Nonlinear Terahertz Metamaterials via Field-Enhanced Carrier Dynamics in GaAs
Author(s)
Fan, Kebin; Hwang, Harold Young; Liu, Mengkun; Strikwerda, Andrew C.; Sternbach, Aaron; Zhang, Jingdi; Zhao, Xiaoguang; Zhang, Xin; Nelson, Keith Adam; Averitt, Richard D.; ... Show more Show less
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We demonstrate nonlinear metamaterial split ring resonators (SRRs) on GaAs at terahertz frequencies. For SRRs on doped GaAs films, incident terahertz radiation with peak fields of ∼20–160 kV/cm drives intervalley scattering. This reduces the carrier mobility and enhances the SRR LC response due to a conductivity decrease in the doped thin film. Above ∼160 kV/cm, electric field enhancement within the SRR gaps leads to efficient impact ionization, increasing the carrier density and the conductivity which, in turn, suppresses the SRR resonance. We demonstrate an increase of up to 10 orders of magnitude in the carrier density in the SRR gaps on semi-insulating GaAs. Furthermore, we show that the effective permittivity can be swept from negative to positive values with an increasing terahertz field strength in the impact ionization regime, enabling new possibilities for nonlinear metamaterials.
Date issued
2013-05Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of ChemistryJournal
Physical Review Letters
Citation
Fan, Kebin, Harold Y. Hwang, Mengkun Liu, Andrew C. Strikwerda, Aaron Sternbach, Jingdi Zhang, Xiaoguang Zhao, Xin Zhang, Keith A. Nelson, and Richard D. Averitt. Nonlinear Terahertz Metamaterials via Field-Enhanced Carrier Dynamics in GaAs. Physical Review Letters 110, no. 21 (May 2013).
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0031-9007
1079-7114