials for terahertz modulation[J]. Advanced Optical Materials, 2020, 8(3): 1900550. doi: 10.1002/adom.201900550
|
| [2] |
DEGL’INNOCENTI R, KINDNESS S J, BEERE H E, et al. All-integrated terahertz modulators[J]. Nanophotonics, 2018, 7(1): 127-144. doi: 10.1515/nanoph-2017-0040
|
| [3] |
SENSALE-RODRIGUEZ B, YAN R S, RAFIQUE S, et al. Extraordinary control of terahertz beam reflectance in graphene electro-absorption modulators[J]. Nano Letters, 2012, 12(9): 4518-4522. doi: 10.1021/nl3016329
|
| [4] |
CHEN H T, PADILLA W J, CICH M J, et al. A metamaterial solid-state terahertz phase modulator[J]. Nature Photonics, 2009, 3(3): 148-151. doi: 10.1038/nphoton.2009.3
|
| [5] |
SAVO S, SHREKENHAMER D, PADILLA W J. Liquid crystal metamaterial absorber spatial light modulator for THz applications[J]. Advanced Optical Materials, 2014, 2(3): 275-279. doi: 10.1002/adom.201300384
|
| [6] |
CHIKHI N, LISITSKIY M, PAPARI G, et al. A hybrid tunable THz metadevice using a high birefringence liquid crystal[J]. Scientific Reports, 2016, 6(1): 34536. doi: 10.1038/srep34536
|
| [7] |
VASIĆ B, ZOGRAFOPOULOS D C, ISIĆ G, et al. Electrically tunable terahertz polarization converter based on overcoupled metal-isolator-metal metamaterials infiltrated with liquid crystals[J]. Nanotechnology, 2017, 28(12): 124002. doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/aa5bbd
|
| [8] |
NAN T, ZHAO H, GUO J Y, et al. Generation of structured light beams with polarization variation along arbitrary spatial trajectories using tri-layer metasurfaces[J]. Opto-Electronic Science, 2024, 3(5): 230052. doi: 10.29026/oes.2024.230052
|
| [9] |
KOENIG S, LOPEZ-DIAZ D, ANTES J, et al. Wireless sub-THz communication system with high data rate[J]. Nature Photonics, 2013, 7(12): 977-981. doi: 10.1038/nphoton.2013.275
|
| [10] |
LIAO SH K, CAI W Q, LIU W Y, et al. Satellite-to-ground quantum key distribution[J]. Nature, 2017, 549(7670): 43-47. doi: 10.1038/nature23655
|
| [11] |
OSHIMA N, HASHIMOTO K, SUZUKI S, et al. Terahertz wireless data transmission with frequency and polarization division multiplexing using resonant-tunneling-diode oscillators[J]. IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, 2017, 7(5): 593-598.
|
| [12] |
WEN Q Y, TIAN W, MAO Q, et al. Graphene based all-optical spatial terahertz modulator[J]. Scientific Reports, 2014, 4(1): 7409.
|
| [13] |
FERGUSON B, ZHANG X CH. Materials for terahertz science and technology[J]. Nature Materials, 2002, 1(1): 26-33.
|
| [14] |
TONOUCHI M. Cutting-edge terahertz technology[J]. Nature Photonics, 2007, 1(2): 97-105.
|
| [15] |
CHEN H T, PADILLA W J, ZIDE J M O, et al. Active terahertz metamaterial devices[J]. Nature, 2006, 444(7119): 597-600.
|
| [16] |
HENDRY E, GARCIA-VIDAL F J, MARTIN-MORENO L, et al. Optical control over surface-plasmon-polariton-assisted THz transmission through a slit aperture[J]. Physical Review Letters, 2008, 100(12): 123901.
|
| [17] |
ZHAO H, WANG X K, LIU SH T, et al. Highly efficient vectorial field manipulation using a transmitted tri-layer metasurface in the terahertz band[J]. Opto-Electronic Advances, 2023, 6(2): 220012.
|
| [18] |
WANG P L, LOU J, FANG G Y, et al. Progress on cutting-edge infrared-terahertz biophysics[J]. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 2022, 70(11): 5117-5140.
|
| [19] |
HE Y ZH, MA CH SH. Analysis of the effect of antenna pointing error caused by satellite perturbation on space terahertz communication[J]. Applied Sciences, 2022, 12(21): 10772.
|
| [20] |
LV X J, AKO R T, BHASKARAN M, et al. Frequency-selective-surface-based mechanically reconfigurable terahertz bandpass filter[J]. IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, 2022, 12(3): 257-266.
|
| [21] |
LI J T, YUE ZH Y, LI J, et al. Wavefront-controllable all-silicon terahertz meta-polarizer[J]. Science China Materials, 2023, 66(1): 300-308.
|
| [22] |
BUNDEL P, WU G B, CHEN B J, et al. Wideband circular polarizer for a photoconductive antenna[J]. Optics Letters, 2023, 48: 3223-3226.
|
| [23] |
SU H, ZHENG Z S, YU ZH SH, et al. Optically controlling broadband terahertz modulator based on layer-dependent PtSe2 nanofilms[J]. Nanomaterials, 2023, 13(5): 795.
|
| [24] |
GONG S, PING D Y, BI CH Y, et al. High-performance direct terahertz modulator based on resonance mode transformation for high-speed wireless communication[J]. Applied Physics Letters, 2022, 121(23): 231104.
