CAREER: THz active metamaterials employing thin-film semiconductors

目标：该项目的目标是为PI的长期研究目标提供坚实的基础，即开发可用于紧凑、低成本通信和成像系统的有源固态太赫兹器件。基于薄膜半导体基超材料中增强的光-物质相互作用，本提案旨在开发以下设备：a)基于这些材料的线性特性的太赫兹光束转向，以及b)基于材料非线性通过混合和/或高谐波产生太赫兹，从而针对现有太赫兹技术的两个中心限制。智力价值：智力价值是促进新型太赫兹光电器件的发展，这可以形成广泛应用的基础。此外，这些研究有望提高目前对两种薄膜半导体：二氧化钒和石墨烯的太赫兹特性的理解，特别是在它们的非线性特性方面。由于这两种材料都可以建立在任意基板上，它们的低成本有望导致市场应用。更广泛的影响：更广泛的影响是创造一些必要的组件来制造复杂的太赫兹系统，并使这些更容易获得。预计开发的技术将转变为广泛的科学和面向应用的社区。此外，本科生和研究生将接受太赫兹和纳米材料新兴领域的培训，他们是设计外展活动的一个组成部分，旨在向普通观众、学校教师和学生传播新发现。

Objective: The objective of this program is to provide a solid foundation for the PI's long-term research goal of developing active solid-state terahertz devices that can be employed in compact, low cost communication and imaging systems. Based on the enhanced light-matter interaction in thin-film semiconductor-based metamaterials, this proposal aims to develop devices for: a) terahertz beam steering, based on the linear properties of these materials, and b) terahertz generation via mixing and/or higher harmonic generation, based on the materials nonlinearities, thereby targeting two of the central limitations in existing terahertz technology. Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit is to foster the development of novel terahertz optoelectronic devices, which can form the basis for a wide range of applications. Moreover, these studies are expected to improve the current understanding about the terahertz properties of two thin-film semiconductors: vanadium dioxide and graphene, especially in terms of their non-linear properties. Since both materials can be built on arbitrary substrates, their low cost is expected to lead to market applications. Broader Impact: The broader impacts are to create some of the components necessary to make complex terahertz systems and to make these more readily available. It is expected that the developed technologies will be transformative to a broad range of scientific and application-oriented communities. Moreover, undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in the emergent fields of terahertz and nanomaterials, and they are an integral element of the designed outreach activities to disseminate the new discoveries to the general audience, school teachers and students.