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Tunable, Grating-Gated, Graphene-On-Polyimide Terahertz Modulators

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Di Gaspare, A 
Pogna, EAA 
Salemi, L 
Balci, O 
Cadore, AR 

Abstract

We present an electrically switchable graphene terahertz (THz) modulator with a tunable-by-design optical bandwidth and we exploit it to compensate the cavity dispersion of a quantum cascade laser (QCL). Electrostatic gating is achieved by a metal-grating used as a gate electrode, with an HfO2/AlOx gate dielectric on top. This is patterned on a polyimide layer, which acts as a quarter wave resonance cavity, coupled with an Au reflector underneath. We get 90% modulation depth of the intensity, combined with a 20 kHz electrical bandwidth in the 1.9 _ 2.7 THz range. We then integrate our modulator with a multimode THz QCL. By adjusting the modulator operational bandwidth, we demonstrate that the graphene modulator can partially compensates the QCL cavity dispersion, resulting in an integrated laser behaving as a stable frequency comb over 35% of the laser operational range, with 98 equidistant optical modes and with a spectral coverage of ~ 1.2 THz. This has significant potential for frontier applications in the terahertz, as tunable transformation-optics devices, active photonic components, adaptive and quantum optics, and as a metrological tool for spectroscopy at THz frequencies.

Description

Keywords

graphene, modulators, polyimide waveguides

Journal Title

Advanced Functional Materials

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1616-301X
1616-3028

Volume Title

31

Publisher

Wiley
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K01711X/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K017144/1)
European Commission (604391)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L016087/1)
European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) ERC (206409)
European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) (696656)
EPSRC (via University of Manchester) (R119256)
European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) (785219)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (1799076)
European Research Council (842251)
European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) (881603)
European Research Council (319277)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/P021859/1)