|
| [25] |
TAO SH N, SHEN ZH X, YU H G, et al. Transflective spatial terahertz wave modulator[J]. Optics Letters, 2022, 47(7): 1650-1653.
|
| [26] |
ZHANG P J, CAI T, ZHOU Q L, et al. Ultrahigh modulation enhancement in all-optical Si-based THz modulators integrated with gold nanobipyramids[J]. Nano Letters, 2022, 22(4): 1541-1548.
|
| [27] |
WU Y, LA-O-VORAKIAT C, QIU X P, et al. Graphene terahertz modulators by ionic liquid gating[J]. Advanced Materials, 2015, 27(11): 1874-1879.
|
| [28] |
TAMAGNONE M, FALLAHI A, MOSIG J R, et al. Fundamental limits and near-optimal design of graphene modulators and non-reciprocal devices[J]. Nature Photonics, 2014, 8(7): 556-563.
|
| [29] |
CHEN Z F, CHEN X Q, TAO L, et al. Graphene controlled Brewster angle device for ultra broadband terahertz modulation[J]. Nature Communications, 2018, 9(1): 4909.
|
| [30] |
DI GASPARE A, POGNA E A A, RICCARDI E, et al. All in one-chip, electrolyte-gated graphene amplitude modulator, saturable absorber mirror and metrological frequency-tuner in the 2–5 THz range[J]. Advanced Optical Materials, 2022, 10(22): 2200819.
|
| [31] |
KOSHELEV K, TANG Y T, LI K, et al. Nonlinear metasurfaces governed by bound states in the continuum[J]. ACS Photonics, 2019, 6(7): 1639-1644.
|
| [32] |
HUANG L L, CHEN X ZH, MÜHLENBERND H, et al. Dispersionless phase discontinuities for controlling light propagation[J]. Nano Letters, 2012, 12(11): 5750-5755.
|
| [33] |
HUANG L L, CHEN X ZH, MÜHLENBERND H, et al. Three-dimensional optical holography using a plasmonic metasurface[J]. Nature Communications, 2013, 4(1): 2808.
|
| [34] |
DENG L G, DENG J, GUAN ZH Q, et al. Malus-metasurface-assisted polarization multiplexing[J]. Light: Science & Applications, 2020, 9(4): 101.
|
| [35] |
ZHENG G X, MÜHLENBERND H, KENNEY M, et al. Metasurface holograms reaching 80% efficiency[J]. Nature Nanotechnology, 2015, 10(4): 308-312.
|
| [36] |
TOGNAZZI A, ROCCO D, GANDOLFI M, et al. High quality factor silicon membrane metasurface for intensity-based refractive index sensing[J]. Optics, 2021, 2(3): 193-199.
|
| [37] |
DU K, BARKAOUI H, ZHANG X D, et al. Optical metasurfaces towards multifunctionality and tunability[J]. Nanophotonics, 2022, 11(9): 1761-1781.
|
| [38] |
OU X N, ZENG T B, ZHANG Y, et al. Tunable polarization-multiplexed achromatic dielectric metalens[J]. Nano Letters, 2022, 22(24): 10049-10056.
|
| [39] |
WEN Y F, ZHANG Q, HE Q, et al. Shortening focal length of 100-mm aperture flat lens based on improved sagnac interferometer and bifacial liquid crystal[J]. Advanced Optical Materials, 2023, 11(16): 2300127.
|
| [40] |
HU Y Q, OU X N, ZENG T B, et al. Electrically tunable multifunctional polarization-dependent metasurfaces integrated with liquid crystals in the visible region[J]. Nano Letters, 2021, 21(11): 4554-4562.
|
| [41] |
SABRI R, FOROUZMAND A, MOSALLAEI H. Genetically optimized dual-wavelength all-dielectric metasurface based on double-layer epsilon-near-zero indium-tin-oxide films[J]. Journal of Applied Physics, 2020, 128(22): 223101.
|
| [42] |
CAI Z Q, LIU Y M. Near-infrared reflection modulation through electrical tuning of hybrid graphene metasurfaces[J]. Advanced Optical Materials, 2022, 10(6): 2102135.
|
| [43] |
TIAN J Y, ADAMO G, LIU H L, et al. Phase-change perovskite microlaser with tunable polarization vortex[J]. Advanced Materials, 2023, 35(1): 2207430.
|
| [44] |
XIAO X Y, PENG Z X, ZHANG Z R, et al. Fully printed zero-static power MoS2 switch coded reconfigurable graphene metasurface for RF/microwave electromagnetic wave manipulation and control[J]. Nature Communications, 2024, 15(1): 10591.
|
| [45] |
HU R J, MIN Q X, LIU X, et al. Terahertz programmable metasurface for phase modulation based on free carrier plasma dispersion effect[J]. Applied Physics Letters, 2024, 124(25): 251703.
|
| [46] |
LIU SH H, CHEN F. Dual-channel dynamically tunable terahertz broadband perfect absorber based on a VO2 and MoS2 composite structure[J]. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2026, 28(9): 5807-5818.
|
| [47] |
LIU T, DAI CH H, WANG D Y, et al. High-efficiency vectorial holography based on ultra-thin metasurfaces[J]. Advanced Photonics, 2025, 7(5): 056004.
|
| [48] |
GUISE J, RATOVO H, FLORES F G P, et al. 1550-nm-pumped InAs-based terahertz modulator integrated in a WR1.0 waveguide[J]. IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, 2026, 16(4): 406-416.
|
Figures(4)
DownLoad:
